Bonn!
 

Hello,
I'll be going on my first trip to Germany and will have some business to do in Bonn! I'm thinking about flying CO into Cologne (instead of DL to Dusseldorf), and I assume there's a train that will take me into Bonn. Anybody want to enlighten me as the best way to get from CGN to Bonn and what to do in Bonn in free time? :) thanks

CGN actually serves both Bonn and Cologne. There is no train connection to central Bonn but a bus service runs frequently.

You are correct, sir. You certainly can get to Bonn via Deutsche Bahn richtung Koblenz! You can certainly go from the Hauptbahnhof, but probably from the flughafen as well. I think that the train ride is about 30-45 minutes, depending on what catagory of train you take.

Bonn is smaller than Köln but has its own charm. It is a college town, and used to be the head of government. If you like beer, they are within the 'Kölsch' region. There is a pretty good brauhaus called Bönnsch that I would recommend.

What to do in and near Bonn:

- check what kind of exhibitions are on at the Bundeskunsthalle, they are usually really good

- Deutsches Historisches Museum, if you're into history

- Beethoven's birthplace

- a hike up the Drachenfels to enjoy the view and see the castle ruins. Drachenfels is the one of the Siebengebirge mountains that's closest to the Rhine.

- Brühl palace and park, if you like baroque style

For day trips:

- no need to mention Cologne, I suppose!

- Rhine valley between Koblenz and Bingen, no need to mention that either

- Ahr valley, with the spas of Bad Neuenahr, the old town of Ahrweiler, the rocky part of the valley at Altenahr, a hike on the Rotweinwanderweg trail through the vineyards and of course sampling some of the local red wines. (Local train from Bonn Hauptbahnhof every hour, direction: Ahrbrück)

- Aachen

- the Mosel valley, IMHO more romantic than the Rhine valley, and less crowded

While you could take the direct train to Cologne and then the train from Cologne to Bonn, that's basically a waste of time. I'd recommend you take the shuttle bus from the airport into Bonn directly (line 610); it'll lead you right into the center of town. In case you wonder why there is no decent train connection from the airport to Bonn: The airport is on the "other" side of the Rhine, and the next train bridges to cross the river are in Cologne and near Koblenz.

In terms of things to see, a lot of the "essentials" have already come up. If you are into having nice walks, I'd recommend to not just walk up the Drachenfels (that's the tourist's standard) but explore that general area a bit ("Siebengebirge").

Other things to do include having a look at the remains of the bridge at Remagen; visiting Adenauer's house nearby (which is now a museum); walking around Bonn's old town and looking at the Palace that the archbishops of Cologne built there (now the University's main building), and the smaller one in Poppelsdorf (University-owned, too).

Finally, to get from A to B in the city center, walk or use the (excellent) public transportation. Don't drive -- the street system is a crazy maze of one-way roads that leads even locals into desperation.

PS: Bonn is a pretty good basis to explore Cologne, too. The city centers are less than 30 min apart if you take the train.

Great suggestions.

One thing to add is that all the federal museums are free of charge.

Also, at the Bundeskunsthalle they have events almost every night during the summer (eg, I saw Alanis Morrisette in concert there...) - you do have to pay for those though ;) .

thanks everyone! I'm looking forward to my first trip to Germany- I think I'll be going to Berlin too! :) can i buy the bus tickets at the airport (with no German-language skills at all)?

Buy it on the bus. Either say (written phonetically) "ain mall noc Bonn" or simply say it on English. I am more than confident that a bus driver on that bus will understand you.

Reading all this eases my pain that I have to move from Berlin to Bonn later this year.

I think nobody mentioned "Das Haus der Deutschen Geschichte" - The House of German History with all kinds of stuff about Germany past 1945, the very first years with chancelor Adenauer, etc. etc.

Honestely, I am not quite sure how good it is for somebody not familiar with the German language. Can anybody enlighten that? I want to take some friends from the US there in the future but I haven't been there in ages

Bonn is a really quick train ride from Frankfurt airport also! Only 38 min from the long distance train station within the airport to Siegburg/Bonn. Only that you get to a secondary train station pretty much outside of the city center, and have to take a "Strassenbahn" (tram/city car) or a taxi to go downtown.

Bonn is a beautyful city and way better to stay than in Cologne, actually I'm considering changing my University and going to Bonn in fall (Did I mention I'm curently studying in the major tourism spot -> Heidelberg? Enough said). The bus (#670 AFAIK) takes approximately 35 min from CGN to the citycenter of Bonn and stops right in front of the main sation. As far as I remember it starts every 20 mins during the daytime.

On the homepage it says:
"Exhibition labels (English and French) All major labels in the permanent exhibition are available for free in English and French in handy pocketbook form.

Take advantage of our foreign-language services for groups! We offer tours in English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Russian. To facilitate organization, reservations for these group tours must be made a few weeks in advance."

"Haus der Geschichte" is a must! It's suitable for visitors of all ages (been there over a decade ago, when I was 11 or 12 years old) and of all backgrounds, it gives a universal impression of the post WWII history of Germany, IMO nobody that visits the Cologe-Bonn area should miss it.

That would be the way in german to imitate the US accent.
Better for a be for a english speaker: "Eyen mawl nawgh Bonn tsoum houptbawnhouf":)

But FTL is right, these guys should understand the demand for a ticket in english.

LOL

I really want to hear our US friends pronouncing that. If had my PC to do it and it sounded like a mixture between Klingon and Marsian. :p

So do I.

Seriously: Ask for the ticket in English. If the person selling the tickets doesn't understand, someone else in the queue will for sure.