Free-entry clubs at the Steintor, pubs on Limmerstraße, boats on the Maschsee: here's how to plan your stag do or hen party in Hanover yourself, with the best things to do for groups of men or a hen weekend.
Good to know
A draught beer (0.5 l) costs about €5 on average, and in a pub you'll get a 0.4 l Herrenhäuser from €3.70. Many clubs around the Steintor, like EVE Klub and Sansibar, charge no entry. All guide prices.
All costs and money-saving tips ↓On Friday and Saturday nights the Nachtsterne run: Stadtbahn trains from Kröpcke hourly until about 04:00, plus night buses. During the week there's no night service; after 23:00 the last trains wait for each other at Kröpcke. Taxi: Hallo Taxi 0511 3811.
üstra timetable ↗Lower Saxony has no general closing time, and no cleaning hour either. How long venues can serve outside is set by the city for each venue. Indoors, your night has no fixed end.
Between the Steintor, the main station and Raschplatz a weapons ban zone applies around the clock, including knives with blades over 4 cm. Alcohol is banned under the house rules at the main station, on the Promenade down to Kröpcke and in the Stadtbahn stations.
A Lüttje Lage is a small beer and a Korn schnapps, both glasses held in one hand, with the Korn running into the beer as you drink. Spill it and you get a bib. Limmern means drinking beer outside on Limmerstraße in the evening.
By train you'll reach Hanover from Hamburg in just over an hour, from Frankfurt in just over 2, from Cologne in just over 2.5 and from Munich in just over 4 hours; from Berlin it takes 1.5 to just under 3 hours depending on the connection. From the airport the S5 takes 17 minutes to the main station.
Stay in the city centre or near the Steintor and everything is within walking distance. During Hannover Messe in April and the big trade fairs from September to November, prices rise sharply, so check the trade fair calendar first.
May to September is the time for the Maschsee and beer gardens, with an average of around 19 degrees in July. But July also brings the most rain. Then there's an escape room, a game show, bowling or the video game museum in the Südstadt.
Plan & map
Pubs, clubs, beer halls and activities on one map: filter by type, add your favourites with “+ Add to plan” and share the plan with your group via a link, no account needed. Rather have a ready-made schedule? The itinerary generator builds one for you.
Hanover activities by type: click an idea and the list and map show only what matches.
Private pub crawl with free shots, a crime rally through Linden, a night watchman tour or a food walk.
By canoe along the Ihme and the Leine, or by pedal boat and rowing boat on the Maschsee, in season.
Seven rooms by the Steintor, four on Lavesstraße, three in the Nordstadt, or VR for up to four.
A game show against your own group on Raschplatz, blue against red in the old goods station, or pinball at the video game museum.
Blacklight mini golf with 3D glasses, 24 bowling lanes on Osterstraße, laser tag in Wülfel.
Karaoke bar on Prinzenstraße, or on Mondays and Thursdays at the Old Town pub.
Brewery tour with tasting in Herrenhausen, organic beer from the brewpub, house beers at the Aegi.
Mix three cocktails yourselves by the Steintor, then a Swiss pine sauna and hammam in Laatzen.
Irish pub on Am Markte in the Old Town, near the Marktkirche, with Guinness and Irish music. Book tables online, for six or more people too. During the week from late afternoon, at weekends from 14:00.
Pub in the Old Town that shows every Hannover 96 match live on a big screen, plus the Bundesliga, the Champions League and rugby. Karaoke on Mondays and Thursdays. Book via the form; it only counts once confirmed, and tables are held for 15 minutes.
Irish pub on Brüderstraße near the Steintor, with Guinness on draught, a dartboard and football on the big screen. According to OpenStreetMap open daily from 17:00, with a separate smoking area. Good for the first round.
Café and pub on Königsworther Platz, open from morning until late at night, until 03:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. There are seats outside, and that's the only place you can smoke. Reservations only from 40 people; smaller groups just turn up.
Old Town pub and sports bar with seven screens, plus beer by the metre and Lüttje Lage. Groups of 15 to 100 people book online, with a terrace outside. Tuesday to Friday from 17:00, Saturdays from 14:00, and on other days when 96 are playing.
