Hannover Region: Water, Nature and Garden Culture

The Hannover Region can be explored in many different ways: Lake Steinhude is best known for water sports and holiday opportunities, while the Herrenhausen Gardens and Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover offer their own garden and animal experiences. Lake Steinhude is the largest inland body of water in northwestern Germany. When looking for a holiday apartment, it is worth starting with the excursions you are most looking forward to. Water, landscapes and wildlife watching offer a different focus from gardens and digital experience tours.

Lake Steinhude: Lakeside Path and Protected Nature

In Mardorf, a five-kilometre lakeside path invites visitors to take a stroll. If you are planning a walking excursion, this offers a clearly defined route option. Nearby Tote Moor adds another perspective to this nature outing: it is one of the region’s important protected areas and provides a habitat for numerous animal and plant species. A walk along the shore and a protected habitat for plants and animals therefore offer two distinct ways to experience nature.

Lake Steinhude is also a useful point of reference for visitors who want to include water sports in their holiday plans. If this is important to you, first choose the places and activities you want to visit; then compare the location of a holiday apartment with those plans. The nature experiences around Mardorf and the water sports opportunities on the lake are different reasons to spend time outdoors, rather than parts of a single fixed excursion programme.

Wildlife Watching and Garden Worlds

At Wisentgehege Springe, visitors can discover and learn about more than 300 wild animals. This makes wildlife watching a distinct focus alongside the lakeside path and the moor. Bus routes 382 and 385 serve the entrance to Wisentgehege or the Abzweig Wisentgehege stop. If you are planning to visit by bus, check the timetable before you travel.

In Hannover, the Herrenhausen Gardens offer a different way to experience nature. The grounds comprise the Great Garden, the Berggarten, the Georgengarten and the Welfengarten. The Berggarten in Herrenhausen evolved from a vegetable and propagation garden into a botanical garden. Interactive digital garden rallies and experience tours explore various themes related to the gardens. When planning your visit, you can choose between seeing the garden grounds and taking part in a themed digital experience.

Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover also features a range of themed worlds, where visitors can get up close to animals from around the world. If the gardens, digital tours or the zoo are the focus of your stay, you can use Hannover as a specific place name when searching for a holiday apartment. The region’s other nature and activity offerings provide further points of reference for different excursion interests.

The Senses, Insects and Activity in the Park

The Park of the Senses in Laatzen combines the four elements—air, water, fire and earth—with experiences involving sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. The Valley of Butterflies lies at the centre of the park. Lush perennials, shrub roses and flowering shrubs provide a habitat there for butterflies, bees, bumblebees and other insects. The sensory experiences and the specific world of plants and insects are two distinct aspects of a visit to the park.

At Wietzepark, you can go hiking, cycling, play beach volleyball, boules and football; fishing is also possible there under certain conditions. The options range from walking and cycling on paths to ball games and leisure activities, while fishing is subject to a condition. When planning your holiday, you can consider which of these activities you want to shape your days and which destinations you would like to visit. These different focuses can help you choose a holiday apartment based on your preferred style of excursion and its specific location, without combining every experience into a single programme.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Neustadt am Rübenberge, Steinhude, Wennigsen, Sehnde, Seelze, Ronnenberg, Lehrte, Langenhagen, Laatzen, Isernhagen Kircher Bauerschaft, Hemmingen, Hannover, Garbsen, Dedenhausen, Burgwedel, Burgdorf, Barsinghausen, Wedemark, Wunstorf, Gehrden, Altwarmbüchen, Mardorf, Uetze, Pattensen, Evensen, Isernhagen, Springe.

View the main travel overview: Lower Saxony.