Home › Hanover › Altstadt (Old Town)
Altstadt (Old Town), Hanover - Things to Do at Altstadt (Old Town)

Things to Do at Altstadt (Old Town)

Complete Guide to Altstadt (Old Town) in Hanover

About Altstadt (Old Town)

Hanover's Altstadt is smaller than you'd expect for a city this size, and there's a reason: Allied bombing in October 1943 flattened roughly 90% of the medieval core, and what you walk through today is a careful reconstruction concentrated in a few short blocks between Marktkirche and Leineschloss. The half-timbered houses on Kramerstrasse and Burgstrasse lean at slightly improbable angles, their oak beams blackened by age and weather, their plaster panels painted in the ochres and dusty pinks typical of Lower Saxony. On a damp morning the cobblestones glisten and you'll catch the yeasty smell of fresh brötchen drifting out of the bakery near the Ballhof, mixed with the iron-and-rain scent that seems to settle into any northern German old town. The heart of the quarter is the Marktplatz, anchored by the brick-Gothic bulk of the Marktkirche, whose 97-metre tower has been Hanover's defining silhouette since the 14th century. The square hums on Saturday mornings with the farmers' market, where vendors call out prices for white asparagus in May, chanterelles in August, and Grünkohl (curly kale) once the first frost hits in November. You'll hear the bells from the Marktkirche carrying over the rooftops at noon, and if you sit at one of the outdoor tables at Markthalle's edge with a Lüttje Lage in hand, the whole quarter has a slightly slowed-down quality that contrasts oddly with the modern shopping streets just two minutes' walk north. What tends to surprise visitors is how lived-in the Altstadt feels. It isn't a museum quarter cordoned off for tourists. Locals do their grocery shopping at the Markthalle, lawyers and architects work out of the gabled houses, and the Ballhof square fills up with families and students drinking beer on warm evenings. Some find it underwhelming compared to Lübeck or Quedlinburg, and that's fair, Hanover's Altstadt is a fragment rather than a complete medieval ensemble. But the fragment is honest about what it is, and there's something quietly affecting about that.

What to See & Do

Marktkirche St. Georgii et Jacobi

The 14th-century brick-Gothic parish church with its distinctive 97-metre tower, four corner turrets, and the famous bronze doors by Gerhard Marcks added in 1957 depicting scenes of war, destruction, and rebuilding. The interior is starker than you'd expect, the original Baroque furnishings were lost in 1943, but the late-Gothic altar with its carved Passion scenes survived in storage and is worth lingering over.

Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall)

The 15th-century red-brick civic hall on the Marktplatz, with its stepped gables and glazed terracotta friezes showing dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg in heraldic poses. Look for the medieval game of 'Bohnenkönig' (bean king) carved into one of the side walls, a local oddity most visitors walk straight past. The building now houses a Sparkasse branch on the ground floor, which is jarringly mundane but very Hanover.

Ballhof Square and the Ballhof Theatre

A small cobbled square tucked behind the Kreuzkirche, anchored by the half-timbered Ballhof building from 1649, originally built for the courtly badminton-like game of 'Federball'. The square fills with outdoor tables in summer, and the theatre still stages intimate productions of Lessing and contemporary German playwrights. The crooked timber facades around the square photograph well in late afternoon light.

Leineschloss and the Leine riverbank

The former royal palace of the House of Hanover, rebuilt after 1943 and now serving as the Lower Saxony state parliament. The neoclassical Laves portico facing the Leine is the photogenic side. Walk along the river path beneath it and you'll see swans, the occasional kayaker, and across the water the Nanas, three brightly painted, voluptuous female sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle that locals were scandalised by in 1974 and now love.

Kramerstrasse and Burgstrasse

The two surviving streets of half-timbered houses, running from the Marktkirche toward the Leine. The crooked gables, hand-painted shop signs, and narrow leaded windows are reconstructions but done well, with original beams salvaged from bombed sites where possible. Stop into the Brauhaus Ernst August on Schmiedestrasse at the end, the in-house Hanöversch beer is unfiltered and worth ordering even if you don't normally drink lagers.

Practical Information

Opening Hours

The Altstadt itself is an open public quarter accessible 24 hours. The Marktkirche is open daily roughly 10am to 6pm (shorter hours in winter, typically closing at 4pm), with services Sunday mornings when tourist visits are restricted. The Markthalle food market runs Monday to Friday 7am to 8pm and Saturday 7am to 4pm. Closed Sundays as is standard across Germany.

