Lower Saxony stretches from the Harz Mountains to the Lüneburg Heath and has two inland UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Goslar with the Rammelsberg mine, and Hildesheim Cathedral together with St. Michael's Church. The state capital, Hanover, is home to the baroque Herrenhausen Gardens and the New Town Hall with its slanted dome elevator. Beyond that you'll find the half-timbered towns of Celle and Goslar, the brick Gothic streets of Lüneburg and big theme parks for families.
This page covers our top 10 picks for Lower Saxony, one- and two-day itineraries, transportation tips and the best time to visit, followed by every attraction in the state from the tripto.de catalog. Hours and prices are on each attraction's page, so check with the operator before you go. Note: from October 2 to December 12, 2026, long-distance trains don't stop in Wolfsburg because of track work.
Our picks for a first visit — each with a short reason why.
Gardens & parks
Hanover
The Herrenhausen Gardens (Herrenhäuser Gärten) in Hanover are among the most important historic gardens in Europe. Their centerpiece, the roughly 50-hectare (124-acre) Great Garden, is a perfectly symmetrical Baroque masterpiece of hedges,…
1. A baroque Great Garden with a fountain up to 80 meters high, a grotto by Niki de Saint Phalle and the Berggarten. Combined summer ticket €10, free under 18.
Landmarks
Hanover
Hanover's New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) looks more like a palace than an office building: a grand early 20th-century structure crowned by a green copper dome and reflected in a park pond. Inside you'll find a soaring main hall with four ci…
2. A grand town hall on the Maschteich with four city models and an arched elevator that tilts 17 degrees. The dome is open in 2026 until about October 31; the ride costs €5.
Old towns & squares
Goslar
The old town of Goslar on the northern edge of the Harz mountains has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, together with the Rammelsberg mine and the Upper Harz water management system. More than 1,500 half-timbered houses, slate-…
3. More than 1,500 half-timbered houses, an imperial palace and a glockenspiel on the market square (daily at 9, 12, 3 and 6). A UNESCO site since 1992.
Industrial heritage
Goslar
The Rammelsberg Mine in Goslar is one of the most remarkable industrial sites in Germany: a mountain that was mined for more than a thousand years and is now a UNESCO World Heritage museum and show mine. You can ride a mine train into the…
4. Over a thousand years of mining: ride the mine train into the mountain or walk the Roeder Gallery to underground water wheels. Museum ticket plus one to three tours.
Churches & monasteries
Hildesheim
Hildesheim Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985 together with nearby St. Michael's Church. It holds bronze masterpieces made around the year 1000, a gilded Romanesque chandeli…
5. Bishop Bernward's bronze doors from 1015, a 6-meter Romanesque chandelier and the Thousand-Year Rose growing on the apse. A UNESCO site since 1985.
Old towns & squares
Celle
The old town of Celle is one of Germany's most complete half-timbered townscapes: around the market square, the Stechbahn and Zöllnerstraße, the town counts nearly 500 timber-framed houses with painted facades, carved beams and gilded insc…
6. Almost 500 half-timbered houses around the market square and Stechbahn, plus a ducal palace. In summer you can climb 235 steps up the town church tower.
Old towns & squares
Lüneburg
Lüneburg's old town is one of the finest examples of brick Gothic architecture in northern Germany, a place of stepped gables, leaning facades and cobbled squares built on the wealth of salt. The town hall on the market square, the long sq…
7. Brick gables, the Old Crane on the Stintmarkt and, with 259 rooms, northern Germany's largest medieval town hall, seen only on a tour (€8, no tours on Mondays).
Museums
Wolfsburg
The Autostadt in Wolfsburg is Volkswagen's combined theme park, car museum and new-car delivery center, set in a 69-acre (28 ha) landscaped park on the Mittelland Canal right next to the company's main factory. You can explore brand pavili…
8. Volkswagen's theme park with two 48-meter glass car towers and the ZeitHaus car museum with more than 260 vehicles. The park grounds are free after 6 p.m.
Theme parks
Soltau
Heide Park Resort in Soltau is the biggest amusement park in northern Germany, set in the Lüneburg Heath roughly halfway between Hamburg and Hanover. Spread over about 85 hectares, it is known for record-breaking roller coasters such as th…
9. Northern Germany's largest theme park, home to the Colossos wooden coaster and the 103-meter Scream drop tower. The 2026 season ends October 31.
Zoos
Hodenhagen
The Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen is a combined safari park, zoo and amusement park in Lower Saxony, and at 220 hectares (540 acres) it bills itself as Europe's largest safari park. Around 2,000 animals live here alongside more than 100 att…
10. Europe's largest safari park: drive your own car or ride the safari bus past zebras and rhinos, then hit the rides. A winter light festival starts November 6, 2026.
Take the U-Bahn to Aegidientorplatz, see the city models in the dome hall and ride the arched elevator to the top (in 2026 until about October 31, daily 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.).
