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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.

Bremen, the smallest of the German states, packs a punch for its size. Bremen City has a wealth of fine architecture and cobblestone streets; engaging, educational museums; a vibrant waterfront and a happening, modern, multicultural vibe that keeps things interesting. At the mouth of the Weser, its port city Bremerhaven upholds a rich seafaring tradition and is home to two of Germany's most original and entertaining museums.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Lower Saxony & Bremen.

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Herrenhäuser Gärten
Proof that Hanover is not all buttoned-down business are the grandiose Baroque Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen, about 5km north of the city centre, which are considered one of the most important historic garden landscapes in Europe. Inspired by the gardens at Versailles, they're a great place to slow down and smell the roses for a couple of hours, especially on a blue-sky day. Two of the four gardens are free admission; visit the other two with a combination ticket. The oldest, the Baroque Grosser Garten and Berggarten, have paid admission; Georgeangarten (George Garden) and Welfengarten (Guelph Garden) are free and open to the public day and night. An on-site museum recounts the history of the Hanoverian rulers who created the gardens. East of the Grosser Garten, beyond a small canal, the lake-dotted Georgengarten counts the Wilhelm Busch Museum among its treasures.
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Gedenkstätte Bergen-Belsen
The Nazi-built camp at Bergen-Belsen began its existence in 1940 as a POW camp, but became a concentration camp after being taken over by the SS in 1943, initially to imprison Jews as hostages in exchange for German POWs held abroad. In all, 70,000 prisoners perished here, most famously young diarist Anne Frank. The modern Documentation Centre museum poignantly chronicles the fates of the people who passed through here. Unlike Auschwitz in Poland, none of the original buildings remain from the most infamous concentration camp on German soil. Yet the large, initially peaceful-looking lumps of grassy earth – covered in beautiful purple heather in summer – soon reveal their true identity as mass graves. Signs indicate approximately how many people lie in each – 1000, 2000, 5000, an unknown number… Tens of thousands of prisoners from other camps near the front line were brought to Bergen-Belsen in the last months of WWII, causing overcrowding, an outbreak of disease and even more deaths. Despite attempts by the SS to hide evidence of their inhumane practices, by destroying documents and forcing prisoners to bury or incinerate their deceased fellow inmates, thousands of corpses still littered the compound when British troops liberated the camp on 15 April 1945. After WWII, Allied forces used the troop barracks here as a displaced persons camp, for those waiting to emigrate to a third country (including many Jews who went to Israel after its establishment in 1948). This camp was closed in September 1950. The Documentation Centre today is one of the best of its kind and deals sensitively with the lives of the camp prisoners – before, during and after incarceration. The exhibition is designed to be viewed chronologically, and part of it focuses on the role of Bergen-Belsen in its early years as a POW camp for mostly Soviet prisoners of war. About 40,000 POWs died here from 1939 to 1942, largely due to atrocious conditions. As you move through the exhibition you can listen to original-language descriptions through headphones (also subtitled on the screens), read documents and explanations, and watch a 25-minute documentary about the camp. This film includes a moving testimony from one of the British cameramen who filmed the liberation. Subtitled screenings rotate between different languages. In the several hectares of cemetery within the gates is a large stone obelisk and memorial, with inscriptions to all victims; a cross on the spot of a memorial initially raised by Polish prisoners; and the Haus der Stille, where you can retreat for quiet contemplation. A gravestone for Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, has also been erected (not too far from the cemetery gates, on the way to the obelisk). The entire family was initially sent to Auschwitz when their hiding place in Amsterdam was betrayed to police, but the sisters were later transferred to Bergen-Belsen. Although no one knows exactly where Anne lies, many pay tribute to their 15-year-old heroine at this gravestone. Other monuments to various victim groups, including a Soviet memorial, are dotted across the complex.