Tickets & Pricing

Wandering the quarter is free. Marktkirche entry is free, though a small donation for tower climbs is appreciated when the tower is open (irregular hours, usually summer weekends). The Ballhof Theatre tickets are mid-range by German standards, cheaper than Berlin or Munich, broadly comparable to Leipzig.

Best Time to Visit

Saturday mornings between 9 and noon, when the farmers' market is in full swing and locals outnumber tourists. Weekday afternoons are quietest if you want photographs without people. Avoid Sundays if you want shops and the Markthalle open, almost everything closes. December brings the Christmas market on the Marktplatz, which is charming but draws crowds from across Lower Saxony.

Suggested Duration

Two to three hours covers the core walking loop comfortably, including a coffee stop and a slow circuit of the Marktkirche interior. Add another hour if you want to sit down for lunch at the Markthalle or Brauhaus Ernst August. Serious architecture buffs could stretch it to half a day by adding the Historisches Museum just east of the quarter.

Getting There

The Altstadt sits about a 10-minute walk south-west of Hanover Hauptbahnhof, straight down Bahnhofstrasse and through the Kröpcke shopping intersection. From the Hauptbahnhof you can also take the U-Bahn (lines 3, 7, or 9) one stop to Markthalle/Landtag, which deposits you at the quarter's northern edge, useful in rain or with luggage. A single Hannover GVH transit ticket covers the U-Bahn and is inexpensive. By car, the closest parking garage is the Parkhaus Markthalle on Karmarschstrasse. Expect typical German city-centre parking rates, which feel pricey if you're coming from southern or eastern Europe but reasonable by Hamburg or Munich standards. From Hanover Airport, take the S5 S-Bahn (roughly 17 minutes) to Hauptbahnhof and walk from there.

Things to Do Nearby

Neues Rathaus and Maschpark
The Wilhelmine-era Neues Rathaus with its dome and unique inclined elevator elevator pairs naturally with the Altstadt, it's a 10-minute walk south and shows you the imperial-grandeur Hanover that bookended the medieval quarter.
Sprengel Museum
One of Germany's best modern art collections, with strong holdings of Beckmann, Picasso, and Nolde. A 15-minute walk south of the Altstadt along the Maschsee path, good complement to a morning of half-timbered houses.
Herrenhausen Gardens
The Baroque royal gardens that the House of Hanover built when they ran out of room in the Leineschloss. A short U-Bahn ride from the Altstadt and a near-mandatory stop if you have a full day. The Great Garden's geometric parterres are some of the best-preserved in Europe.
Aegidienkirche ruins
A deliberately unrestored bombed church kept as a memorial to the 1943 air raids. Five minutes east of the Altstadt and a sobering counterweight to the cheerful reconstructed timber houses, it shows you what the rest of the old city looked like in 1945.
Maschsee lake
The artificial lake just south of the city centre, ringed by a 6km walking and cycling path. Pairs well with the Altstadt as an afternoon palate-cleanser, in summer when the lakeside cafés open up.

Tips & Advice

Follow the red painted line on the pavement, the 'Roter Faden' is a self-guided 4.2km walking tour through the city's 36 main sights, and it threads directly through the Altstadt with numbered markers keyed to a free brochure from the tourist office at Ernst-August-Platz.
Order a Lüttje Lage if you see locals doing it at the Brauhaus, it's the Hanover speciality of holding a small beer and a shot of grain schnapps in one hand and drinking both simultaneously, which is harder than it looks and usually ends with laughter.
Saturday market vendors at the Markthalle start discounting fresh produce sharply around 2pm as they pack up, worth knowing if you're staying in a flat with a kitchen, less useful if you're just passing through.
The half-timbered houses on Kramerstrasse photograph best around 4pm in summer when the sun rakes across the western facades. In winter you'll want late morning instead because the sun barely clears the rooflines after 1pm.
Skip the Altstadt entirely on a Sunday if you want food, drink, or shopping, almost everything closes, including the Markthalle. Save it for a weekday or, ideally, Saturday morning.

Tours & Activities at Altstadt (Old Town)

Didn't see anything interesting yet?

Browse Viator's full catalog of tours, day trips, food experiences, and private guides in Altstadt (Old Town).

See All Altstadt (Old Town) Tours on Viator