Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business 
Hanover is the capital and largest city of Lower Saxony, set on the River Leine in northern Germany. It was the seat of the dukes, electors and kings of Hanover, whose line also took the British throne in 1714, and today it is best known for its great trade fairs and its many parks and gardens.
Much of the city was destroyed by bombing in World War II, but its small old town still has the brick Gothic Market Church and Old Town Hall, while the Leine Palace of the old rulers is now the state parliament. South of the center rises the domed New Town Hall of 1913, beside the Maschsee lake and a group of fine museums.
Hanover is one of the greenest cities in Germany. The Baroque Great Garden at Herrenhausen is among the finest in Europe, the Eilenriede forest covers 640 hectares right next to the center, and colorful modern art, such as Niki de Saint Phalle's Nanas by the river, brightens its streets.
The Market Church of Saints George and James is the main Lutheran church of Hanover, built in the 14th century beside the market square of the old town. With the nearby Old Town Hall it is counted as the southernmost example of North German brick Gothic, and its tall tower is a city landmark.
The Old Town Hall of Hanover was first built in 1410 in the old town and served as the city hall until the New Town Hall opened in 1913. Restored after heavy bomb damage in World War II, it is the oldest secular building in the city, and its market facade keeps richly decorated brick Gothic gables.
The Aegidienkirche in Hanover is the shell of a Gothic church of Saint Giles, completed in 1347 on the site of older churches. It was destroyed in an air raid in October 1943 and has stood since 1952 as a roofless memorial to the victims of war and violence, with a peace bell from Hiroshima.
The Leine Palace stands on the River Leine in Hanover and was once the residence of the Hanoverian dukes, electors and kings. It grew from a Franciscan friary converted into a palace from 1636 and was later enlarged, and today it is the seat of the Landtag, the parliament of Lower Saxony.
The New Town Hall of Hanover is a grand, castle-like building that opened in 1913 after 12 years of work, set in the Maschpark at the edge of the inner city. It cost 10 million marks and stands on more than 6,000 beech piles, and a curved lift climbs inside its dome to a viewing platform.
The Maschsee is an artificial lake just south of the center of Hanover, created in the floodplain of the River Leine and opened in the 1930s. Covering 78 hectares, it is the largest body of water in the city, and its shores are a favorite place for walking, cycling, sailing and summer festivals.
The Sprengel Museum is a museum of modern art beside the Maschsee in Hanover and holds one of Germany's key modern art collections. It opened in 1979 after Bernhard Sprengel gave his collection to the city in 1969, and it shows 20th-century and later works in a building extended in 1992.
The Lower Saxony State Museum stands next to the New Town Hall in Hanover and goes back to a museum of art and science opened in 1856. It brings together a state gallery of paintings and sculpture from the Middle Ages to the 20th century with archaeology, natural history, ethnology and a vivarium.
The Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover date from the era of the electors and kings of Hanover and include the Great Garden, one of the most distinguished Baroque gardens in Europe. Beside it lie the botanical Berggarten and the landscape parks of the Georgengarten and Welfengarten, popular for strolls.
The Eilenriede is a city forest of about 640 hectares right next to the center of Hanover, the largest urban forest in Germany and nearly twice the size of Central Park in New York. Its name means alder marsh, and its many paths are loved by walkers, joggers and cyclists through the year.
Hanover Zoo, founded in 1865, is the fifth-oldest zoo in Germany, on the edge of the Eilenriede forest near the center. Its 22 hectares are laid out as themed worlds, from the African Zambezi river and an Indian jungle palace to Canadian Yukon Bay, with boat rides and polar bears seen underwater.
The Nanas are three large, brightly painted female figures by the French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle, set up on the Leibnizufer by the River Leine in central Hanover in 1974. Once controversial, they have become a beloved symbol of the city, which made the artist an honorary citizen.
No reviews yet. Been to Hannover? Be the first to share your experience.
Share what you loved, what to skip and tips for other travelers.
Log in to write a reviewBeen to Hannover? Add your best shots to the gallery.
Log in to add photosPhoto: Ra Boe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5
Photo: Martin Kraft, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Carsten Steger, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Lukas Beck, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Misburg3014, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Misburg3014, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Hajotthu, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Ymblanter, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: ChristianSchd, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: H. Helmlechner, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Heidas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Ymblanter, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Flocci Nivis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo: Dickelbers, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Dickelbers, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Dickelbers, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Hombre, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: LuayAS, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Heidas Wikipedia account All pictures please use this discussion page, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Photo: Flocci Nivis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: ChristianSchd, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Roel Hemkes, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: User:Mattes, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 de
Photo: Christian A. Schröder (ChristianSchd), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Carsten Steger, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Carminus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Carminus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Dieter Matthe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Udo Rabe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Tim Schredder, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 de
Photo: GeorgDerReisende, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Bernd Schwabe in Hannover, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Johannes D., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Joachim Meyer - User: (WT-shared) HaJo at wts wikivoyage, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Photo: Bärbel Miemietz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Michielverbeek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: ChristianSchd, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
