Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [509]
Other recommendations:
Cafe Blau ( 650 717; Franziskaner Strasse 9; dishes €4-8; 9am-1am) Student bistro in the foyer of a public swimming pool.
Cassius Garten ( 652 429; Maximilianstrasse 28, Cassius-Passage; dishes per 100g €1.50; 8am-8pm Mon-Sat; ) Self-service vegetarian buffet.
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Entertainment
De Schnüss and BonnJour are the main listings magazines, available at newsagents and the tourist office. The central ticket hotline is 0180-500 1812.
Bonn’s entertainment scene is especially strong in the field of classical music. A calendar highlight is the Beethovenfest in late September with several dozen concerts held in venues around town. These include the intimate Kammermusiksaal ( 981 7515; Bonngasse 24-26) next to the Beethoven Haus; the Beethovenhalle ( 722 20; Wachsbleiche 17), Bonn’s premier concert hall; and the Oper Bonn (Bonn Opera; 778 000; Am Boeselagerhof 1), which also presents theatre, dance and opera.
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Getting There & Away
Köln Bonn Airport (Cologne Bonn Airport; 02203-404 001; www.airport-cgn.de) has flights within Germany, Europe and beyond and is served by 50 airlines, including Germanwings, easyJet and Air Berlin.
Bonn is linked to Cologne several times hourly by U-Bahn lines U16 and U18 and regional trains (€6.50, 30 minutes). There are also frequent trains to the Ruhrgebiet cities and Koblenz (€10.30, 45 minutes).
Bonn is at the crossroads of the A59, A555 and A565. The B9 highway cuts north–south through the city.
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Getting Around
Express bus SB60 makes the trip between the airport and Hauptbahnhof every 20 or 30 minutes between 4.45am and 12.30am (€6.50, 26 minutes). For a taxi to/from the airport budget between €35 and €40.
Buses, trams and the U-Bahn make up the public transport system, which is operated by the VRS ( 01803-504 030; www.vrsinfo.de). It extends as far as Cologne and is divided into zones. All you need to travel within Bonn is a City Ticket for €2.40 per trip or €6.90 for the 24-hour pass. All tickets must be validated when boarding.
For a taxi, ring 555 555. Bikes may be hired at Radstation ( 981 4636; Quantiusstrasse 26; per day €7; 6am-10.30pm Mon-Fri, 7am-10.30pm Sat, 8am-10.30pm Sun), on the south side of the Hauptbahnhof via the subterranean passageway.
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AROUND BONN
Steeped in legend, the densely forested hills of the Siebengebirge (Seven Mountains) rise above the right bank of the Rhine, just a few kilo-metres south of Bonn. Closer inspection actually reveals about 40 peaks, but only the seven most prominent give the region its name.
At 461m, the Ölberg may be the highest, but the 321m Drachenfels is the most heavily visited of these ‘mountains’. Since 1883, some 32 million peak-baggers have reached the top aboard the Drachenfelsbahn ( 02223-920 90; Drachenfelsstrasse 53; uphill/downhill/return €7.50/7.50/9; 9am-7pm May-Sep, shorter hr Oct-Apr), a nostalgic cogwheel train chugging along for 1.5km. Prices are a bit steep, but so is the paved path should you prefer to walk.
The walking route leads past restaurants and various attractions, including the 1913 Nibelungenhalle ( 02223-241 50; adult/child €5/3; 10am-6pm mid-Mar–Oct, 11am-4pm Sat & Sun Nov–mid-Mar), a templelike shrine to the composer Richard Wagner decorated with scenes from his opera cycle Ring of the Nibelungen. Tickets include access to the Drachenhöhle, a cave inhabited by a 13m-long stone dragon, and a small reptile zoo.
Further uphill loom the fairy-tale turrets of the neo-Gothic Schloss Drachenburg ( 02223-901 970; adult/concession €3.50/2; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct), which looks medieval but was actually built in the 1880s. It houses exhibits on the building’s history, the ongoing restoration process and on the history of nature protection. Tours of the residential quarters cost an extra €3. Perhaps more interesting, though, are the lovely grounds with their terraces, fountains,