Pub on Limmerstraße, daily from 17:00, until 03:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Pizza, salads and plenty of vegan food until 21:00, plus regular bingo, table quizzes and music quizzes with booking. Private parties on request.
Non-smoking pub in the Nordstadt, open daily from 12:00 to 02:00, with seats outside in summer. Cash only, so bring some. A quiet pub a little north of the city centre, with no website.
Pub in the Oststadt with several beers on draught, including Herrenhäuser, plus Turkish specialities and currywurst. The Champions League is shown live. Monday to Saturday from 17:00, private parties from 35 people; book by phone.
Pub on Jakobistraße in the List, Monday to Saturday from 12:00 to 24:00, closed on Sundays. There are seats outside, and that's the only place you can smoke. It's about two kilometres to the Steintor, so take the Stadtbahn onwards.
Irish pub on Goethestraße by the Steintor, with Guinness and Kilkenny and live sport, plus a special offer whenever Hannover 96 score. During the week from 17:00, at weekends from 12:00 until 02:00. Book tables online.
Tavern in Linden-Mitte with Thai food from Thai chefs until 21:30, plus pool, table football and changing DJs. Outdoor seating from May to October, with a smoking area. From 17:00, closed on Mondays.
Bar and disco by the Steintor on two levels with three bars, decked out Caribbean-style. Tuesday to Saturday from 18:00, free entry, over-18s only. DJs every night with charts, German rap or '80s and '90s, often on request. Good for warming up.
Bar on Lindener Marktplatz with salads, burgers, sandwiches and pancakes, vegan options too; more of a café by day, a bar until midnight in the evening. There's room outside and in the smoking area; book online. Private parties are possible.
Karaoke bar on Prinzenstraße in Mitte, open until 01:00 Monday to Thursday and until 03:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Reserve tables for 20:00 to 23:00 via social media, email or phone; at weekends it's worth it. There are tastings too.
Local pub in the List, with the same landlord for more than 25 years, six beers on draught and 16 wines by the glass. Board, card and dice games are ready to play, and there's a regular pub quiz. Tuesday to Saturday from 18:00, parties on request.
Beer garden at the old Lister Turm on the edge of the Eilenriede forest; in winter a winter village with alpine huts for up to 150 guests per hut. Hut parties with a DJ and free entry on Saturdays, public screenings of 96 matches. Groups of 15 or more book by email.
Beer garden by the sports park west of the Maschsee, near the stadium. Weekdays from 14:00, at weekends from 12:00, with events such as Schlager concerts. Groups enquire by phone or email; credit cards aren't accepted.
Gig and party club in the converted cinema of the Capitol high-rise on the Ihme, for 400 to 1,400 guests on two floors. Mostly gigs, with parties only on certain nights as listed in the calendar. Bags no bigger than A4. Stadtbahn stop Schwarzer Bär.
Club on Raschplatz right behind the main station, since 1987, with RnB, hip-hop and Afro. Mostly Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays from 23:00, often with an entry deal until midnight. Reserve VIP tables for groups online for each night.
Youth centre with an alternative programme on the Ihme between the city centre and Linden. Parties from techno to indie and the '80s, plus gigs. Usually from 23:00 and over-18s only; tickets in advance and on the door.
Dance club and gig venue at Schwarzer Bär in Linden, in the same building as the Capitol but a separate club. Gigs and club nights from rave to funk, plus theme parties. Programme and tickets on the website; some nights are aimed at particular scenes.
Cultural centre on the site of an old feather-bedding factory in Linden, with several stages; the biggest hall holds 650. Gigs and parties such as the '90s party, plus a beer garden and pizzeria on site. The box office usually opens an hour before the start.
Dance club by the Steintor with four areas and four bars, a lounge and a garden with a retractable roof; charts, funk and soul. Fridays and Saturdays, free entry. Lounges can be reserved for groups; when it's full, regulars get priority.
