Göttingen is a university town that has never been shy about it. The Georg-August University was founded in 1737 and became one of the leading centres of science in Europe, and the roll of people who studied or taught here includes the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, the physicists Max Planck and Werner Heisenberg, the Brothers Grimm, and a long list of Nobel laureates. The student population gives the city a lively, young feel, with bicycles everywhere.
The centre is a pleasant maze of half-timbered houses, narrow lanes and cafes, anchored by the old town hall and its market square, where a small fountain topped with a statue of the Goose Girl, the Gänseliesel, stands. By tradition, newly graduated doctors must kiss her, which has made her, it is said, the most kissed girl in the world. The city has over a hundred and twenty thousand people and every service a rider could need, with fuel, bike shops, supermarkets and a huge choice of restaurants at low prices, aimed at students.
For a meal, you can find German classics, such as schnitzel and sausage with potato salad, as well as Turkish, Italian and Asian places, and plenty of bakeries and cafes. The city is a good stop for lunch, but parking in the centre is limited, so leave the bike at a car park on the edge, and walk in. The old ramparts, now a tree-lined walk, make a nice stroll.
The countryside around Göttingen is gentle, with green hills, beech woods and farmland, and the roads leading out are well surfaced, with long bends and light traffic. In summer, the beech woods on the hills east of town are shady and cool. Spring and autumn are lovely, and the winter can bring ice to the lanes. Come on a weekday morning for easier parking and quieter roads.