Braunschweig travel guide
Henry the Lion's bronze, a Vermeer and the Oker ring around the old town
Braunschweig is a university city in Lower Saxony built around Henry the Lion's 12th-century castle square, with a cathedral, timber-framed quarters and an art museum holding Rembrandt and Vermeer. Highs of 19 to 24C make late spring and summer the best time. Two days is enough for the city, three with a Harz or Wolfenbüttel day trip. Prices are high.
Braunschweig, called Brunswick in English, is Lower Saxony's second city, an hour east of Hanover where the Oker stops being navigable and the plain begins to rise toward the Harz. People come for Henry the Lion. The twelfth-century duke ruled Saxony and Bavaria from here, set a bronze lion on a pedestal outside his palace in 1166 and lies buried in the cathedral he founded a few steps away.
Wartime bombing flattened most of the medieval centre, so the old town survives as a set of islands rather than one continuous whole. The Burgplatz holds the lion, the Romanesque cathedral of St Blasius and the rebuilt Dankwarderode palace; the Altstadtmarkt keeps a Gothic town hall and the twin towers of St Martin; the Magniviertel is a cluster of timber-framed houses around St Magni. Between them runs a modern shopping core, and around the whole lot the Oker splits into two arms that ring the centre with water.
This is a working university and research city of about 250,000, home to the Technical University and the German aviation authorities, with Volkswagen's Wolfsburg plant 30 km up the road. Two days covers the sights comfortably. A third lets you add Wolfenbüttel's ducal library town or the old mining town of Goslar on the edge of the Harz.
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Top things to do in Braunschweig
Most sights cluster on and around the Burgplatz, the Altstadtmarkt and the Magniviertel, with the art museum on the edge of the park east of the ring.
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Best time to visit Braunschweig
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Highs of 22-24C and the most rain of the year (about 70 mm in July and August), mostly in short showers; the best months for canoes on the Oker and the beach bar by the river.
Around 19C by day and noticeably fewer showers than midsummer; local asparagus fills menus from late April to June, chanterelles follow in late summer.
Grey, with highs of 4-8C and frost at night, but the Christmas market around the cathedral and kale season make up for it; February's Schoduvel carnival parade brings big crowds.
The Schoduvel carnival parade on the weekend before Shrove Tuesday is the largest in northern Germany; trams are diverted and hotels near the route fill up, so book early or avoid that weekend.
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Getting there
From Hannover Airport or by ICE along the Berlin line
Most visitors fly into Hannover Airport (HAJ), about 60 km west. The S-Bahn runs from the terminal to Hannover Hauptbahnhof in under 20 minutes, and from there regional and ICE trains reach Braunschweig in about 35-45 minutes; allow roughly an hour door to door, or 30-40 minutes by car on the A2 when traffic is light. Braunschweig's own airport, north-east of the city, is mainly a research field for the Technical University and the aviation authorities, with only a handful of seasonal holiday charters to the Mediterranean. Braunschweig Hauptbahnhof lies on the main Berlin to Ruhr line, so ICE trains from Berlin take around 90 minutes and Frankfurt is under three hours. The station sits about 1.5 km south-east of the old town, beside a shopping centre and little else; take a tram to the Rathaus or Schloss stops, around ten minutes, or walk 20 minutes through the Viewegs Garten park. By road, the A2 passes just north of the city, with the A39 and A391 feeding into the ring.
- Hannover Airport
- S-Bahn to Hannover Hbf, then train to Braunschweig; about 1 hour in total
- Berlin
- Direct ICE, about 90 minutes
- Hauptbahnhof to the centre
- Tram, about 10 minutes, or a 20-minute walk
- Local trains
- Goslar and the Harz, Wolfenbüttel and the Lüneburg Heath without changing
- For day trips buy a Niedersachsen-Ticket, a day pass on all regional trains in the state for up to five people.
- Avoid driving the A2 on Friday afternoons; it is one of Europe's busiest truck routes and jams are routine.
Where to stay
Magniviertel lanes, the Burgplatz or the Östliches Ringgebiet
Stay inside the Oker ring if you can. Everything worth seeing in town is then a short walk away, and the trams to the station run past most hotels. The station area is convenient for early trains but dull, and the cheaper chain hotels along the A2 north of town only make sense with a car.
- Burgplatz and Kohlmarkt
- Steps from the lion, the cathedral and the main shopping streets; the busiest part of town and pricier
- Magniviertel
- Quiet cobbled lanes of timber-framed houses with small restaurants; few hotels, so book early
- Östliches Ringgebiet
- Late 19th-century apartment blocks east of the ring near the Staatstheater and Prinz-Albrecht-Park; good for apartment rentals, a 15-minute walk in
- Around the Hauptbahnhof
- Practical for rail day trips and business stays; little atmosphere in the evening
- Rooms are tight during trade fairs in Hanover and on Eintracht Braunschweig home match weekends, so check the calendar before booking.
