Messegelände

The Messegelände, the main trade fairgrounds, are in the city's sutheast, served by tram/U-Bahn 8 (and during fair times 18) as well as IC and ICE trains. Tram/U-Bahn 6 serves the eastern part of the fairgrounds near the former Expo site. During major fairs there's a full-service tourist office at the airport and an information pavilion at the fairgrounds, in addition to the main tourist office.

Pressure on accommodation means you really need to book ahead (call 0511 1234 5555) - and be prepared for phenomenal price hikes too. Indeed some visitors choose to stay instead in Hildesheim, Celle (both of which up their own prices during these times) or even in Hamburg, and commute. The pre-eminent fair today is CeBit, a telecommunications and office information gathering that organisers claim is 'the largest trade show of any kind, anywhere in the world'. It's held every March and during the dotcom boom of the late 1990s had as many as 800,000 attendees. (More recent shows have attracted smaller crowds of around half a million visitors.) Another biggie is Hannover Messe, an industrial show in late April.