Experience the best of Bonn

Bonn lies on the Rhine south of Cologne and was the capital of West Germany from 1949 until reunification in 1990. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in the town in 1770, and his birthplace on Bonngasse is now a museum. The Münster, a Romanesque and Gothic basilica, stands in the centre, and the old Town Hall on the market square is rococo.

The University of Bonn occupies the former residence of the prince-electors, and the botanic garden and the baroque Poppelsdorf Palace lie at the end of a chestnut avenue. The Museum Mile on the Rhine has the Haus der Geschichte, covering post-war German history, and the Kunstmuseum Bonn. Across the river, the Siebengebirge hills rise to the Drachenfels, a castle ruin reached by a rack railway.

Rhenish dishes such as sauerbraten, braised in vinegar and spices, and potato pancakes with apple sauce appear on menus, with beer and Rhine wines to drink. In April a street of cherry trees in the old town is covered in pink blossom, the Beethoven Festival fills concert halls in autumn, and the riverside promenade is full of walkers in summer.