Bonn

The federal city of Bonn is one of the largest cities in the Cologne Lowland, second only to Cologne in population, with 330,000 residents in 2020. Despite the size, it maintains a cosy, relaxed atmosphere of a small town, featuring mostly low-rise buildings, a charming old town and a lot of greenery. Located only 28 km south of Cologne up the Rhine river, it has a wealth of museums and points of interest.

Bonn was the capital of the pre-reunification Federal Republic of Germany ("West Germany") from 1949 through 1990. The city is still seat of many federal institutions, and remains a popular choice for large-scale exhibitions and conferences. Bonn is also the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven, who is celebrated throughout the city with several memorials and events.

You should consider a trip to Bonn if you like atmospheric smaller cities with many students and a rich culture. Admirers call it Italy's most northern city because of its street culture with many cafes and beer gardens in the summer. It is also a good base for day trips to Cologne, Düsseldorf, the romantic Rhine and the Eifel region.



Understand
Bonn's beginning dates between 13-9 BC when Romans began building roads, bridges, and fortresses at a location known as "Bonna." One well-documented event was the martyrdom of two Thebaean legionaries. The Thebaean Legion was an all Christian legion, which refused to worship the emperor as a god. As punishment, the Thebaean Legion's commander, Mauritius was executed in St. Moritz as were many other Thebaean legionaries including Cassius and Florentius, Bonn's patron saints, who were martyred at the location of the present-day Münster basilica.

After the Romans left, the town had a very tumultuous history. Bonn has been destroyed and pummelled on so many occasions that it nearly became a pastime. Norman invaders were the first to burn the town to the ground in 881 and again in 892. In 1198, King Philip of Swabia and Duke Heinrich von Brabant laid siege to Bonn. In 1244 Konrad von Hochstaden, archbishop of Cologne ordered Bonn to be fortified. The reasons for fortification may have been for the Archbishop's protection as he had apparently begun fighting with Cologne's leaders and often resided in Bonn after the dispute. In 1288 under Sigfried II von Westerburg the archbishopric was transferred from Cologne to Bonn, which has since been transferred back to Cologne.

In 1582 Archbishop Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg converted to Calvinism and refused to give up his position as elector. In February of 1583 Waldburg married and was in April of the same year excommunicated by Pope Gregory XIII. After the Truschessian War Gebhard fled to Strasbourg, but not before Bonn felt the rapture of Bavarian troops, who blew up the Godesberg (the archbishop's residence) with 1,500 pounds of gunpowder. While the town survived the Thirty Years' War Bonn was completely destroyed in 1689 as a result of the War of the Grand Alliance.

In December 1770 Bonn's most famous son, Ludwig van Beethoven, was born on Bonngasse. Bonn is probably best known as Beethoven's birthplace and this fact is well advertised by the city despite Beethoven's vehement disgust towards his hometown. Beethoven spent some time in Vienna hoping to study with Mozart, but after his mother's death he was forced to return to Bonn for five years to raise his two younger brothers since his alcoholic father was unable to. In 1792 Beethoven returned to Vienna and never came back to Bonn.

While Bonn is by no means a "village" its selection as seat of the government of the new west German state in 1949 was precisely because the partition of Germany should appear to be temporary and thus more important or symbolic cities such as Cologne, Munich or Hamburg were soon out of consideration. However in the final decision the fact that Konrad Adenauer had a house nearby may well have played some if not the decisive role: Bonn beat out Frankfurt by a single vote. See also Cold War Europe.

After reunification it was seriously considered to keep the government in town, especially as the previously "provisional" facilities had just been upgraded bit by bit in the late 1980s. However in another close vote, the Bundestag decided to move most agencies to Berlin, while some would stay in Bonn much to the chagrin of people who see the double facilities as needless pork in favour of Bonn.

Südstadt, the southern part of the city owns impressively beautiful buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century in ancient alleys. You can get an English walking tour brochure from the Tourist Information.

By plane
Bonn is served by

That said, the airport sees very little intercontinental passenger traffic, save for a few flights to countries like Turkey, Morocco or Iran operated by the respective countries' airlines and serving mainly local ethnic minorities.

