ILM

Smart City Hotel am Thielenplatz, a 5-minute walk from the main entrance of the train station, turn left after exiting, cross the street, follow the tram tracks along its route to the next block.

The hotel has very basic rooms with two twin beds, a couple of chairs, steam heat, and a small desk workspace for budget travelers for €49. Top floor has panoramic views of the city. Breakfast is an additional €8. We opted for a breakfast at the Hanover Train Station, where there are many vendors.

Email: info@smartcityhotel.com

Marmaris, across from the Hanover train station, offers Turkish cuisine, with lamb burgers and salmon among the many choices, coming with salad and rice. There is good food, and they are very friendly and helpful, though not much English is spoken. This is just one of many vendors on the first floor of a two-floor food court.

The lamb burger was too spicy for me, but the salmon was very nice. There's seating in the area.

Their friendliness set a pleasant tone during our meal there; it more than makes up for the lack of fluent English.

Bistro Damisch, open 24 hours a day, offers a breakfast with two eggs, bacon, coffee, tea, or juice for 3.50€ that is made in a few minutes, though the high-heat cooking would burn the eggs. There's fruit, pre-made sandwiches, and salads. The service is designed for quick customer turnaround. I chose fresh-squeezed orange juice to go with my breakfast instead of coffee. The orange juice served here was very good. The food was very good. It is definitely worth a visit.

Sprengel Museum Hannover, a modern art museum established 1979, houses works from artists including Pablo Picasso, Ferdinand Léger, Max Ernst, Emil Nolde, Paul Klee and Max Beckmann. Entrance fee is €7, reduced €4.

Tuesday 10am-8pm, Wednesday-Sunday 10am-6pm, closed Mondays, 24.12, 25.12, 31.12, check with opening times on website for 26.12, 1.1

Phone +49 511 168 - 4 38 75, Fax +49 511 168 - 4 50 93

email sprengel-museum@hannover-stadt.de

Bus 131 from Kröpcke or taxi from the main railway station

The Red Thread is a 4km self-guided walking trail following a painted red line, with numbers to highlight things worth mentioning. There's a small paperback book for 3€ covering 32 points of interest. The red line path is supposed to be repainted annually, but on parts of the path, the red paint has almost completely worn off.

We started this in the late afternoon after the bus tour and a meal. After dark, we couldn't see some of the sights and the trail had us zigzagging through the area. In the end we called it quits and didn't see it all, but the parts we did see while there was still light were nice.

Tourismus Service is next to the Hanover train station to the right on the next block as you exit the main entrance. You need to pre-book and pay for your tickets prior to the tour. Boarding is right outside the tourism office, on an island with two yellow mail boxes. A two-and-a-half-hour city bus tour of the main sights is €15 per person, every Saturday at 1330 (daily at 1330 from 17 March to 30 September).

We didn't find this tour very good for the English-speaking tourists, as most of the talk is conducted much more extensively in German. Only a light talk is given for the few English-speaking tourists. If you're fluent in German, you'd probably get better value out of it.

For the Tourist Office: Hanover Information, Ernst-August Pl 2, exit the main entrance of the train station, turn right, and it's just across the street on the next block. It's a full-service travel agency, providing information, maps, a hotel list and accommodation bookings for €6.50 fee in person (free on the phone, reservation 12345 555; fax 12345 556) and selling tickets to concerts and exhibits. Purchase your Red Thread self-guided book tour here.

We had pre-booked the Hanover city bus tour and came to the office to pay and get our tickets. They couldn't find our reservation. My partner produced an email document on the booking, and they managed to allow us onto the bus. They offer 12 themed tours, ranging from €3-15, Tel 16 84 97 34.

Monday-Friday 9am-6pm, Saturday 9am-2pm; May-Sept also Sunday 9am-2pm

Tel 16 84 97 00