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north of Siegen, Freudenberg would be just another blip on the map were it not for its gorgeous Altstadt (called Alter Flecken, meaning ‘old borough’), the 17th-century equivalent of a planned community. Built in tidy rows, these half-timbered houses all point in the same direction, are approximately the same height and sport the same white facades, the same pattern of wooden beams and the same black-slate roofs. Follow signs to Historischer Stadtkern (historic town centre). For panoramic views head to the Kurpark (spa garden), best accessed from the intersection of Am Kurpark and Kölner Strasse.

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Lower Saxony

* * *

HANOVER

History

Orientation

Information

Dangers & Annoyances

Sights & Activities

Festivals & Events

Sleeping

Eating

Drinking

Entertainment

Shopping

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

AROUND HANOVER

FAIRY-TALE ROAD – SOUTH

Getting There & Away

HAMELIN & AROUND

Orientation

Information

Sights & Activities

Sleeping & Eating

Getting There & Around

BODENWERDER

BAD KARLSHAFEN

Sleeping

LÜNEBURGER HEIDE

CELLE

Orientation

Information

Sights

Sleeping

Eating

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

BERGEN-BELSEN

Getting There & Away

LÜNEBURG

Orientation

Information

Sights & Activities

Sleeping

Eating & Drinking

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

NATURPARK ELBUFER-DRAWEHN

Getting There & Around

SOUTH & EAST OF HANOVER

HILDESHEIM

Orientation

Information

Sights & Activities

Sleeping

Eating & Drinking

Getting There & Around

BRAUNSCHWEIG

Orientation

Information

Sights & Activities

Sleeping

Eating

Drinking

Entertainment

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

WOLFENBÜTTEL

Orientation & Information

Sights

Getting There & Away

WOLFSBURG

Orientation

Information

Sights & Activities

Sleeping

Eating & Drinking

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

GÖTTINGEN

Orientation

Information

Sights & Activities

Courses

Festivals & Events

Sleeping

Eating

Drinking

Entertainment

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

WEST OF HANOVER

OSNABRÜCK

Orientation

Information

Sights

Sleeping

Eating & Drinking

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

VARUSSCHLACHT MUSEUM & PARK KALKRIESE

OLDENBURG

Orientation

Information

Sights

Sleeping & Eating

Getting There & Around

EMDEN & AROUND

Orientation

Information

Sights & Activities

Sleeping & Eating

Getting There & Around

JEVER

Orientation

Information

Sights

Sleeping & Eating

Getting There & Around

EAST FRISIAN ISLANDS

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

WANGEROOGE

Getting There & Away

SPIEKEROOG

Getting There & Away

LANGEOOG

Getting There & Away

BALTRUM

Getting There & Away

NORDERNEY

Getting There & Away

JUIST

Getting There & Away

BORKUM

Getting There & Away

* * *

The second largest state after Bavaria in terms of physical size, Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) is characterised by broad, sweeping landscapes and its strong historical ties with Great Britain and Russia. Although it lacks spectacular ‘must sees’, this part of Germany offers the traveller a rich potpourri of experiences and, especially in the far north around the coast, an opportunity to slow down and engage with the landscape and people.

The capital, Hanover, hosts the enormous communications show, CeBit, and has a handful of museums and historic gardens that offer a window to the past and present. Wolfsburg, east of Hanover, is the home of one of the world’s most successful automobile models (the Volkswagen Beetle), has an unusually relaxed character, and also has Phaeno, a cutting-edge science centre. A visit to the archaeological site of a Roman defeat at Osnabrück’s Varusschlacht, graphically illustrating a spectacular collision of Roman and Germanic cultures during classical times, will appeal to young and old.

Lower Saxony also serves up some very unexpected cultural attractions, like Osnabrück’s Felix-Nussbaum-Haus, an early example of the striking architecture of the American Daniel Libeskind, or historic towns like Celle or ‘rat-ridden’ Hamelin (of ‘Pied Piper’ fame). Meanwhile,