Getting around
BSVG trams around the Oker ring
The old centre is compact and the shopping streets between the Schloss and the Altstadtmarkt are car-free, so walking is the default. For anything further out, the Braunschweiger Verkehrs-GmbH runs trams and buses across the city and into the surrounding district; tickets come from machines at major stops and inside trams, or from the operator's app, and one ticket covers transfers within its time limit. Trams run every few minutes on the core lines through the Rathaus stop. Driving is the slow option: the city is said to have more traffic lights per head than anywhere in Germany, and commuter traffic from Peine clogs the approach roads at rush hour, though a parking guidance system steers you to free spaces in the centre's garages. Cycling works well on flat ground, with bike lanes along the ring roads and through the Bürgerpark. Most enjoyable of all is a canoe: boats can be hired near the Kennedyplatz and paddled around the Oker loop that circles the old town.
- Tram and bus
- BSVG network, tickets from machines, onboard or by app
- Canoe
- Hire near Kennedyplatz and paddle the Oker around the centre
- Car
- Park once in a garage on the ring and walk
- The walk from the Burgplatz to the Magniviertel and on to the Schloss takes about ten minutes; save the trams and buses for the station and Riddagshausen.
Know before you go
Henry the Lion's city has a castle square, half-timbered corners and a lively centre.
Why travelers love it
- The Burgplatz at dusk, with the lion on its plinth, the cathedral front and the half-timbered guild houses all lit up.
- Vermeer's Girl with the Wine Glass and the Rembrandts at the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, one of Germany's oldest public museums.
- Paddling the Oker ring, which slips under bridges and past villa gardens without leaving the city.
Good to know
- The bronze lion on the Burgplatz is a copy from 1980; the original belongs to Dankwarderode Castle, which needs renovation and is due to reopen in time for the city's 1,000th anniversary in 2031.
- The main station is a long walk from the sights, so take the tram and judge the city by its old centre, not the station surroundings.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Braunschweig, month by month
Northern German weather keeps Braunschweig mild, with summer highs of 19 to 24C from May to September. Choose a month for its typical temperature range and rainfall.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Braunschweig (NOAA, via Wikipedia).
Lion, cathedral and the Happy Rizzi House in a weekend
A weekend covers Braunschweig. Day one takes in the Burgplatz lion, St Blasius cathedral with Henry the Lion's tomb, the Altstadtmarkt, the Quadriga on the Schloss roof and the Happy Rizzi House in the Magniviertel. Day two suits the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, a canoe on the Oker and a lantern walk after dark.
Morning one. Start on the Burgplatz, where Henry the Lion's bronze stands guard between the cathedral and Dankwarderode. Inside the cathedral of St Blasius look for the stone tomb effigies of Henry and his English wife Matilda, and the seven-branched candelabrum in the nave. Walk five minutes to the Altstadtmarkt for the arcaded Gothic town hall, the Gewandhaus with its Renaissance gable and the Martinikirche.
Afternoon. Cross the pedestrian streets to the rebuilt Schloss. Behind the reconstructed facade is a shopping mall, but the Schlossmuseum recreates the ducal apartments, and the roof platform puts you right beside the Quadriga, the largest in Germany. Finish in the Magniviertel, where the cartoon-coloured Happy Rizzi House by the New York pop artist James Rizzi stands absurdly beside the timber frames.
Day two. Give the morning to the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum on the Museumstraße, then eat lunch nearby on the edge of the Bürgerpark. In the afternoon hire a canoe and circle the Oker, or take a bus east to Riddagshausen, a Cistercian monastery church set among fish ponds that now form a nature reserve. Back in town, book a lantern walk with Hugo the Nightwatchman, which runs through the medieval lanes after dark; English tours need a call ahead.
Mumme, Braunkohl and Till Eulenspiegel's owl pastries
Braunschweig's food signatures are Mumme, a dark malt extract once brewed as long-keeping ship's beer, and the Eulen und Meerkatzen pastries tied to Till Eulenspiegel. Seasons set the menu: white asparagus from late April into June and Braunkohl with Bregenwurst sausage in winter. Eat in the Magniviertel or on the Kohlmarkt terraces.
The city's oldest edible export is Mumme, a thick, dark malt extract first brewed as a beer that kept for months on Hanseatic ships. Today it is sold in jars to stir into sauces, sweets and even mustard, and specialist shops in the old town stock the whole range. Bakeries still sell Eulen und Meerkatzen, little owl and monkey shapes said to recall a prank by the trickster Till Eulenspiegel, who was told to bake owls and monkeys and took the order literally.