Gig club in Limmer with lots of gigs from punk to soul and parties such as Jugendsünden with music from the '80s to the 2010s. Occasional beer pong tournaments, popular with groups. You get in via a flight of about 20 steps.
Disco on Raschplatz behind the main station, formerly Osho, for up to 2,000 guests, with three bars and a smoking lounge. Pop, funk, house and hip-hop for a mixed crowd, from 22:00 or 23:00 at weekends. Book lounges online.
Escape rooms on Kanalstraße behind C&A, a few steps from the Steintor. Seven rooms for 2 to 8 players, about 60 minutes, up to 14 teams at once. Stag and hen offer; book by phone or email.
Blacklight mini golf with 3D glasses on 18 holes in three themed worlds on Heiligerstraße. Entry €14–15 per person, 45 to 90 minutes depending on the group. Dedicated stag and hen packages and exclusive hire, with Pixel Games in the same building.
Four escape rooms on Lavesstraße east of the city centre, each for 2 to 6 players, up to 28 people at once in total. 60 minutes from €24 per person, and stag and hen parties are explicitly welcome. Plus an outdoor puzzle hunt of about 3.5 km.
Bowling centre on Osterstraße with 24 lanes on about 2,875 m², plus 10 pool tables, darts and a lounge. There's a grill bar in the building. The operator explicitly mentions stag and hen parties; reserve lanes on the website.
Playable video game museum in the Südstadt on more than 1,000 m², with hundreds of original arcade machines and pinball tables from 50 years. You play in four-hour slots for €24; reserve tickets in advance. Open Friday to Sunday, and it can be hired.
Game show in the basement on Raschplatz: 19 action, skill and knowledge games as duels, only against your own group, 2 to 80 people. 75 to 120 minutes, stag and hen package from €28 per person, soft drinks included.
Laser tag in Wülfel, about 6 km south of the city centre, for up to 26 players on about 700 m² with traps, targets and disco lights. The stag and hen package is available from six people with a drink, and groups can play outside opening hours too. Book online.
Three escape rooms on Weidendamm in the Nordstadt, each 60 to 75 minutes, ages 14 or 16 and up, with one room also in English. Online calendar, payment in advance by PayPal, a lounge with drinks. The game show Schlag dein Team is in the same building.
Game show in the former main goods station in the Nordstadt: 15 knowledge, skill and sports games on 850 m², blue against red, up to 90 people. The long version takes 2.5 hours. Explicitly marketed to stag and hen parties; book online.
Hire of pedal boats, rowing boats and sailing dinghies on the east bank of the Maschsee, with pedal boats for groups and for two. Only in season, from about late March to early October. Book by phone or email.
Sauna complex in Laatzen, about 8 km south-east of the city centre, with a Swiss pine sauna, a Finnish tar sauna and a hammam, plus a warm pool and an outdoor pool. Daily from 10:00 to 22:00, a day ticket for the sauna from €23. Take the Stadtbahn towards Laatzen.
Tour of about three hours through the Herrenhausen private brewery, with a talk, a walk round and a tasting with food: €20 with dripping on bread or €30 with a meat platter. For groups of 10 to 20 people aged 16 and up, evenings Monday to Friday.
Cocktail class for groups in a bar on Escherstraße, about 350 metres from the Steintor: two hours, mix three cocktails yourselves. For 4 to 35 people, explicitly for stag and hen parties too; book as a private event through a booking platform.
Brewpub in the Old Town with its own organic beer; brewery tours can be booked. Live music and a party with free entry on Fridays and Saturdays. Book a table online. Under the house rules, anyone who turns up very drunk or loud can be turned away.
Smash burger joint in Linden with halal beef burgers, loaded fries and vegan options, and there's beer too. A few seats outside; cards and EC debit cards accepted. A good base before you head through Linden.
Steakhouse in the Old Town with premium steaks, wagyu and wine pairings, Monday to Saturday from 17:00. Groups book by phone or email; tastings and exclusive hire are possible. More of a proper dinner than a quick fill-up.
Restaurant with its own brewery at the Aegi, with three house beers, also in jugs of up to two litres. More than 350 seats on two floors and 100 outside with a view of the New Town Hall. Rooms for parties of up to 100 people; closed on Sundays.