Places: New Town Hall Hanover
Get the classic photo of the town hall from Maschpark across the pond, then walk a few minutes north to the Market Church and the Old Town.
Light rail lines 4 or 5 from Kröpcke get you to Herrenhausen in about 10 minutes. Allow at least two hours for the Great Garden, grotto and Berggarten; last entry is one hour before closing.
Places: Herrenhausen Gardens
Ride up into the dome and compare the city models of 1689, 1939, 1945 and today.
Places: New Town Hall Hanover
Spend the afternoon in the Great Garden with its fountains and grotto, then visit the Berggarten, home to one of Europe's largest orchid collections.
Places: Herrenhausen Gardens
Hourly trains run from Hanover to Goslar; from the station, bus 803 goes to the mining museum. Pair the museum ticket with the Roeder Gallery or the mine train tour.
Places: Rammelsberg Mine
Back in town, catch the glockenspiel on the market square (3 or 6 p.m.), see the painted Huldigungssaal in the town hall and walk up to the Imperial Palace.
Places: Goslar Old Town
For a shorter trip, take S-Bahn S3 or S4 from Hanover to Hildesheim Cathedral, or head about 40 km (25 miles) northeast to half-timbered Celle and its palace.
Places: Hildesheim Cathedral Celle Old Town
By air: From Hannover Airport, S-Bahn line S5 runs every 30 minutes to the main station in just under 20 minutes. Hamburg Airport is another option for Lüneburg and the heath.
By train: Hanover is the main hub with ICE service. Celle is on the line to Hamburg, Hildesheim is served by S-Bahn and RE10 trains, and Goslar has hourly regional trains. Lüneburg is part of Hamburg's transit network, about 30 minutes from Hamburg main station. Note that from October 2 to December 12, 2026, no long-distance trains stop in Wolfsburg, so allow extra time.
By car: Heide Park (exit Soltau-Ost) and Serengeti-Park (exit Westenholz) are right off the A7. You'll need a car or the safari bus to drive through the Serengeti-Park animal areas anyway.
Spring through October is the best time: the Herrenhausen fountains are running, the New Town Hall dome is open, and the theme parks are in season. Heide Park closes for 2026 on October 31, and Serengeti-Park ends its summer season on November 1 before launching a winter light festival on November 6, 2026. Both parks hold Halloween nights in October.
In winter, the town hall dome in Hanover closes from mid-November to the end of February, and Herrenhausen Gardens close at 4:30 p.m. from November through January. During Advent, Christmas markets fill the old towns of Celle and Lüneburg. The heather bloom on the Lüneburg Heath comes in late summer.
One day covers Hanover's New Town Hall and Herrenhausen Gardens. Goslar and the Rammelsberg fill a second day. Celle, Hildesheim, Lüneburg and Wolfsburg each make a separate day trip, and Heide Park or Serengeti-Park need a full day.
Among the places in our catalog: Goslar's Old Town with the Rammelsberg mine (listed in 1992 and expanded in 2010 with the Upper Harz Water Management System), and Hildesheim Cathedral, a World Heritage Site together with St. Michael's Church since 1985.
Favorites include Heide Park and Serengeti-Park, the family tour at the Rammelsberg mine, the tilted elevator ride at Hanover's New Town Hall and the glittering grotto at Herrenhausen Gardens, where under-18s get in free.
No. The 2026 season ends October 31, and the park stays closed until it reopens in spring. Serengeti-Park, on the other hand, opens its light festival on November 6, 2026.
Take S-Bahn line S5, which runs every 30 minutes and reaches the main station in just under 20 minutes. From there, the U-Bahn to Aegidientorplatz brings you close to the New Town Hall.
