You’re at Göttingen, Germany or plan to go there and you don’t know yet what to do? No problem – check out this list of the best things you can do in and around Göttingen. There is much to see and do!
Walk through the city center and meet the Gänseliesel: Göttingen is a medieval city with a clearly defined inner city that is surrounded by the old fortifications. Inside you’ll find good bars, restaurants and shopping opportunities. But also wonderful churches, the fantastic old town hall and the goose girl in front. If you receive your PhD you are brought there, have to bring her flowers and kiss here. A wonderful tradition!
Walk around a nice lake and grab some ice cream: the most important relaxation area of Göttingen is around the lake Kiessee. You can simply go for a walk around it, rent a boat, play at the nice playground or the natural area in the south. Or you can simply grab an ice cream at the restaurant, sit in the sun and enjoy the scenery. Read more...
Enjoy a nice indoor swimming pool or hop into the sauna: especially in case of bad weather! At Göttingen you will find the nice indoor pool and sauna on the Eiswiese with different pools for swimming and playing (called the Badeparadies). There is a lazy river and an outdoor pool, too. The sauna is great and they especially have a nice outdoor section. Afterwards you can have some gyros at the Greek restaurant Poseidon located in the same building. Read more…
Visit some deer and wild boars at the Kehr: It is one of the things people from Göttingen, Germany love to do on weekends: have a walk at the Kehr within the woods belonging to the city. There you will find deer and wild boars in two separate areas, you can buy some animal feed and take a round course which is approximately three kilometers long. Also a nice walk with children. Read more…
Do some bar hopping: due to the university and the many students Göttingen is the city with the highest bar density in northern Germany. Start at the Wilhelmsplatz (probably at the Thanner’s Tag- und Nachtschänke) and then make your way from bar to bar. In Göttingen they are all concentrated in the city center. Final stop is typically the Déjà-vû that is open until the sun is fully up again.
Walk around on the Wall: the ancient fortification of Göttingen is new a green ring surrounding the city center. Walking on it is nice and it gives you some alternative views on the city. Have a look into the botanical garden, see the Bismarckhäuschen (where Fürst Bismarck was living while studying) and find the old mill at the Leinekanal.
Relax on the Schillerwiesen or play some crazy golf: it is the relaxation area close to the city center. They Schillerwiesen are a nice place to play, walk around, have a barbecue or some ice cream. And you can play crazy golf if you want to.
Have a beer on the Wilhelmsplatz: in Southern Europe it is normal to just meet with a beer on a public space. In Göttingen there is also a place for that in summer times. Traditionally the young people meet on the Wilhelmsplatz (especially on Wednesday evenings) and have fun there. Join the crowd – you can buy drinks at shops close-by.
Go into the student jail: in earlier days the university was responsible to punish students who did stupid things. And therefore there is also a jail within the Aula at the Wilhelmsplatz. On a guided tour (book online in advance!) you can see how the students decorated their cell walls beautifully.
Watch some plants at the Alter Botanischer Garten: the old botanical garden is located next to the city center – you can enter it from the old Auditorium next to the Weender Tor. Discover some plants you’ve never seen – especially in the greenhouses they’ve got some exotic plants that sometimes attract many visitors when in full bloom.
See the Sternwarte of Carl-Friedrich Gauß: south of the old city center (next to the new town hall) you can find the old observatory of Göttingen. It is the place Carl-Friedrich Gauß worked at – did you know that he, his inventions and Göttingen were on the bank note worth ten German Marks?
Walk through the blind alley of the Forum Wissen: The museum next to the railway station focusses on knowledge; what it is and how it is created. Even people who have not studied can learn how research works and visit places were it happens: the laboratory, the ‘field’, the library, the archive, the desk. You can even walk through the blind alley like every scientist (in German it is called the ‘Holzweg’ which translates to ‘wooden path’). Read more…
Climb on top of church St. Johannis: in the city center of Göttingen there are three beautiful churches (that you can all see from one point near the old town hall, the ‘Drei-Kirchen-Blick‘). One of them is St. Johannis that has nice towers. On one of them students could live free of charge in the past. You can get up on a guided tour – but you’ll have to book that in advance.