Glass-fronted restaurant right on the east bank of the Maschsee with upmarket regional food and lake views. The bar and lounge is open until midnight Monday to Saturday. Book private parties and tables via the website.
Spanish restaurant on Lindener Marktplatz with tapas, fish and seafood, 70 seats inside and 70 outside. All-you-can-eat tapas on Mondays, all-you-can-eat gambas on Tuesdays. Monday to Saturday 17:00–22:00; booking recommended.
Guided pub crawl with an insider guide and free shots: someone who knows the bars around the Steintor, so all you have to worry about is partying. A classic for a loud stag or hen night in Hanover.
Canoe city tour on the Ihme and the Leine: Hanover from the water, paddling through the city. Active, unusual and guaranteed to get you good group photos. A great daytime activity that gets everyone in the boat.
Food walk through the Old Town: eat and drink from stop to stop, with stories about Hanover's historic centre. An enjoyable daytime activity where you get to know the city with all your senses.
Crime puzzle city rally through Linden-Limmer: collect clues as a team, piece them together and explore Hanover's most alternative neighbourhood as you play. A clever daytime activity that brings the group together.
Food bike tour with tastings: cycle right across Hanover, stopping again and again to try things. An active foodie programme for groups who want to move and feast.
50-minute VR escape room for two to four people: with the headset on you dive into fully virtual worlds and solve puzzles that wouldn't be possible in real life. A modern action activity that will amaze everyone. Book in advance.
Night tour with night watchman Melchior: in costume and with a lantern through Hanover by night, packed with anecdotes and spooky stories. An atmospheric, unusual start before the evening really gets going.
The Marktkirche on Hanns-Lilje-Platz in the heart of the Old Town, surrounded by the Old Town Hall and restaurants, with the Christmas market in Advent. It's a few minutes' walk from Kröpcke. The beer halls and Old Town pubs are right next door.
At Küchengarten, with its Stadtbahn stop, Limmerstraße begins: the pub and nightlife strip of Linden-Nord. In the evening lots of people drink their beer outside here, which locals call Limmern. Be considerate towards the neighbours.
Square on the edge of the city centre with the Steintor Stadtbahn stop, surrounded by the Steintor district with lots of bars and clubs. A weapons ban zone applies here, knives included. A meeting point in the middle of the nightlife district.
Central square of the city centre in the pedestrian zone, with the most important Stadtbahn station underneath. The Old Town, the Steintor and the main station are a short distance away. At night the trains wait for each other here, and the Nachtsterne also leave from Kröpcke.
Square on the north side of the main station, with several clubs right next door and the coach station nearby. A meeting point with no detour for everyone arriving by train. Alcohol is banned on the street here.
Green square in the Oststadt, a few minutes from Raschplatz. This is where the Lister Meile starts as a pedestrian zone, running north into the List with its pubs. A quieter meeting point for groups starting in the List.
Guide prices excluding travel, food & accommodation. Check the provider for today's prices.
🗺️ Open route in Google MapsNeighbourhoods
Hanover has two nightlife districts: the Steintor, with clubs and bars packed close together, and Linden, with its pubs on Limmerstraße. Then there's the Old Town for a beer hall and a pub, and the Maschsee for the daytime. Everything is close by Stadtbahn.
For free-entry clubs
Around the square Am Steintor, bars and clubs are packed close together: an Irish pub on Goethestraße, a bar with a disco on two levels, a dance club with four areas, both of them with free entry. A few steps further on, you mix your own cocktails. Weapons ban zone.
For a beer hall and football
Between the Marktkirche and Kröpcke: a brewpub with organic beer and live music at weekends, a sports bar with beer by the metre and Lüttje Lage, a pub showing every 96 match with karaoke, an Irish pub on Am Markte. Almost every night out starts here.
For pubs and a cultural centre
From Küchengarten, Limmerstraße runs through Linden-Nord, and in the evening lots of people drink outside. A pub with a quiz on Limmerstraße, a bar on Lindener Marktplatz, a tavern with Thai food and pool tables, and gigs and parties on the site of an old factory.
