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Is Bonn worth a stop?

Hello everybody,

I'm visiting friends in the Netherlands soon and am contemplating doing a day trip across the border to Bonn. Rick's Germany book says Bonn is worth visiting for the old town and the Beethoven museum but treats it more as a footnote to the Cologne chapter. Is Bonn worth a stop? Are any of the old West German government buildings like the former chancellery open to the public? I've seen the Haus der Geschichte advertised on the internet plenty. I studied modern German history in university and have an interest in seeing some of the old West German sites, but I'd hope it's more than just peeking at a run-down building through a fence for five seconds if I'm going to invest the time to drive down from the Netherlands. Is there anything else you'd recommend over there? Thanks!

Posted by
35620 posts

for a nice break out of the car before you head back there is the lovely view of the 7 mountains - Siebengebirge viewable from the Drachenfels.

Drachenfels is at Königswinter on the Rhine just south of Bonn. Use the scenic and historic Drachenfelsbahn to gently climb. The Drachenfelsbahn is the oldest rack / cog / Zahnradbahn railway in Germany.

https://www.drachenfelsbahn.de/en/

Posted by
2179 posts

Bonn is a lovely pleasant city that is very livable and has some cultural activities. That said, if you are looking for the same restaurant scene and variety of attractions as Berlin or Munich, you will be disappointed. However, for a day trip you could do worse as it was capital of West Germany for years and still has a large expat and student population.

I guess it depends if you are looking for world class attractions or not.