Where to stay in Bonn when you've been tossed out in the street?

June 2, 2006 11:27 AM

Blast! I'm in trouble. I was going to stay with a friend in Bonn, but...

I had plans to stay with a friend in Bonn, but for various reasons she informed me today that I can no longer stay at her place. I also, unfortunately, cannot cancel my tickets there. I'm a bit upset but mostly worried about where I will stay, especially because I'll be there so soon.

Need a bed these nights: June 5th, 6th, 7th, and 11th.

Can anyone recommend a hostel there? I'm looking for cheapness and walkability.

Are there any MeFites that would like to meet while I'm there?

As usual with travelfilter, what should I see in Bonn? I've done my research on the touristy stuff, any personal recommendations would be really helpful.

posted by fake to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

I've had people stay with me in my home town through the Hospitality Club. You might have a look there - see what's available in Bonn.

It's a great way to get personal local suggestions too.
posted by dog food sugar at 12:01 PM on June 2, 2006

About 8 miles south of Bonn is Bad Godesberg. This is a neat little town where many of the embassys (sp?) used to be before they moved to Berlin. There are cheapish hotels there. You can take the trolly to/from Bonn. The biggest thing in Bad Godesberg besides the spa and the castle (which houses a restaurant) is the Redoubt, a large mansion turned into a conference center. and the Redoubtchen is an excellent pub right next door. You'll be along the Rhine across from the Siebengeberge. take a short ferry ride across. There's the Drachenfels castle. Also you'll only be a few miles from Remagen if you're a WWII buff. Oh, and Koln is only a short train ride from Bonn, so don't rule out seeing the Dom and drinking some Kolsh. check out www.godesberg.de
posted by Gungho at 12:14 PM on June 2, 2006

Also check out couch surfing. I've never done it, but it seems pretty neat, and there's a lot of good reviews. It shows ~3500 people signed up in Germany. I did a search (which I unfortunately can't link to), and I think it has 12 people registered in Bonn. Maybe one of them could work out?
posted by inigo2 at 12:16 PM on June 2, 2006

i'm a couchsurfer, don't expect to have good luck with it if you've never used before...newly created profile...and need a place to stay in a few days, sorry....now if you join and become active it's great....just not for newbies
posted by killyb at 12:24 PM on June 2, 2006

Thanks everyone so far. Definitely appreciate the Bad Godesberg recommendation... sounds interesting. Any other advice, thoughts, places to stay would be great.
posted by fake at 12:45 PM on June 2, 2006

There's a Youth Hostel in Bonn-Venusberg, with prices starting from €22 per night. The hostel is pretty nice, all rooms have their own bathroom, and it might well be the best value for the money available in Bonn.

The hostel is located on top of a hill (the "berg" in Venusberg means "hill") with some forest around, so you can take nice walks there. Unfortunately you cannot really walk to the city center from there, but you can take a bus which takes about 16 minutes and drops you off at the main train station, and you can walk pretty much everywhere from there.

I don't live in Bonn myself, but have lived there for seven years before moving away two years ago. Gungho made some good suggestions for Bad Godesberg (though the sights he mentioned are spelled Redoute and Redüttchen), but there's much more to see in Bonn itself. In the city center (which has a large pedestrian area) there is the house where Beethoven was born, (now a good museum about the componist), the Münster (large church), the castle (wich now houses the university) and, of course, the river Rhine.

Bonn also has a lot of pubs, many of which are located in the inner city or in the "Altstadt" to the North of the city center, but if you're looking for a regional beer go to Brauhaus Bönnsch, which is conveniently located in the pedestrian area.

Take the underground or a bus from there (or stroll along the Rhine if the weather is good) to get to the area with the former federal buildings (Bundestag etc.) between Bonn and Bad Godesberg. There are also a lot of museums, many of the along the "Museum Mile". I especially recommend the Deutsches Museum about science and technology and the Haus der Geschichte about German history since the end of WWII, though some of the art museums are very good too. The Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Art Museum) currently shows "Xi'an - Imperial Power in the Afterlife", for example. A personal favourite is the August-Macke-Haus with an exhibition of paintings by August Macke, a member of the Rhenish expressionists. See the current exhibition here.

If you've got any more questions, feel free to send me e-mail. My address is in my profile. :-)
posted by amf at 1:00 PM on June 2, 2006

wow, amf, thanks.
posted by fake at 1:33 PM on June 2, 2006

Just a heads up that there is a World Cup match in Köln on the 11th, which is not that far from Bonn and there is a good possibility that most regional hotel/hostel space could be full.
posted by white_devil at 10:15 PM on June 2, 2006

Yeah, just saw that myself- the hostel amf mentioned is full. