Hannover – the city with green fingers. An impressive 10 percent of the city’s surface area belongs to mother nature, which has given it its nickname “the green city”. You can experience nature in its purest form in the urban forest, die “Eilenriede”. Just a stone’s throw from the centre of town, old half-timbered buildings make way for the largest city park in Europe, which consists of 6.4 km² of forest. Or how about a touch of Versailles? You can easily mistake the Great Garden in Herrenhausen for the famous Parisian park – and be assured, that Electress Sophie of Hannover, initiator of the Great Garden, personally met with Louis XIV in Versailles, discussing garden architecture. The Baroque fountains, maze and open-air theatre have been popular places to rest and rejuvenate for over 300 years. But Hannover’s many parks and small gardens are also great places for a stroll, not forgetting the lake Maschsee right in the city centre. What other European metropolis can boast over 20,000 allotments? You can easily forget that you’re in Germany’s 13^th largest city.