For a local pub and the winter village
From Weißekreuzplatz, the Lister Meile runs north into the List. On Jakobistraße there are two local pubs, one with games and a pub quiz. At the Lister Turm you sit in a beer garden, and in winter in alpine huts for 150. Quieter than the Steintor and Linden.
For a disco and a game show
On the north side of the main station there are two clubs: one open since 1987 with RnB and hip-hop, and a disco for 2,000 guests. In the basement you play a game show against just your own group. A short walk from the train, but alcohol is banned on the street here.
For a day by the water
On the east bank of the Maschsee you eat in a glass-fronted restaurant with lake views and hire pedal boats and rowing boats in season. West of the lake there's a beer garden by the sports park, and in the Südstadt a video game museum with hundreds of machines. The programme for the afternoon.
Sample itinerary
This is what a weekend that works in Hanover looks like, with a different focus depending on your group. You'll find every venue in the planner above, where you can swap out individual stops.
Organic beer from its own brewery, live music with free entry on Fridays.
Sports bar with beer by the metre; groups of up to 100 book online.
Bar and disco on two levels, then the dance club, both with free entry.
Seven rooms on Kanalstraße, two teams in parallel.
Blue against red in the old goods station, up to 90 people.
Privately guided with free shots; the meeting point is in your booking.
Pop, house and hip-hop; book a lounge online.
Spanish restaurant, 70 seats inside and 70 outside.
On Prinzenstraße; reserve a table for 20:00 to 23:00.
Charts, funk and soul; reserve a lounge for the group.
Swiss pine sauna and hammam, reachable by Stadtbahn.
18 holes with 3D glasses, stag and hen package.
Mix three cocktails yourselves by the Steintor.
Glass-fronted restaurant with lake views; book via the website.
Three hours with tasting and food, for groups of 10 or more.
Six beers on draught and games at the table.
The Baroque Great Garden, where the fountain shoots about 80 metres high.
Take the arched lift up into the dome, with a view from just under 98 metres.
A pedal boat in season, otherwise a walk along the shore.
House beers by the jug, with a view of the New Town Hall.
Your group's a bit different? The itinerary generator builds a plan around your group, budget and mood, using the same venues.
Budget
Hanover is cheap, mainly because many clubs charge no entry and there's no closing time pushing you on. Hotels in trade fair weeks and upmarket restaurants are what get expensive.
| Option | Per person | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| One night out | €40–85 | beer hall with food, pub, club |
| A day with an activity | €75–150 | plus an escape room, a game show, laser tag or a brewery tour |
| Weekend | €150–330 | two nights out, one activity, one night in a double room, travel not included |
Guide prices per person, based on the prices of the venues and tours on this page. The bride or groom usually doesn't pay; their share is split across the group. The planner above adds up what your programme costs.
Travel isn't included, as that depends on where you're coming from. Accommodation is based on the country's price level. Work out your own budget with the cost calculator.
Seasonal tips
These festivals and trade fairs come round every year. If your weekend falls on one of them, the city will be packed, and during trade fairs so will the hotels. If you'd rather keep things relaxed, plan around them.
Spring fair, about three weeks in April on the Schützenplatz, with fireworks on Fridays.
Every year in April. That week rooms are scarce and expensive, so for a stag or hen do it's best avoided.
On five evenings between May and September in the Herrenhausen Gardens.
Marksmen's festival, ten days from the Friday before the first Monday in July on the Schützenplatz, with Lüttje Lage.
About two and a half weeks in July, with more than 100 performers on lots of stages in Herrenhausen.
Just under three weeks from late July to mid-August around the Maschsee, until 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
From late September to mid-October on the Schützenplatz, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
From late November to 22 December around the Marktkirche, with a Finnish Christmas village.
Four gardens; in the Baroque Great Garden the fountain shoots about 80 metres high.
Take the slanting arched lift up into the dome, with a view from just under 98 metres.
A 4.2 km marked trail, the “Red Thread”, linking 36 sights, starting opposite the main station.
Questions
