The host of Expo 2000, the German city of Hannover mixes enchanting history with modern excitement. Timbered houses run along the city’s central streets, art nouveau decorations are dotted around the city, and the huge exhibition complex for the World’s Fair continues to attract visitors. The capital of Lower Saxony, Hannover is one of Germany’s largest cities and can entertain all the moods, offering everything from Baroque botanical gardens to historical museums, bustling neighbourhoods to excellent shopping.
Hannover connects centuries, with each of its attractions coming from a different period in history. Seeing everything may take a few days, and many visitors start at the fabulous Marienburg Castle. The timbered houses can be found on Kramerstrasse, close to the iconic facade of the towering City Hall. An elevator takes visitors to the dome of the City Hall for dramatic views over the rest of Hannover. Other attractions high on most visitors’ lists are the Sprengel modern art museum, flamboyant Great Garden of Herrenhausen and the shops in Hanover’s pedestrian heart, Kropcke.
Regular trains connect Hannover Airport with Hannover Hauptbahnhof, the city’s historic central station. The airport receives flights from across Europe, with both low-cost and major airlines landing at the one terminal. High-speed ICE trains link Hannover with Germany’s other major cities, taking less than two hours to get to Berlin or Hamburg. Public transport within the city is excellent and received a major overhaul for World EXPO in 2000. There’s an interconnected web of underground trains, trams and buses covering all the major suburbs and attractions.
Hannover’s excellent Historical Museum covers almost a millennium of stories, from folk traditions to medieval culture and the tales behind the city hall. It’s all brought up to date by the World EXPO, and Hannover continues to brand itself as the EXPO Stadt - “The Exhibition City”.