Hotels Hanover, Germany - Hotel Booking

Visit HanoVER

 One of the most famous sights is the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen:

The Great Garden is an important European baroque garden. The palace itself, however, was largely destroyed by Allied bombing. Some points of interest are the Grotto (the interior was designed by the French artist Niki de Saint-Phalle), the Galery Building, the Orangerie and the two pavillons by Remy de la Fosse. The Great Garden consists of several parts. The most popular ones are the Great Ground and the Neuveau Jardin. At the centre of the Neuveau Jardin is Europe's highest garden fountain. The historic Garden Theatre inter alia hosted the musicals of the German rock musician Heinz Rudolf Kunze.

The Berggarten is an important European botanical garden. Some points of interest are the Tropical House, the Cactus House, the Canary House and the Orchid House, which hosts one of the world's biggest collection of orchids, and free-flying birds and butterflies. Near the entrance to the Berggarten is the historic Library Pavillon. The Mausoleum of the Guelphs is also located in the Berggarten. Like the Great Garden, the Berggarten also consists of several parts, for example the Paradies and the Prairie Garden. There is also the Sea Life Centre Hanover, which is the first tropical aquarium in Germany.

The Georgengarten is an English landscape garden. The Leibniz Temple and the Georgen Palace are two points of interest there.

Other gardens are the Guelph Garden with the Guelph Palace and the Prince Garden. Nearby are the Water Art, the Hardenbergsche House and the Prince House.

The landmark of Hanover is the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus). Inside the building are four scale models of the town and the only working diagonal elevator in Germany, which goes up the large dome.

The Hanover Zoo is one of the most spectacular and best zoos in Europe. The zoo received the Park Scout Award for the third year running in 2008, placing it among the best zoos in Germany. The zoo consists of several theme-areas: Sambesi, Meyers Farm, Gorilla-Mountain, Jungle-Palace, and Mullewapp. Some smaller areas are Australia, the wooded area for wolves, and the so-called swimming area with many seabirds. There is also a tropical house, a jungle house, and a show arena. The new Alaska-themed area, Yukon Bay, is still under construction.

Another point of interest is the Old Town. At the centre is the huge Market Church and the Old Town Hall. Near by are the Leibniz House, the Nolte House, and the Beguine Tower. A very nice quarter of the Old Town is the Kreuz-Church-Quarter around the Kreuz Church with many nice little lanes. Nearby is the old theatre, called Ballhofeins. On the edge of the Old Town are the Market Hall, the Leine Palace, and the ruin of the Aegidien Church which is now a monument to the victims of war and violence. Through the Marstall Gate you arrive at the bank of the river Leine, where the world-famous Nanas of Niki de Saint-Phalle are located. They are part of the Mile of Sculpture which leads from the Königsworter Square up to the entrance of the Georgengarten. Near the Old Town is the district Calenberger Neustadt where the Catholic Church of St. Clemens, the Reformed Church, and the Protestant Neustädter Church are located.

Some other popular sights are the Waterloo Column, the Laves House, the Wangenheim Palace, the Lower Saxony State Archives, the Hanover Playhouse, the Kröpcke Clock, the Anzeiger Tower Block, the Administration Building of the NORD/LB, the Cupola Hall of the Congress Centre, the Lower Saxony Stock, the Ministry of Finance, the Garten Church, the Luther Church, the Gehry Tower (designed by the American architect Frank O. Gehry), the specially designed Bus Stops, the Opera House, the Central Station, the Maschsee lake and the city forest Eilenriede, which is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Due to its around 40 parks, forests and gardens, a couple of lakes, two rivers and one canal, Hanover offers a large variety of leisure activities.

Since 2007 the historic Leibniz Letters, which can be visited in the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library, are an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The 36 most important sights of the city centre are connected with a 4.2 kilometres (3 mi) long red line, which is painted on the pavement. This so-called Red Thread marks out a walk that starts at the Tourist Information Office and ends on the Ernst-August-Square in front of the central station. There is also a guided sightseeing-bus tour through the city.

Museums and Galleries

The Historic Museum describes the history of Hanover, from the medieval settlement "honovere" to the world-famous Exhibition City of today. The museum focuses on the period from 1714 to 1834 when Hanover had a strong relationship with the British royal house.

With more than 4,000 members, the Kestnergesellschaft is the largest art society in Germany. The museum hosts exhibitions from classical modernist art to contemporary art. One big focus is put on film, video, contemporary music and architecture, room installments and big presentations of contemporary paintings, sculptures and video art.

The Kestner Museum is located in the House of 5.000 windows. The museum is named after August Kestner and exhibits 6,000 years of applied art in four areas: Ancient cultures, ancient Egypt, applied art and a valuable collection of historic coins.

The KUBUS is a forum for contemporary art. It features mostly exhibitions and projects of famous and important artists from Hanover.

The Kunstverein Hannover (Art Society Hanover) was established in 1832 as one of the first art societies in Germany. It is located in the Künstlerhaus (House of artists). There are around 7 international monografic and thematic Exhibitions in one year.

The Lower Saxony State Museum is the largest museum in Hanover. The State Gallery shows the European Art from the 11th to the 20th century, the Nature Department shows the zoology, geology, botanic, geology and a Vivarium with fishes, insects, reptiles and amphibians. The Primeval Department shows the primeval history of Lower Saxony and the Folklore Department shows the cultures from all over the world.

The Sprengel Museum shows the art of the 20th century. It is one of the most notable art museums in Germany. The focus is put on the classical modernist art with the collection of Kurt Schwitters, works of the German expressionism, and the French cubism, the cabinet of abstracts, the graphics and the department of photography and media. Furthermore the museum shows the famous works of the French artist Niki de Saint-Phalle.

The Theatre Museum shows an exhibition of the history of the theatre in Hanover from the 17th century up to now: opera, concert, drama and ballet. The museum also hosts several touring exhibitions during the year.

The Wilhelm-Busch-Museum is the German museum for caricature and critical graphics. The collection of the works of Wilhelm Busch and the extensive collection of caricatures and critical graphics is this museum unique in Germany. Furthermore the museum hosts several exhibitions of national and international artists during the year.

TO DO

People who are interested in space should visit the Observatory Geschwister Herrschel on the Lindener Mountain or the small planetarium inside of the Bismarck School.