Lower Saxony & Bremen

Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) is the largest German state after Bavaria. West to east, it stretches from the World Heritage–listed Wattenmeer tidal flats and the East Frisian Islands to Wolfsburg, global HQ of Volkswagen. Its green and liveable capital, Hanover, was named Unesco City of Music in 2014, but is better known for its annual CeBit and Messe technology trade shows. Between the state's patchwork of vibrant small towns and villages is a diverse landscape of forests, farmlands, river plains, heath and moors.