From the airport, take the SB60 airport bus (€8.70) to Bonn's central bus station near the Hauptbahnhof. It leaves every 30 minutes from outside Terminal 1 arrivals, and takes a little over half an hour to reach the city centre. You can also take a train from the airport to Bonn-Beuel, which is on the other side of the river from Bonn city (Zentrum). A taxi to central Bonn will cost around €50.

If you are flying transatlantically, chances are Frankfurt is a better option time-wise - as you are likely to get a direct flight - though not necessarily in terms of budget. If you are cost-conscious, comparing airfares to CGN, FRA and several other airports in the general area is certainly a good idea, as due to the quirky nature of airline pricing differences in price of one or two hundred euros are not at all uncommon.

Timewise, however, CGN is just as far from Bonn as Frankfurt Airport, one of Europe's busiest intercontinental hubs. The airport has a long-distance train station directly connected to Bonn's Siegburg railway station, which high-speed trains (departing every hour) reach in less than 40 minutes. When flying Lufthansa, you can even book the train connection as a part of your long-distance flight ticket. The station's IATA code is ZPY and the Lufthansa tickets to this destination are often priced the same or slightly lower as those terminating at FRA. For more details see rail air alliances



By train
The train route from Frankfurt via Koblenz to Bonn Hauptbahnhof is especially beautiful as it runs along the Rhine and you will see many old towns and castles on the way. It takes about 2 hours. Travelling from Frankfurt try to sit on the right-hand side of the train for the better view.

If you are in a hurry, however, better take the fast train (ICE) to Siegburg from Amsterdam, Basel, Brussels, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich or Stuttgart, among others.

Nightjet, the Austrian Railways' sleeper train, runs daily from Brussels via Cologne and Bonn to Vienna, Munich and Innsbruck. It calls at Koblenz, Frankfurt airport, Würzburg and Nuremberg where it divides: one portion runs via Linz to Vienna, the other via Munich to Innsbruck.



By bus
Traveling by long distance bus, you would typically take the bus lines to Cologne and then continue your travel to Bonn by regional train.

On foot
The city centre is not very big and you are able to reach the different attractions there by foot.

By public transport
Bonn has an excellent bus, night bus, tram and subway system operated by the local Stadtwerke Bonn. There are ticket offices and vending machines at major stations, offering single tickets (€3), multiple tickets, and 24-hour and weekly passes. The tickets are valid in local trains, Stadtbahn (subway), tram, buses and night buses. City tour offers open-top double decker bus tours of the city allowing you to hop on and off at each station ( ( if you have a Welcome card), valid for 24 hours).

By bike
It is also a good city to explore by bike. Rental bikes are available at the train station from Deutsche Bahn at platform 1 or from the Radstation behind the train station. Nextbike is offering app-based short-term bike rentals (€3 annual fee, €1/30 min, max. €8/24 hours). Several companies offer app-based rental of e-scooters, including Lime, Tier and Voi.



By e-hailing
Uber, Bolt and Free Now cover the city.

See












The former capital






Museums and galleries
The Bonn Regio WelcomeCard offers free or reduced admission to most public museums in Bonn (including those listed below), free rides on buses and trams on the local public transport system (VRS), and discounts to other tourist attractions. The validity of both individual or family WelcomeCards is in increments of 24 hours and they can be purchased online, at the Tourism offices or participating hotels. The 24-hour individual ticket costs €10.







Cinema
Most cinemas only show dubbed German versions of international films. Amongst the few cinemas which show English films on a regular basis are



Buy
Bonn's city centre hosts the usual chain stores like Kaufhof, C&A, H&M, Esprit, Zero, NewYorker, Promod, Butler's, Tchibo and Runner's Point.



Budget






Mid-range








Splurge






Cafes






Bars
Bonner Altstadt ('old downtown') in general is a good place to go out. Find a lot of small pubs and student bars in this district

Mid-range




Consulates

 * 🇷🇴 Romania

Go next

 * Cologne — 20-25 min by train. Get out at Köln Süd for partying at Zülpicher Straße or at Köln Hauptbahnhof for sightseeing and the city centre.
 * Königswinter — 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. Take tram line 66 until Königswinter.
 * Rheinsteig
 * Zülpich — an old Roman settlement with a newly opened museum centered on Roman baths and bathing culture. It is also a gateway to the Eifel region.
 * Burg Satzvey