Seasons dictate the menu. From late April into June the sandy fields of the district produce white asparagus, served with ham, new potatoes and hollandaise. In winter the local favourite is Braunkohl, curly kale braised for hours and eaten with Bregenwurst, a smoked sausage, plus boiled potatoes and mustard. Chanterelles from the surrounding woods turn up in late summer. Braunschweig also gave its name to a liver sausage spread, and the butchers' counters around the Altstadtmarkt carry a serious selection of Mettwurst and cooked sausages.
For atmosphere, eat in the Magniviertel, where the timber-framed houses hold small, traditional restaurants, or on the Kohlmarkt, whose terraces fill as soon as the sun comes out. In summer the Okercabana sets out sand, deckchairs and downtempo music by the river.
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How we research our Braunschweig travel guide
Schoduvel carnival dates, museum hours and the plan to reopen Dankwarderode are tracked on braunschweig.de. Trains on the Berlin to Ruhr line come from Deutsche Bahn, and the German National Tourist Board fills in the region.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of BraunschweigGerman National Tourist BoardDeutsche Bahn
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Braunschweig questions, short and to the point.
General
No. The statue outside is a replica put up in 1980 because air pollution was damaging the bronze. The original is kept indoors at Dankwarderode Castle, now closed for repairs; the museum aims to open it again for Braunschweig's millennium in 2031, and some of its medieval pieces are on show at the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum meanwhile.
Yes. A viewing platform on the roof of the reconstructed palace lets you walk up beside Brunonia's chariot and look out over the city. Tickets are sold inside the building.
In the cathedral of St Blasius on the Burgplatz, which he founded. His effigy lies beside that of his wife Matilda, daughter of Henry II of England.
Its old masters include Vermeer's Girl with the Wine Glass, a strong group of Rembrandts and Rubens, plus Giorgione's self-portrait.
Near the Kennedyplatz, south-east of the centre. The river's two arms loop around the old town, so you can paddle a circuit and return the boat where you started.
Owl and monkey-shaped pastries sold by Braunschweig bakeries, based on the legend of Till Eulenspiegel's literal-minded baking prank.
Yes. Trains take about 35 minutes from Hanover and around 20 from Wolfsburg, and the Burgplatz, cathedral, Altstadtmarkt and Magniviertel fit into one long day on foot.
Braunschweig's carnival parade, held on the weekend before Lent, the largest of its kind in northern Germany. Expect closed streets and crowded trams along the route.
The old centre is compact and the shopping streets between the Schloss and the Altstadtmarkt are car-free, so walking is the default. For anything further out, the Braunschweiger Verkehrs-GmbH runs trams and buses across the city and into the surrounding district; tickets come from machines at major stops and inside trams, or from the operator's app, and one ticket covers transfers within its time limit. Trams run every few minutes on the core lines through the Rathaus stop.
Getting there
Usually, yes: ride the S-Bahn into Hanover and switch to a regional train or ICE heading east. Door to door it takes about an hour.
Regional trains go direct to Wolfenbüttel, home of the Herzog August Library, in about 15 minutes, and to Goslar on the edge of the Harz in under an hour. The Volkswagen Autostadt in Wolfsburg is also a short ride.
Most visitors fly into Hannover Airport (HAJ), about 60 km west. The S-Bahn runs from the terminal to Hannover Hauptbahnhof in under 20 minutes, and from there regional and ICE trains reach Braunschweig in about 35-45 minutes; allow roughly an hour door to door, or 30-40 minutes by car on the A2 when traffic is light. Braunschweig's own airport, north-east of the city, is mainly a research field for the Technical University and the aviation authorities, with only a handful of seasonal holiday charters to the Mediterranean.
Timing & weather
The best time to visit Braunschweig is May to Sep. Highs around 19-24C for canoeing the Oker ring and eating outside on the Kohlmarkt; July is the wettest month.
- Summer: June - August (Highs of 22-24C and the most rain of the year (about 70 mm in July and August), mostly in short showers; the best months for canoes on the Oker and the beach bar by the river)
- Spring and early autumn: May, September (Around 19C by day and noticeably fewer showers than midsummer; local asparagus fills menus from late April to June, chanterelles follow in late summer)
- Winter: November - February (Grey, with highs of 4-8C and frost at night, but the Christmas market around the cathedral and kale season make up for it; February's Schoduvel carnival parade brings big crowds)
Visa & documents
As a Schengen member, Germany shares one set of entry rules with most of the EU. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Pickpocketing at large stations, Christmas markets and on big-city public transport is the main risk in a very safe country. Carry ID and validate paper tickets where required. Call 110 for police and 112 for fire or ambulance.
