Bonn is a midsized city in North Rhein-Westphalia, that was West Germany’s capital 1949-1990. From 1990-99 Bonn was the seat of the government of Germany, after Berlin became capital- Bonn was the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven. It is also a university city and has more then 20 UN entities. The city is on both sides of River Rhine, just 24km South of Cologne, that is much larger and more vibrant, while Bonn is a much more quiet and posh city with an older population. Bonn is, just like Cologne and Düsseldorf, part of Germany’s largest metropolitan area, the Rhine-Ruhr. Just south of Bonn is green mountains. In Bonn you find much baroque architecture, that reminds of Austria and Southern Germany.
The city center, Zentrum, is compact and features many well preserved historical buildings. At Münsterplatz is the Bonner Münster, a roman-catholic church and landmark of Bonn, the popular Beethoven Statue and the yellow baroque Altes Postamt (Old Post Office). The Minster is in romanesque style, 82m tall and originally from the 1000s. Marktplatz is another beautiful square with old buildings like the baroque Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) and outdoor restaurants. There are several pedestrians streets with old buildings in Bonn, Friederichstrasse, Sternstrasse and Acherstrasse are important shopping streets. Universität Bonn (Bonn University)’s Electoral Palace is a very long yellow and black baroque palace, facing the park Hofgarten. Nietsche, Marx and Adenauer went there.
In the city center, at Bonngasse 27, you can visit Beethoven-Haus, a pink and white baroque residential building where Beethoven was born, that is now a museum about the composer. Bonn was a Roman settlement in the 1st century BC. Sterntor is a reconstructed part of the city wall on the remnants of the medieval city wall.
Kennedybrücke, a bridge at the city center, has views over the Rhine. Next to it is the Hilton Bonn hotel. Stadthaus (City Hall) is a modernist building from 1972, the only highrise in the city center. Friedensplatz is a square in the West part of the center, with outdoor restaurants. Holy Name of Jesus Church (Namen-Jesu-Kirche) at Bonngasse is a baroque/gothic/romanesque former Jesuit church from the 16th century. In Altstadt (Old Town), just North of the city center from the busy Oxfordstrasse, is a quiet neighbourhood with small old buildings, it has become famous for cherry blossom, due to it's many pink cherry trees springtime.
In the South part of the city is Gronau and Museumsmile, where you find many large museums, such as Haus der Geschichte, a really interesting museum about German history that we visited, Deutsche Museum, Bonn Museum of Modern Art, König Research Museum and the palace like Egyptian Museum. Post Tower, a curved glass building designed by Murphy/Jahn is a landmark of Bonn and is situated in this part, from 2002. It is at 163m the tallest skyscraper of the Rhine-Ruhr metro area. Next to it is the UN-Hochhaus from 1969, the 2nd tallest building and the landmark of United Nations area. Neuer Kanzlerplatz, 3rd tallest (102m), currently u/c in the area during our visit (2022). Palais Schaumburg was the residence of the German chancellor 1949-1976.
There is also a large Japanese Garden, part of the very large Rheinaue Park, facing River Rhine. South of Bonn is Königswinter, where you find the Drachenburg Castle on a green mountain, with views over Bonn.
Just like many other German cities Bonn doesn’t have a subway, but a S-bahn that is a combination of trams and underground. Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) is a midsized station in the city center.
MY EXPERIENCE:
I visited Bonn at one afternoon/evening and a half day after. Before Bonn I was in Cologne and Dortmund, and after Bonn, I took the train along the beautiful Rhine valley, towards Trier and Luxembourg, that I reached the same day. Distances are really short in this part of Europe! Bonn is a beautiful city with many old baroque buildings preserved, some tall skyscrapers, a beautiful setting along River Rhine and close to the beautiful mountains. The city also has a lot of (free) museums, that are large and really interesting. Bonn is also interesting because it was the former capital of West Germany and Germany. It is also a bit dull though, and quiet, so it is more a city where you settle down then Köln and Düsseldorf, that are more exciting cities. For me half a day and an evening was enought in Bonn. I spent a lot of time at the interesting Museum das Geschichte. I also visited Beethoven-Haus, had late diner at Marktplatz, and early café breakfast and Malaysian diner next to Beethoven-Haus at Bonngasse the day after. If you want to explore all museums several days in Bonn are recommended. When I arrived in Bonn, the climate changed from the sunny, melting hot (38 degrees C plus) in Köln, to a more grey, rainy and thunderstorm. The second day it was cooler again, but started to become warm and sunny again.
I stayed at the Brauhotel, next to the old St Regimus Church and Marktplatz, right in the city center. It is a popular hostel among backpackers, where the reception is a German pub, the staff was friendly but hillbilly like. A very personal place.
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