Gardens & parks
Hannover
The Herrenhausen Gardens (Herrenhäuser Gärten) in Hanover are among the most important historic gardens in Europe. Their centerpiece, the roughly 50-hectare (124-acre) Great Garden, is a perfectly symmetrical Baroque masterpiece of hedges,…
Theme parks
Soltau
Heide Park Resort in Soltau is the biggest amusement park in northern Germany, set in the Lüneburg Heath roughly halfway between Hamburg and Hanover. Spread over about 85 hectares, it is known for record-breaking roller coasters such as th…
Industrial heritage
Goslar
The Rammelsberg Mine in Goslar is one of the most remarkable industrial sites in Germany: a mountain that was mined for more than a thousand years and is now a UNESCO World Heritage museum and show mine. You can ride a mine train into the…
Nature parks
Jork
The Altes Land (Old Land), just south of the Elbe River, is the largest contiguous fruit-growing region in Northern Europe and one of the best day trips from Hamburg. In spring the orchards turn white and pink with blossom, in autumn there…
Old towns & squares
Celle
The old town of Celle is one of Germany's most complete half-timbered townscapes: around the market square, the Stechbahn and Zöllnerstraße, the town counts nearly 500 timber-framed houses with painted facades, carved beams and gilded insc…
Old towns & squares
Goslar
The old town of Goslar on the northern edge of the Harz mountains has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, together with the Rammelsberg mine and the Upper Harz water management system. More than 1,500 half-timbered houses, slate-…
Old towns & squares
Hameln
On 26 June 1284, so the story goes, a stranger with a pipe walked through Hamelin and led 130 children out of town, never to be seen again. Nobody knows what really happened. What is certain is that the legend of the Pied Piper made this t…
Old towns & squares
Lüneburg
Lüneburg's old town is one of the finest examples of brick Gothic architecture in northern Germany, a place of stepped gables, leaning facades and cobbled squares built on the wealth of salt. The town hall on the market square, the long sq…
Museums
Wolfsburg
The Autostadt in Wolfsburg is Volkswagen's combined theme park, car museum and new-car delivery center, set in a 69-acre (28 ha) landscaped park on the Mittelland Canal right next to the company's main factory. You can explore brand pavili…
Churches & monasteries
Braunschweig
When Henry the Lion returned from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1173, he had a church built opposite his castle, Dankwarderode, to serve as a burial place for himself and his wife. Brunswick Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of St B…
Zoos
Hannover
Hanover Zoo (Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover) is one of Germany's most popular zoos and a top day out in Lower Saxony. Instead of rows of cages, it is built around immersive themed worlds: you glide by boat through an African river landscape, watch…
Historic sites & memorials
Lohheide
The Bergen-Belsen Memorial in Lohheide, Lower Saxony, marks the site of a prisoner-of-war camp, a Nazi concentration camp and a postwar camp for displaced persons. It is known around the world as the place where Anne Frank and her sister M…
Industrial heritage
Sankt Andreasberg
The Samson Mine (Grube Samson) in Sankt Andreasberg is a visitor mine in the Upper Harz mountains of Lower Saxony and home to what is described as the last working man-engine in the world. The former silver mine is part of the UNESCO World…
Nature parks
Osterode am Harz
The Harzer-Hexen-Stieg (Harz Witches' Trail) is a long-distance hiking trail of about 100 km (62 miles) through the Harz mountains. It runs from Osterode am Harz in Lower Saxony over the Brocken to Thale in Saxony-Anhalt, linking half-timb…
Churches & monasteries
Hildesheim
Hildesheim Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985 together with nearby St. Michael's Church. It holds bronze masterpieces made around the year 1000, a gilded Romanesque chandeli…
Fortresses
Wunstorf
From the shore at Steinhude, Wilhelmstein looks like a small green islet with a few houses, but it hides one of Europe's most unusual fortresses. Count Wilhelm of Schaumburg-Lippe had an island built in the middle of Lake Steinhude from 17…
Churches & monasteries
Rehburg-Loccum
Loccum Abbey (Kloster Loccum) in Rehburg-Loccum, near Lake Steinhude west of Hanover, is one of the best-preserved Cistercian monasteries north of the Alps. Behind its old enclosure wall you will find a serene late-Romanesque church, a pea…
Churches & monasteries
Walkenried
Walkenried Abbey (Kloster Walkenried), on the southern edge of the Harz mountains in Lower Saxony, is one of Germany's most atmospheric Cistercian monasteries and, since 2010, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The soaring ruins of its…
Nature parks
Undeloh
Lüneburg Heath (Lüneburger Heide) is Germany's best-known heathland, a landscape of purple heather, juniper, birch trees and grazing Heidschnucken sheep south of Hamburg. At its heart lies a car-free nature reserve around the village of Wi…
Churches & monasteries
Hannover
Walk through Hanover's old town and you will end up in front of this tower sooner or later. The Market Church of St George and St James is the oldest of the three old-town churches, and its 97-metre west tower is one of the city's landmark…
Lakes
Hannover
Maschsee is the lakeside heart of Hannover: an artificial lake just south of the city center, ringed by a shoreline path, sailing clubs, a beach bathing area and beer gardens. Locals jog, cycle and stroll the roughly 6-kilometer loop, ride…
Churches & monasteries
Hildesheim
Above the nave of St. Michael's hangs a picture book made of wood: 1,300 oak planks, painted around 1200 with the family tree of Christ. Monumental ceiling painting of this age survives in only two other places in Europe. Yet the building…
Museums
Cloppenburg
The Cloppenburg Museum Village (Museumsdorf Cloppenburg) is Lower Saxony's open-air museum and one of the oldest and largest of its kind in Germany. On about 20 hectares it shows more than 50 original buildings from the 16th to the early 2…
National parks
Wilhelmshaven
Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park stretches along Germany's North Sea coast from the Dutch border to Cuxhaven, taking in all seven East Frisian Islands. Its main UNESCO visitor center is in Wilhelmshaven, about an hour and a quarter fr…