Have a look at modern art at the Kunsthaus: Göttingen didn’t have many museums and art exhibition halls in the past. That started to change in 2008 when publisher Gerhard Steidl and mayor Wolfgang Meyer presented the idea of the Kunstquartier (art quarter, KuQua) with an art exhibition place at its heart: the Kunsthaus. In 2021 this place for exhibiting works on paper, photography and new media was finally opened and now attracts national and international visitors. Read more…
Hike to the Bismarckturm in the forest: the people of Göttingen admired Otto von Bismarck and as he had studied in their town they built a tower for him that opened in 1896. It is located in the forest above the city quarter Geismar and is therefore a famous target destination for a hike. Read more…
Discover the ruins on the Kerstlingeröder Feld: If you stroll through the large Stadtwald you will sometime also reach a 200 hectares large field – the Kerstlingeröder Felder. It is an area within the forest that has been used for different purposes over time. Today you can discover ruins of a former estate once managing this land, find the strange remains of military forces like a tank washing area, you can just hang out in the green, and there are also excellent paths for cyclists and runners. Read more…
Search for the grotto with the bronze statue: The Kleiner Reinsbrunnen was used for a very long time to supply the city with water – it was framed first in 1568. Today it has the style of a grotto with a bronze woman at its center, arising from the water and holding a baby in her arms. Many tales are connected to the spring; it is said that you can see your unborn siblings in the water, women expected to see their future husbands and drinking the water in Easter nights should bring many children. Read more…
Explore the forest and find the hidden elephant loo: A strange building made of stone hidden behind high trees in the forest. A temple? A ruin? If you walk around the building on the Klausberg in Göttingen, Germany, you will spot a tiny inscription: ‘Gedenkstein für Otto von Bismarck‘, a memorial for the former imperial chancellor. It is officially called ‘Bismarckstein‘ but the locals have a different name for it: ‘Elefantenklo‘ (elephant loo). Read more…
Try Göttingens best grilled sausage: Is it a clever idea to put a charcoal-fired grill into the stairway of your home and to sell grilled sausages from there? Well, in 1920 someone in Göttingen thought so and the fire is still burning! The Bratwurst Glöckle is easy to overlook if you don’t know where you have to search for it. Keep your eyes wide open at the intersection of Kornmarkt and Groner Straße/Lange-Geismar-Straße to find the best Bratwurst and Currywurst in town. Read more…
Watch an arthouse movie in a former church: The Méliès is a small cinema located in a former Baptist church close to the Bürgerstraße, the ring surrounding the city center. The old church dates back to the year 1903 and was standing empty for about 35 years until a new usage and an investor had been found. Now it houses a special cinema, the former altar is now stage and screen and the gallery of the church has been preserved so that the former character of the building remains. Read more…
Spot some zebus at the Flütewehr: Many people in Göttingen prefer to spend their time in the south of the city, very often close to the Flütewehr. There a dam redirects river Leine to the east, leaving only a small stream called Flüte who passes the Kiessee. They dam can be used to cross the river and close-by dogs can swim in the water. As the newest addition a biotope with zebus has been created. Read more…
Take a tour through Europe’s last traditional saline: Salt, also referred to as the white gold, is used for many purposes: for nutrition and cosmetics, to clear roads in winter time, to preserve food and many more. Sodium chloride (NaCl) is typically gathered from sea water (sea salt) or by mining halite (rock salt) underground. In few cases brine is gathered from the ground, a highly concentrated solution of salt in water – it is then heated to let the water evaporate. One of these places is the Saline Luisenhall at Göttingen, Germany; Europe’s last saline that uses giant iron pans to recover salt from brine. Read more…