Germany Guide
Lower Saxony
Berggarten
Address: Herrenhäuser Allee
Opening time: Daily: April– Oct 9am–7/8pm; Nov– March 9am–5pm
Price: €2 or €4 combined ticket with Grosser Garten
The Berggarten was intended to house rare blooms in its greenhouses, some of which remain to house the largest permanent display of orchids in Europe. Laves's garden library, the Bibliothekspavillon, which is framed as you walk up Herrenhäuser Allee, flanks the other side of the entrance. He also designed a mausoleum of the Hannover kings which lies in front of a rhododendron thicket that blooms in late May to earn its name, Paradies (Paradise). The latest attraction, opened in 2007, is Sea Life (daily 10am–6pm; €12.95; www.sealifeeurope.com), a kiddie-friendly aquarium and rainforest bubble that's at its best in a tunnel beneath a "Caribbean Sea".