Crisp fruit, maritime experiences and more than 1000 km of signposted cycle routes - the Altes Land region on the Elbe between Elbmarsch and Stader Geest boasts all this and a whole lot more. You can walk or cycle along richly adorned half-timbered houses, through orchards, forests and moors, beside the Elbe and along the dyke in northern Europe's largest closed fruit-growing region. You can observe the "big ships" here and, for those who like, take the ferry across to Hamburg. Fruit farms lure visitors with cherries and apples, farm tours and cafés. Two Hanseatic cities, Stade and Buxtehude, are the perfect places to discover history and culture. Visitors can while away the time in historic harbours and on restored sailing ships here or learn fascinating facts about the region in museums. The Altes Land on the Elbe river boasts dreamlike beauty at any time of year, be it in spring among the sea of flowers, in summer on the banks of the Elbe or in autumn during the apple harvest and in the vast expanses of Kehdingen to watch thousands of migratory birds.