GERMANY - Europe by Eurail 2015: Touring Europe by Train - page 247

for a nominal charge. The booklet fits easily in your hand—or it's small enough to
slip into your pocket if you want to avoid looking like a tourist. It contains a map
outlining the two-hour walking tour and describes 36 points of interest you will pass
while following the Red Thread. Take a camera with a wide-angle lens. Each point
of interest has been numbered and the number placed so that if you stand on the
number while photographing the scene, you'll have the best shot possible.
Highlights of the Red Thread walking tour include the Gallerie Luise, a pedes-
trian shopping area; the city's 1852 Opera House; the old city wall; and the new
city hall. Hannover's oldest half-timbered building, dating from 1566, is also seen
on the tour, which ends “under the stallion's tail”—unless you have succumbed on
the tour route to the charm of the local fräuleins or bierstube.
Bus tours are conducted daily. The tour, which is described in English, takes
2½ hours; tickets, €15 for adults and €10 for children up to age 14 and college
students. It starts at 1100 daily April-October; Saturday only the remainder of the
year.
Purchase a one-day (€9.50) or three-day (€17.50) HannoverCard at the tourist
information office and receive a 40 percent reduction on the tour. Group tickets for
up to five persons are also available: one day €19.50, three days €33.50. Other
benefits include free travel on all GVH buses and trams in fare zones 1 and 2 and
myriad other sightseeing reduced fares, including a cruise on Hannover's down-
town lake, Maschsee.