Lüneburg Heath

North Germany's sea of purple heather and a family holiday region, with horse-drawn carriage rides at Wilsede, Heide Park, the Serengeti-Park and Weltvogelpark Walsrode.

The Lüneburg Heath (Lüneburger Heide) lies in northern Lower Saxony, between Hamburg, Bremen and Hanover, and is one of the largest heathland landscapes in Central Europe. This open heath is a cultural landscape shaped since the Middle Ages by forest clearance and grazing by Heidschnucke sheep; today the area around Wilsede is protected as a nature reserve and nature park, where junipers, sandy tracks, thatched farmhouses and flocks of sheep make up a classic North German rural scene. From mid-August to mid-September the heather blooms and paints the heath purple — the best time to visit and the season for village heather festivals. Summer is peak season for the theme parks, most of which close in winter. There are two ways to explore: the nature route centres on Undeloh, Wilsede, the Totengrund and the Wilseder Berg in the north, which you can explore on foot, by bike or by horse-drawn carriage, along with the Pietzmoor bog and Höpen heather garden in Schneverdingen; the family route centres on Soltau, with Heide Park (northern Germany's largest theme park), the Serengeti-Park drive-through safari, Weltvogelpark Walsrode, the indoor ski slope at Bispingen and wildlife parks. The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp memorial is also here for those wishing to reflect on history. Transport: the A7 motorway runs the length of the region, about an hour's drive from Hamburg or Hanover, and Hamburg Airport is the closest; the Heidebahn regional railway links towns such as Soltau and Schneverdingen, but sights are spread out, so driving is recommended. Plan on 2–3 days, and book accommodation early for the heather season and summer holidays. Note: motor vehicles are banned in the core of the reserve, so park in the designated car parks; the old towns of Lüneburg and Celle are covered under the Hamburg and Hanover itineraries respectively.

Top sights

• Heide Park Resort – The largest theme park in northern Germany, known for its wooden coaster Colossos and a super-tall drop tower, with an adventure-themed hot…
• Wilsede & Totengrund – The heart of the Lüneburg Heath nature reserve, where the car-free village of Wilsede and the funnel-shaped Totengrund valley offer the mos…
• Serengeti-Park Hodenhagen – One of Europe's largest drive-through safari parks, where you can drive or ride a safari bus past giraffes, zebras, lions and tigers.
• Weltvogelpark Walsrode – One of the world's most species-rich bird parks, with about 4,000 birds spread across gardens and large flight aviaries, and spectacular fr…
• Wilseder Berg – The high point of the North German plain at 169 m, with heather moorland on every side and, on a clear day, a view of Hamburg.
• Bergen-Belsen Memorial – A Nazi concentration camp site where Anne Frank died. Today the heath is dotted with mass graves and memorials.
• Wildpark Lüneburger Heide – A forest zoo focused on European native animals, where you can see wolves, bears, lynx and feed the deer.
• Snow Dome Bispingen – A year-round indoor ski hall with a 300-metre slope for skiing and snowboarding, and an alpine-hut-style restaurant.
• Undeloh – A village of thatched-roof houses on the northern edge of the heath, the starting point for carriage rides and walks to Wilsede, with a 12t…
• Pietzmoor – A raised peat bog beside Schneverdingen, crossed by wooden boardwalks through cotton grass and peat pools.
• Höpen Heath Garden, Schneverdingen – A themed heath garden in Schneverdingen, the self-proclaimed 'Heath Blossom City', and the main venue for the heath blossom festival.
• Ebstorf Abbey – A Gothic red-brick convent on the eastern side of the heath, famous for a replica of the giant medieval Ebstorf World Map.
• Hösseringen Open-Air Museum – An open-air museum with more than 30 relocated old farmhouses, showing the traditional farming life of the Lüneburg Heath.
• Otter-Zentrum Hankensbüttel – A lakeside nature park where you can see otters, badgers and mustelids up close. Feeding talks are the liveliest times.
• Soltau Therme – A salt-water thermal bath in central Soltau, with indoor and outdoor pools and sauna areas, ideal for unwinding after a day out.
• Designer Outlet Soltau – A factory outlet laid out like a North German red-brick town beside the A7 motorway, with about 80 brand stores and tax refunds available.
• Spielmuseum Soltau – A historic toy museum in the old town with centuries of dolls, tin soldiers and wooden toys, many of which you can play with.
• German Tank Museum – Germany's largest tank museum, in the garrison town of Munster, displaying more than a hundred armoured vehicles from the First World War t…

Where to eat

• Zum Heidemuseum Wilsede – Thatched inn of more than a century in car-free Wilsede village on the Lüneburg Heath, where heath lamb dishes and hous…
• Landhaus Haverbeckhof – Gateway inn to the heath, run by a nature conservation association; its lamb comes from its own flock, and buckwheat ca…
• Hof Tütsberg – Country kitchen in a 16th-century thatched farmstead, with heath lamb and game sourced from organic farms within the na…
• Rieckmann's Tafelhuus – Hotel restaurant in the center of Bispingen, run by the same family for six generations, serving everything from heath…

Itineraries

• Fairy Tale Road Northern Section: 6-Day Self-Drive Itinerary – Drive south from Bremen along the Weser River to Kassel, connecting the Brothers Grimm fairy tales and the town of the…
• Lüneburg Heath in Bloom: 5-Day Family Self-Drive Itinerary – Drive from Hamburg to Hanover through the purple heathlands, hiking through the blossoms, visiting a theme park, and ex…