Siebengebirge, Bonn, Remagen

I'm a big fan of Bonn. My husband and I were there in May 2009 and found there weren't many tourists at all, and it was a cool, small-feeling town with a great vibe. If this makes any sense at all, it had a "real working German town" feel as opposed to a "put on for the tourists" kind of feel. Souvenir stores were few and far between. Of course, a highlight for us was doing a tourist activity, and that was to visit the home in which Beethoven was born. They had a nice collection of scores that he'd hand-written and made notes on, along with a variety of other things. Beethoven Haus Outside that, we just enjoyed bumming around, checking out the pedestrian zones and many market squares. We stayed at the Rheinland Hotel for €89/night, including breakfast and parking. The staff was super nice, and while not fancy, the room was just fine.

PS Andreas, a poster from Germany who used to appear more regularly on this forum, recommended eating at the Brauhaus Bönnsch in Bonn. We did, and it was great - a laid back brewpub type of place.

What are your dates for traveling through this area? There will be a Medieval Witches Market in Idstein on 16 & 17 April. Idstein is becoming one of my favorites as the fachwerk houses there are so unusual and gorgeous. This Witches Market looks like a lot of fun too. If you are traveling through in May, then you might like to see the Roman Military in Action over at the Saalburg by Bad Homburg. Wiesbaden is having its Easter Egg Market on 9-10 April, with 90 stands. I will be going to all of these, plus a few more spring markets in Seligenstadt and a Quilt Festival in Aschaffenburg in March.

Thanks, Jo I'm up to my neck (eyebrows?) in work for a while so our usual Dutch trip in April is up in the air, so our usual May trip to the South is equally questionable. My guess (only a guess, but since we tend to be flexible when we travel, that's not a problem) is we'll finally head towards the 'burgs and Fachwerkstrasse in mid to late June. The witch festival sounds interesting - never been to one of those. It may be even more rowdy than the Meistertrank in RodT about 10 years ago!

Ok, then mid to late June, you can check out these festivals: "Geleit Fest" in Seligenstadt. This has something to do with Guilds, Emperor Army escorted merchants going to the Trade Fairs in Frankfurt trading off to the army of the Arch Bishop of Mainz and drinking wine from some giant spoon all in one gulp. I know, have no real idea what this is, so will have to go see it. This is on 11 & 19 June with fireworks over the Main on the 20th. There is a Steam Train festival in Königstein and you can ride the Steam train from here to Höchst. If you are here the 1st part of July, then do make your way over to Büdigen for their Medieval Festival set up around the town walls on 9 & 10 July.

Thanks for both replies.

Stayed at Hotel Aigner in Bonn in 2009 and liked it - euro 82 per night.

Thanks Janet...