IntercityHotel Hannover HBF Ost

Hanover

Hannover city centre, with its extensive network of pedestrian streets, has something for everyone when it comes to shopping. If you want to soak up the atmosphere while you shop, take a trip to the Old Town with its many small, interesting shops.

A must-visit in the city are the gardens of Herrenhausen, offering French-style Baroque garden art, English-style landscape garden and botanical garden. Created by Hanover's electors and kings in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the gardens uniquely combine the most important styles of gardening. The central part of the garden is the Großer Garten, a historic French Baroque garden with a large fountain, water features and a labyrinth. A quick weekend break or a longer self-drive holiday to Hanover is sure to offer wonderful experiences for everyone.

Christmas market in Hannover

24th November to 22nd December 2025

Mon-Sun: 11.00-21.00 - Please note that dates and opening hours may vary. You can visit the Christmas market's own website with current information.

Get into the Christmas spirit in the medieval city of Hannover, where the annual Christmas market spreads excitement and joy and creates a wonderful atmosphere throughout the city. Go on a mini break or weekend break this Christmas and experience the traditional Christmas market in Hannover.

Hannover is the state capital of Lower Saxony, and every year lots of visitors flock to the city to experience the cosy Christmas market - or Christmas markets, as the case may be, there are several markets in different parts of the beautiful city.

The most classic and traditional Christmas market in the city is located in the picturesque Altstadt, near the town hall and the old market church. Here, Christmas decorations are brought in from the Erzgebirge and Thüringerwald and the almost 130 stalls, located in front of the illuminated historic buildings, are adorned by cosy Christmas lights. The stalls house everything from glassblowers and potters to candlemakers and other craftspeople, wooden toys, household items and, of course, plenty of delicious Christmas food and drink.

At 'Ballhofplatz' you'll find the Finnish Christmas market, where you can find some very special delicacies such as smoked salmon and the Finnish version of the Christmas onion, 'Glögi', as well as several other Nordic delicacies.

Along the banks of the Leine River you can experience the medieval town life of the historic village around the 'Historisches Museum Hannover'. There are candles, bonfires and torches and seductive Christmas smells from all directions. In the historic village you can see craftsmen such as blacksmiths, brush makers and rope makers working according to traditional methods. Taste the original Thuringian sausage grilled on charcoal and see jesters and jugglers and much more in the beautiful setting around the Leine River.

A short distance from the medieval market at Leinen you will find the 'Holzmarkt', which in the run-up to Christmas is adorned with 50 fragrant fir trees over an area of 400m². In the middle of this forest stands a wishing well (Oskar-Winter-Brunnen), where you might be lucky to have your wish granted. All around you will also find several stalls offering Christmas treats and mulled wine.

Hanover Zoo

With over 50 animals, there's plenty to see in the large zoo. You can see rhinos, lions, tigers and many other beautiful animals. You can also see the animals being fed and animal shows with seals and birds. A great idea for entertainment and experiences for everyone on a self-drive holiday in Hannover.

Sehnde

The small suburb is home to around 23,300 inhabitants, none of whom are very far from Hannover. That's why Sehnde is also part of Region Hannover, but with its own independent district. The small town has both shops and supermarkets, so there's no problem shopping for the day and the road. There are also several restaurants in town, so why not try the local cuisine at, for example, the "Schützenklause-Restaurant", which is only a few kilometres from the hotel. The city also houses the "Hannoversches Straßenbahn-Museum" which has a unique collection of trams covering the period from 1895 to the late 1980s. A unique experience whose rolling public transport is high on the list of things to see, but certainly entertaining for the smaller members of the family as many of the trams still have life in them!

Marienburg Castle

Go on a family holiday and visit Marienburg Castle. As if plucked from a fairytale and beautifully nestled in the hills of the historic landscape of Calenberger Land lies this truly exceptional gem of a castle. It was originally a gift from King George V of Hanover to his beloved wife Queen Marie. The castle was built between 1858 and 1867 and became the Queen's summer residence. After the war in 1866, Prussia annexed Hanover and King George V and Queen Marie went into exile in Austria. The palace was therefore never completely finished and stands today almost as it did then. Therefore, it is highly recommended for the whole family to take a tour of the dream castle and discover the sumptuously decorated rooms and the shining crown jewels, which still belong to the Kingdom of Hanover. The castle is therefore an obvious place to visit on a cheap summer holiday south to Germany.

Hildesheim

Hildesheim, a small German town about 40 km south of Hannover, is located in the German state of Lower Saxony. Hildesheim is one of the oldest towns in Northern Germany and it is located where the old trade route, Hellweg, crosses the beautiful river Innerste.

The cathedral in Hildesheim dates back to the 11th century and is therefore one of the oldest churches in Germany. The cathedral was hit by several bombs during the Second World War and was unfortunately completely destroyed. In 1950, the reconstruction, or rather the restoration, of the cathedral started and ten years later it was completed and has now also been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. In addition, a rose bush grows on the outer wall and is believed to be at least 400 years old, making it the oldest known rose in the world.

The Roemer- und Pelizaeus Museum presents knowledge about the origins of the world, distant cultures and art from other times. Their quite large collection from ancient Egypt as well as the museum's unique collection of Peruvian art in particular attract many visitors. But the museum is also an artistic breathing space with several exciting exhibitions, where especially the graphic collection with over 10000 plates containing impressions and motifs from the 16th century to today is an experience in itself.

Wasser Paradies offers a fantastic water park where both adults and children can romp around in the huge facility, which has both indoor and outdoor water slides, a grotto, sauna and restaurant - a great experience for water lovers of all ages.

When you spend a cheap summer holiday in the area, there is also plenty of opportunity to go shopping in Hildesheim, which has the advantage of having historic buildings side by side with modern shopping streets and attractive shopping centres. There are also many cosy restaurants offering everything from Italian delicacies to good, solid German cuisine to French specialities.