10 Best Sights in Bonn, The Rhineland

This ornate, leafy cemetery is the resting place of many of the country's most celebrated sons and daughters. Look for the tomb of composer Robert Schumann (1810–56) and his wife, Clara, also a composer and accomplished pianist. A PDF plan of the most prominent burial sites can be found on the cemetery website.

This 18th-century rococo town hall looks somewhat like a pink dollhouse. Its elegant steps and stair entry have seen a great many historic figures, including French president Charles de Gaulle and U.S. president John F. Kennedy. It's now the seat of the Lord Mayor of Bonn and can only be admired from the outside.

Beethoven was born in Bonn in 1770 and, except for a short stay in Vienna, lived here until the age of 22. You'll find scores, paintings, violins, a grand piano (his last, in fact), and an ear trumpet or two. The museum shop carries everything from kitsch to elegant Beethoven memorabilia.

The 900-year-old church is vintage late Romanesque, with a massive octagonal main tower and a soaring spire. It stands on a site where two Roman soldiers were executed in the 3rd century for being Christian. It saw the coronations of two Holy Roman Emperors (in 1314 and 1346) and was one of the Rhineland's most important ecclesiastical centers in the Middle Ages. The 17th-century bronze figure of St. Helen and the ornate rococo pulpit are highlights of the interior. Outside you'll find two giant stone heads: those of Cassius and Florentius, the martyred soldiers.

This is one of the Rhineland's most important venues for major temporary exhibitions about art, culture, and archaeology. Its modern design, by Viennese architect Gustave Peichl, is as interesting as anything on exhibit in the museum. It features three enormous blue cones situated on a lawnlike rooftop garden.

Walking through the pleasant area that was once the government district is like taking a trip back in time, to an era when Bonn was still the sleepy capital of West Germany. Bordered by Adenauerallee, Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse, Franz-Josef-Strasse, and the Rhine, the quarter boasts sights such as the Bundeshaus, which includes the Plenarsaal (Plenary Hall). Designed to serve as the new Federal Parliament, the Bundeshaus was completed only seven years before the capital was relocated to Berlin in 1999. A few steps away, you'll find the historic Villa Hammerschmidt, the German equivalent of the White House. This stylish neoclassical mansion began serving as the federal president's permanent residence in 1950, and is still his home when he stays in Bonn. Equally impressive is the Palais Schaumburg, another fine example of the Rhein Riveria estates that once housed the Federal Chancellery (1949–76). It became the center of Cold War politics during the Adenauer administration.

German history since World War II is the subject of this museum, which begins with "hour zero," as the Germans call the unconditional surrender of 1945. The museum displays an overwhelming amount of documentary material organized on five levels and engages various types of media. You can even step inside a re-created 1950s ice-cream parlor, complete with an interactive jukebox. An audio guide in English is available.

Exhibits are generally excellent at this large museum that focuses on German art since 1945, mainly Rhenish expressionists (Beuys, Baselitz, and August Macke), as well as works by contemporary German artists.

Built in the 18th century by the prince-electors of Cologne, this grand palace now houses Bonn's university. If the weather is good, stroll through Hofgarten park in front of it. When Bonn was a capital, this patch of grass drew tens of thousands to antinuclear demonstrations. Today it's mostly used for games of pickup soccer and ultimate Frisbee.

This former electors' palace, built in the baroque style between 1715 and 1753, now houses the university's mineralogical collection. Its botanical gardens are home to 12,000 species, among the largest variety in Germany.