Göttingen

Gänseliesel, Gauss's grave and the Stadtwall in a day

Göttingen's old town fits into one day on foot. Walk ten minutes from the Bahnhof to the Marktplatz for the Altes Rathaus and the Gänseliesel fountain, spend midday in the university quarter and the Old Botanical Garden, then follow the Wall to Gauss's grave and the Stadtfriedhof, where eight Nobel laureates lie.

Morning. From the Bahnhof, walk ten minutes east to the Marktplatz. The Altes Rathaus, built between the 14th and 15th centuries, houses the tourist office; step into its great hall to see the walls painted with the arms of fellow Hanseatic towns. Outside stands the Gänseliesel, the small bronze goose girl on her fountain. Wander the lanes around St. Johannis and the Barfüßerstraße, where the carved half-timbered Junkernschänke is one of the finest houses in town.

Midday. Head up Weender Straße to the university quarter. The Old Botanical Garden, laid out in 1736, is a peaceful green pocket just inside the rampart, and Forum Wissen, the university's museum of knowledge near the station, shows off its scientific collections.

Afternoon. Walk the Wall clockwise to the south-east corner and the Albanifriedhof, where Gauss is buried. Then take a bus or a 15-minute walk west to the Stadtfriedhof on Kasseler Landstraße to find the graves of eight Nobel laureates, among them Max Planck, Otto Hahn and Max Born.

Evening. Dinner in the old town, then a beer in one of the student pubs tucked into the lanes east of the Marktplatz. With another day, climb through the Stadtwald to the Bismarck tower or take the train to Hann. Münden, where the Werra and Fulda meet to form the Weser.

Weender Straße döner, Feldkieker and the Szültenbürger

Eating out in Göttingen is shaped by its 30,000 students, so it is plentiful and cheap. Döner shops off Weender Straße are the everyday staple, Feldkieker sausage from the nearby Eichsfeld is the regional speciality, and Zum Szültenbürger on Prinzenstraße is the classic pub for Bratwurst, roast pork and winter Grünkohl.

Thirty thousand students set the tone of eating out in Göttingen: plenty of it, much of it cheap. Döner kebab is the true local staple, and every student has a favourite shop near the Johanniskirche or on the side streets off Weender Straße; arguing about which is best is half the fun. Vietnamese, Persian, Mexican and Italian kitchens are spread through the old town, many open late.

For regional food, look to the countryside. This corner of southern Lower Saxony borders the Eichsfeld, whose Feldkieker, an air-dried pork sausage shaped like a bladder and aged for months, is a protected speciality; you will find it at butchers and on market stalls, sliced thin with dark bread. Hearty plates of Bratwurst with potatoes, roast pork and seasonal Grünkohl (kale with smoked sausage) in winter fill the menus of traditional pubs. A long-standing student favourite is Bratwurst Glöckle at the Kornmarkt.

The classic old pub is Zum Szültenbürger on Prinzenstraße, with dark wood, solid food and beer. For something calmer, the Persian Cafe Botanik on Untere Karspüle serves breakfasts and big pots of spiced tea near the botanical garden. In summer, the outdoor tables around the Marktplatz and the Gänseliesel fill from mid-afternoon.