10 Best Family Things to Do in Hannover

Hannover Zoo, also known as Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover, showcases animals from 5 continents in their natural habitats with educational programmes and daily shows. The zoo showcases more than 230 species and hundreds of representative creatures. Some of these are endangered species, with conservation being one of the zoo’s primary goals. Regular educational showcases about the importance of conserving these creatures are held where kids will learn about ecology in the world we share. The zoo is renowned for its elephant breeding programme as well, with a number of these majestic creatures on display.

You will also find food kiosks and an onsite gift shop. The zoo is just 10 minutes east of the city centre.

Serengeti Park Hodenhagen offers a safari adventure in the heart of Germany as you ride through a wildlife park with free-roaming animals, like African explorers of old. You will get on an open-sided bus driven by an expert tour guide and see over 1,500 wild animals from all different countries in a natural environment as you ride over 6 miles of land. You will experience lions and tigers, rhinos, elephants, antelope, water buffaloes and many others. At the island area on the jungle safari, you will see around 200 primates without cages.

The park also offers 40 thrill rides and stunning live shows. It’s about an hour north of the Hannover city centre.

PirateRock-Hochseilgarten Hannover is a climbing park resembling a stranded pirate ship that allows you to swing, balance and climb over a high ropes course. Here you and the family can put your skills to the test as you climb up the masts and navigate swaying bridges, soar along a 140-metre zip line and experience 3 different levels of climbing challenges with increasing difficulty. Every pirate should find something to thrill and excite them here. In addition, the onsite Seehaus restaurant offers delicious eats when you get hungry.

Safety gear is provided, and trainers are on site to provide instruction for novice climbers. It’s 25 minutes north of the Hannover city centre.

Rasti-Land is an adventure theme park with thrill rides, water rides, games, playground areas and themed worlds that take you on an adventure through fantasy and history. You can explore a pirate playground and ride toboggans, slides, bumper cars and a rollercoaster. You can also drive a car on the children’s highway or the go-kart track, or head for the historical fair to ride a traditional carousel or Ferris wheel. The Family Drop Tower allows to you experience freefall from high in the air. The park even offers a flume and a whitewater rafting ride.

The park features more than 40 attractions over 16 hectares of space. It’s located about 45 minutes south of the Hannover city centre.

Weltvogelpark Walsrode, also known as Walsrode Bird Park, is among the largest bird parks in the world, both in terms of the land it covers and the species it features. The park covers 24 hectares of land and is home to more than 4,000 birds representing more than 540 species. The birds on display represent every climatic zone and continent worldwide. The park has been going strong for over 6 decades and is a major visitor attraction.

The park offers a variety of internal and exterior aviaries and enclosures, and live falconry shows. All birds thrive in environs modelled after their natural habitats. It’s about an hour north of Hannover.

Dino Park takes you back to the days when dinosaurs ruled the world, with more than 300 lifelike dinosaurs on display as well as fossils, tracks and educational exhibits. The life-sized dinosaurs are up to 148 feet long, and you'll also see statues of mammoths and sabre-toothed cats as well as skeletons and the Dinosaur Tracks Natural Monument that protects and displays over 300 original dinosaur tracks from the Cretaceous period. You can see the actual footprints of creatures like the Allosaurus, Iguanodon and Diplodocus.

The attractions include fossil hunting, excavation, touch labs and constantly rotating new exhibits. It’s about 45 minutes west of the city centre.

Heide Park Resort offers an adventure hotel, a holiday camp for longer stays, over 40 attractions, 7 thrill rides and the themed Peppa Pig Land for the kids. This theme park and resort offers lots of fun and excitement whether you are on a day out or here for a full stay. The thrill rides include rollercoasters such as Colossos, Scream, Big Loop, Flug der Dämonen and others. Also onsite is an entire area themed around the 'How to Train Your Dragon' movies where kids can meet their favourite costumed characters.

Special events include the Carnival, Pride Festival, Oktoberfest and Halloween, among others. The park can be found just over an hour north of the Hannover city centre.

Potts Park is a family adventure and theme park with an onsite science centre where you can ride thrill rides, enjoy educational hands-on experiences and have a wild time. Many of the attractions here are of the family-friendly variety like wheelbarrow races and tossing games. A more traditional theme park experience is also available with wild water rides, rollercoasters, carousels and a hang-glider ride called Turbo Drachen.

The science centre offers more than 130 exhibits from physics and thermodynamics to optics and beyond. The exhibitions are hands-on and interactive. A covered children’s area includes playgrounds, slides and a water garden. Potts Park is about an hour west of the city centre.

Superfly Hannover offers the chance to challenge your family on the ultimate obstacle course with ninja-style obstacles and a massive trampoline where you can run, bounce and fly all day. The indoor adventure park covers 3,000 square metres of space. It features a ninja course, waterfall trampolines, a battle bridge where you can duke it out, an area where you can run vertically up a wall, aerial dodgeball, acrobatic swinging attractions, flying slam dunk courts, tumbling lanes and many other attractions, all dedicated to jumping, bouncing and soaring through the air.

Also onsite you will find a gift shop and eateries so you can easily spend the whole day here. It’s about 30 minutes north of the city centre.

Magic Park Verden is a magic-themed amusement park in North Germany on the A27 motorway that specialises in fairy tales and enchantment. It bills itself as 'Germany’s only amusement park for magic' and is a named stop along the German Fairy Tale Route, a 370-mile route with many amusement and historical attractions dedicated to the Brothers Grimm.

Magic Park Verden offers spectacular live magic shows, tons of thrill rides, a petting zoo and a playground with a giant slide. The park also offers many food stands and a sit-down restaurant. Featured rides include the Iron Snake rollercoaster, Feuerstuhl’s Wave Ride, the Flying Knight swing boat and the Dragon Run above the lake.