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Denkort Bunker Valentin
In 1943, the Nazis started construction of a massive concrete bunker to build submarines in. At a planned production rate of 12 subs per month it was meant to be the German war machine's most important naval project. The largest free-standing bunker in Germany – around 426m long and 97m wide, up to 27m high and with 4.5m-thick walls – it was built by up to 12,000 slave-labourers from POW and concentration camps, under intensely cruel conditions; thousands died at the site. Allied bombing badly damaged the bunker when it was 90% completed, just a month before the Germans surrendered; not a single submarine was ever built there, and today it stands as a symbol of the futility of war. It's an eerie, ruined place, with rainwater and sunlight leaking in through the bomb craters in the ceiling; it's made all the more haunting by the stories of survivors, which you can read about and listen to in a free audioguide, available in English (ID deposit required). A 1.5km-long path runs through and around the bunker, with the audioguide and English signage providing information at 25 stops. To get there from Bremen, take the Regio-S-Bahn train RS1 to Farge (€2.80, 44 minutes, every 30 minutes), the last stop; from the station, cross the road and walk to the right to the bus stop. Take bus 90 four stops to Rekumer Siel and follow the sign down a side street. If you go in the morning you can stop in Vegesack on the way back to visit the Schulschiff Deutschland as well.
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Autostadt
A hit with car buffs of all ages, Autostadt is a celebration of all things automobile, spread across 25 hectares. A visit to this theme park and museum kicks off with a broad view of automotive design and engineering in the Konzernforum, then breaks off into exhibits relating to a bunch of European car makers, from Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi to Bentley, Lamborghini and Škoda. Many exhibits are interactive and most have signage in German and English. Included in the tour is a 45-minute return Maritime Panorama Tour along the Aller River to the outlying district of Fallersleben. (Unfortunately, you can’t get off the boat.) For a pure, competitive adrenaline rush, ring ahead to organise an English-speaking instructor for the park’s obstacle courses and safety training driving experiences (costing between €25 and €35). You’ll need a valid licence, of course, and to be comfortable with a left-hand-drive car. The park even has a mini-course, with toy models that can be driven by kids. You can get to Autostadt by walking over the pedestrian bridge right next to the Phaeno museum (next to the Hauptbahnhof), or by taking one of several bus lines. If you're driving, park at Designer Outlets and then walk over the bridge – the parking's much cheaper there than at the Autostadt lots.
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Deutsches Auswandererhaus
This spectacular museum stands on the spot where more than 7.2 million emigrants set sail for the US, South America and Australia between 1830 and 1942, and does a superb job commemorating some of their stories. The visitor relives stages of their journey through high-quality re-creations, beginning at the wharf where passengers huddle together before boarding the ship, clutching the biographical details of one particular traveller and heading towards their new life. Everything is available in both German and English. A second exhibit reverses the theme and tells of immigration to Germany since the 17th century. Contributions these new arrivals have made to German society are explained in the setting of a 1970s shopping mall. The museum provides free access to two international online databases where you can try tracing your German forebears. There's also a retro cinema screening related short documentary films.
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Sprengel Museum
The Sprengel Museum is held in extremely high esteem, both for the design of the building as well as for the art housed inside. Its huge interior spaces are perfectly suited to displaying its modern figurative, abstract and conceptual art, including works by Picasso, Léger, Alexander Calder and Louise Bourgeois. At the core of the collection are 300 works by Niki de Saint Phalle, creator of Die Nanas; a selection is usually on show. Check the website for visiting exhibitions.
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Kunsthalle
For art lovers, the highlight of Bremen’s Kulturmeile (Cultural Mile) is the Kunsthalle, which presents a large permanent collection of paintings, sculpture and copperplate engravings from the Middle Ages into the modern era – some of the masterpieces here are more than 600 years old. The collection includes work by van Dyck, Rubens, Monet, Van Gogh and Picasso, as well as 10 sculptures by Rodin. Rotating exhibitions display both classical and contemporary art.
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Böttcherstrasse
The charming medieval coopers lane was transformed into a prime example of mostly expressionist architecture in the 1920s at the instigation of coffee merchant Ludwig Roselius. Its red-brick houses sport unique facades, whimsical fountains, statues and a carillon; many house artisanal shops and art museums. Its most striking feature is Bernhard Hoetger's golden Lichtbringer relief (Bringer of Light), which keeps an eye on the north entrance.
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Neues Rathaus
An excellent way to get your bearings in Hanover is to visit the Neues Rathaus (built 1901–13) and ascend 98m in the curved elevator (the only one of its kind). It's shaped to travel to the top of the building's green dome, where there are four open-air observation platforms offering panoramic views as far as the Deister hills. The cabin can take only five people at a time so expect queues. In the grand marble lobby downstairs, four city models depict Hanover from the Middle Ages to today; the sombre 1945 model shows the extent of the damage done by Allied bombing in WWII.