Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [505]
Return to beginning of chapter
Information
Bonn Regio WelcomeCard (per 24/48/72hr €9/14/19) Unlimited public transport, admission to over 20 museums, plus discounts on tours, thermal baths and more in Bonn and beyond. The group (three adults) or family (two adults, two kids) version is €18/28/38.
Bouvier ( 729 010; Am Hof 28) Bookshop.
Internet Several telephone-call shops near the Haupt-bahnhof offer internet access.
Post office (Münsterplatz 17; 9am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat)
ReiseBank ( 632 958; Hauptbahnhof; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat)
Tourist office ( 775 000; www.bonn.de; Windeckstrasse 1; 9am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat, 10am-2pm Sun) For pre-trip planning, go to www.bonn-region.de.
Uniklinikum Bonn ( 2870; Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25; 24hr) Major hospital 4km south of the Hauptbahnhof.
Return to beginning of chapter
Sights
ALTSTADT
A good place to start exploring Bonn’s historic centre is on Münsterplatz, where the landmark Münster Basilica ( 985 880; www.bonner-muenster.de; admission free; 7am-7pm) was built on the graves of the two martyred Roman soldiers who later got promoted to be the city’s patron saints. It got its Gothic look in the 13th century but the Romanesque origins survive beautifully in the ageing cloister (open till 5pm). On the square outside the church, a buttercup-yellow baroque Palais (palace; now the post office) forms a photogenic backdrop for the Beethoven Monument (1845).
The famous composer first saw the light of day in 1770 in the rather plain Beethoven Haus (Beethoven House; 981 7525; www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de; Bonngasse 20; adult/concession/family €4/3/10; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat, 11am-6pm Sun Apr-Oct, to 5pm Nov-Mar). It’s now the repository of a pretty static array of letters, musical scores, instruments and paintings. The highlights – his last grand piano, the huge ear trumpets he used to combat his growing deafness and a famous portrait – are all on the 2nd floor. Tickets are also good for the Digitales Beethoven-Haus next door, where you can experience the composer’s genius during a spacey, interactive 3-D multimedia show or deepen your knowledge in the digital archive.
In the Altstadt’s other main square, the triangular Markt, the baroque Altes Rathaus (old town hall) stands pretty in pink with silver and gold trim. Politicians from Charles de Gaulle to John F Kennedy have waved to the crowds from its double-sided staircase.
To the south is the palatial 1705 Kurfürstliche Residenz (Electoral Residence; Regina-Pacis-Weg), once the immodest home of the archbishop-electors of Cologne and part of Bonn’s university since 1818. Its south side opens up to the expansive Hofgarten (Palace Garden), a popular gathering place for students.
Off the far southwest corner, the Arithmeum ( 738 790; Lennéstrasse 2; adult/concession €3/2; 11am-6pm Tue-Sun) explores the symbiosis of science, technology and art. On view are hundreds of mechanical calculators and historic mathematics books but also an out-there exhibit on the aesthetics of microchips. Design your own or study their beauty through a polarisation microscope. Work your way down from the top floor of this minimalist glass-and-steel cube.
South of the Hauptbahnhof, the Rheinisches LandesMuseum (Rhineland Regional Museum; 207 00; www.rlmb.lvr.de; Colmantstrasse 14-18; adult/under 18yr/student €5/free/3.50; 10am-6pm Tue & Thu-Sun, 10am-9pm Wed) presents its rich collections in such themed exhibits as Epochs, Gods, and Power. Highlights include a 40,000-year-old Neanderthal skull and a rare blue Roman glass vessel from the 1st century AD. The museum restaurant, DelikArt (mains €11 to €17), enjoys a fine reputation.
BUNDESVIERTEL
From 1949 to 1999, the nerve centre of West German political power lay about 1.5km south of the Altstadt along Adenauerallee. These