Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [201]
Ringhotel Braunschweiger Hof ( 7880; www.hotel-braunschweiger-hof.de; Herzog-Wilhelm-Strasse 54; s €92-126, d €138-168; ) You can relax with a spot of luxury here, where you’ll find fine rooms, lots of wellness deals, a lovely garden and a good restaurant downstairs (mains €9.50 to €34). Its cheaper guest house next door has singles/doubles from €68/98.
Hexenklause ( 2892; Berliner Platz 3; mains €5.20-14.50; 11.30am-6pm) This local favourite serves traditional fare that’s a notch above the pack along the promenade.
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Getting There & Around
The Hauptbahnhof and bus station are on the northern side of town. Bus 810 leaves here regularly for Goslar and goes via the cable car station; bus 877 heads for Wernigerode (€3, one hour). Bus 820 shuttles almost hourly to Braunlage via Radau Waterfall and Torfhaus. Frequent train services link Bad Harzburg with Goslar, Hanover, Braunschweig and Wernigerode.
Bad Harzburg is on the A395 to Braunschweig; the B4 and B6 lead to Torfhaus and Wernigerode, respectively.
See opposite, for bicycle hire at Hotel Tannenhof-Solehotel.
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BRAUNLAGE
05520 / pop 5000
Braunlage is the area’s largest winter-sports centre and very popular with hikers in summer. The skiing here is the best in the region, although it can get crowded on the slopes when the snow is good. Braunlage is currently experiencing something of a decline in popularity, perhaps explaining why in 2009 it staged a naked tobogganing competition – for safety reasons, participants had to wear a helmet, gloves and shoes.
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Orientation
Braunlage’s heart is the junction of Elbinger-öder Strasse and the main thoroughfare, Herzog-Wilhelm-Strasse. The latter changes names several times.
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Information
Post office (Herzog-Wilhelm-Strasse 14) Post agency inside the souvenir shop.
Spielhalle (Elbingeröder Strasse 5; per 20min €1; 9am-11pm Mon-Sat, 11am-11pm Sun) Internet access.
Tourist-Information ( 930 70; www.braunlage.de, in German; Kurverwaltung, Elbingeröder Strasse 17; 9am-12.30pm & 2-5pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-12.30pm Sat) Helpful staff and sells tickets for the narrow gauge railway.
Volksbank ( 8030; Herzog-Wilhelm-Strasse 19) ATM.
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Activities
HIKING
The tourist office has two good free leaflets: Wandervorschläge Rund Um Braunlage (Hiking Suggestions Around Braunlage), covering trails in the area and restaurant stops; and Wanderwege Braunlage (Braunlage Hiking Trails). If you are heading east, a trail follows the B27 to Elend (red triangle, 7km), where you can pick up the narrow-gauge railway to Wernigerode.
SKIING
A cable car will take you up the 971m-high Wurmberg, from where you can ski down or use the three lifts on the mountain itself. Return tickets cost €11. Carving ski equipment can be rented near the cable car at Wurmburg Seilbahn und Gipfelsturmer ( 923 277), at the former petrol station, from €18 a day. Plenty of other places in town rent out skis, including cross-country skis for the many local trails.
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Sleeping & Eating
DJH hostel ( 2238; jh-braunlage@djh-hannover.de; Von-Langen-Strasse 28; under/over 27yr €19.50/22.50; ) This DJH hostel is central to town and located on the edge of spruce forest about 300m south of Elbingeröder Strasse, near hiking and skiing trails. It has a playground for the kids.
Romantik Hotel Zur Tanne ( 931 20; www.tanne-braunlage.de; Herzog-Wilhelm-Strasse 8; s €52-149, d €80-199; ) The three categories of rooms in this centrally located hotel make it a useful crossover from the midrange to the high end, with rooms in three categories of comfort decorated in woods and gentle colours. It also has