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Bonn Travel Guide

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Bonn [1] was the former capital of the Federal Republic of Germany (previously, West Germany) and lies on the river Rhine some 20 km south of Cologne. The city remains a popular choice for large-scale exhibitions and conferences. Bonn is best known culturally as the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven. Population 315,000.

Contents

Get in

From within Europe (or from New York from May, 2006), fly to Cologne-Bonn [2] (CGN) airport. The airport is called Köln-Bonn in German. From there, take the 670 airport bus to the middle of Bonn city. It leaves every 20-30 minutes from near the taxi stands at the airport. You can also take a train from the airport to Bonn-Beuel, which is the other side of the river from Bonn city (Zentrum).

Outside of Europe, it is convenient to fly to Frankfurt-Main or Düsseldorf airports and catch trains from there to Bonn.

Get around

See

  • the Beethoven-Haus [3] - the birthplace of the great composer is now a museum of his life and work
  • the Museum of Contemporary German History [4] - German history from 1945 to the present. Free admission, though display text is only in German (guidebooklets with English translations are available for a couple Euros, and guided-tours in english are available free of charge when prebooked)
  • the Godesburg
  • the University of Bonn [5]

Do

Learn

  • Goethe Institut, Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 11, Phone: +49 (0) 228 - 95 75 6-0, (Email: Bonn@goethe.de), [6].

Buy

Eat

  • Bierhaus Machold on Heerstrasse, near the corner of Wolfstrasse, Altstadt (Old City). Food from 17:00-23:00. [7]. Excellent German food and good beer in a nice pub. Beer garden in summer. Try the Jägerschnitzel! 7-15 EUR for mains.

Drink

  • Cafetiero: best Latte Macciato in the town, but open only during the day. Location: Mauspfad in pedestrian area
  • Cafe Einstein: very close to Cafetiero - great coffee (beats Starbucks) and one of the few branches of this Berlin-based chain outside of Berlin
  • Café Blau (blue): mainly visited by students, this café is located in the entrance hall of a public swimming pool. It is kind of "cult" to go there, even the food is not so good. Location: Franziskaner Strasse.
  • Brasserie: large café, brasserie, restaurant. Really good brunch on sundays. Location: Remigius Platz (near Marktplatz)
  • Café Fassbender: they have the best cake in town. It is a pastry shop and a café. Often very crowded, also for elderly people nice to visit. Location: Corner Sternstrasse and Dreieck.

Sleep

Get out

  • Cologne
  • Königswinter Is the home to Drachenfels (1010 ft.), crowned by the ruins of a castle built early in the 12th century by the archbishop of Cologne, rises behind the town. From the summit, which can be accessed by the Drachenfels Railway, there is a magnificent view, celebrated by Lord Byron in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. A cave in the hill is said to have sheltered the dragon which was slain by the hero Siegfried.
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