A popular destination at the coast is the Wadden Sea of Lower Saxony, which is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site. This tidal area is home to more than 10,000 animal and plant species. One Wadden Sea inhabitant is especially popular with visitors: the seal. To get close to these animals, head to the seal house in the German Wadden Sea National Park.

One of the oldest tourist attractions is Lüneburg Heath. Starting in August, the lilac bloom spectacle attracts some 5 million tourists every year. A shepherd with a flock of docile heathland sheep completes the picture of this pastoral idyll. A nature reserve since 1922, it's not only the oldest, but also — at 23,437 hectares (about 57,914 acres) — the largest wildlife sanctuary in Lower Saxony.

The famous landmark of the state capital is the New Town Hall. Take the unique lift, the only one in Europe with an arched course, to the observation platform for a great view of the city with its narrow old town alleys, sailing boats on the Maschsee lake and the Sprengel modern art museum. Must-see exhibits there include the colorful giant female sculptures by artist Niki de Saint Phalle.

"I want to ride my bicycle; I want to ride my bike!": The band Queen would have a marvelous time on Lower Saxony's bike routes. The Weser cycle path follows the river some 500 kilometers (300 miles) all the way to the North Sea Weser estuary. The route runs past many old castles, like this one in Polle. Cyclists also repeatedly cross the river, at times using a hand-operated ferry.

Anyone visiting the Weser Uplands should definitely go to Hamelin. Many buildings in the old town are built in the Weser renaissance style, a northern German version of the Italian architecture. Yet the town is best known the world over for the folktale of the pied piper of Hamelin describing the disappearance of city's children. The tale has been translated into more than 30 different languages.

The Rammelsberg mine in Goslar is one of the world's oldest ore extraction sites. Here at the foot of the Harz Mountains, ore was mined for more than 1,000 years. The power for the mining work was won from a complex system of water ditches and reservoirs, including one of the oldest dams in Europe. The Rammelsberg mine and the old town center of Goslar are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim are also classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hildesheim was first mentioned in official records some 1,200 years ago. According to legend, Emperor Louis the Pious is said to have experienced a divine miracle here, and founded St. Mary's Cathedral on the site as a way of giving thanks.

Lower Saxony is horse country. The noble animal has adorned the northern German state's coat of arms since 1946. It's little surprise, then, that this is where you'll find Germany's only princely school of dressage at Bückeburg Castle. The stables in this 17th century building are home to horses of the still existing baroque breeds for dressage.

If you're after a more modern version of horsepower, then head to the VW factory in Wolfsburg, one of Germany's newest towns. It was founded for the VW car factory workers in 1938, and vehicles are still produced here today. A walk through the town also gives you an insight into the history and the future of car manufacturing.

In the year AD 9, Germanic leader Arminius lured Roman forces led by Varus into an ambush resulting in the death of 20,000 Roman soldiers. To this day it's still unknown where exactly this famous battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place. One possible site is Kalkriese village north of Osnabrück. That's reason enough to open an archaeological museum there, where battles are reenacted for visitors.

October 25, 1648: After 30 years of war over religion and domination in Europe, the Peace of Westphalia was proclaimed on the steps of the town hall in Osnabrück. Before that, the warring parties had negotiated from 1643 to 1648 not only in Osnabrück but also in Münster. The result ensured a lasting religious peace. Today the town hall is the symbol of the city.

Why were Osnabrück and Münster chosen as places for negotiations in the religious war? Münster was Catholic, Osnabrück Protestant. Both cities were also only a day's ride apart. The Peace Hall in Osnabrück's town hall commemorates the people involved in the negotiations. Here the portraits of 42 European envoys and rulers of the time hang.

Protestant church St. Mary's is one of four medieval churches in Osnabrück. In former times it was a merchants' church, which was also used for secular purposes. There was a vestibule for meetings and a storage floor for goods. The church was redesigned several times in the course of time. Visitors can ascend the tower, which offers a great view of the city.

The people of Osnabrück love the marketplace. It is framed on one side by the town hall and St. Mary's Church, and on the other side by colorful town houses with stepped gables. This is also where the hobby-horse riding competition takes place, where children ride on wooden horses to the town hall. A custom that commemorates the peace treaty of 1648 and takes place every year around October 25.  

In 780 the later emperor Charlemagne founded the diocese of Osnabrück. In 785 the first church was built, which was destroyed by the Normans 100 years later. After a fire around 1100, the reconstruction gradually took on its present form with its distinctive, uneven towers. Also preserved is the cloister with the canons' cemetery, a place of calm in the middle of the city.

Prince Bishop Ernst August von Braunschweig-Lüneburg had a baroque castle built as his residence in Osnabrück from 1667. During the Nazi era, the Gestapo secret state police used the building as an interrogation and prison center. Today the castle houses the presidency and administration of the University of Osnabrück. There are no sightseeing tours, but the palace garden is open to the public.

The Felix-Nussbaum-Museum was built by the famous architect Daniel Libeskind, whose signature is clearly visible. The museum houses the world's most comprehensive collection of works by the Jewish artist Felix Nussbaum. An Osnabrück native, the artist documented the Holocaust of the Jews in Europe, to which he himself fell victim. In 1944 he was murdered in Auschwitz.

In the year 9 AD, the famed Varus Battle probably took place in the Osnabrück region, in which the Germanic tribes under Arminius crushed the Roman legions of Varus. In Kalkriese a museum and an archaeological park recall the events. In addition, the Roman and Germanic Days take place here every two years, during which hundreds of actors reenact the Battle of Varus.

Osnabrück is situated on the edge of the Teutoburg Forest, three parallel ridges of up to 150 kilometers (93 mi.) in length. The area is divided into two large nature parks. "My heart is green with forest," local poet Christian Dietrich Grabbe once wrote about the region. There are dense forests as far as the eye can see — wonderful for hiking and cycling.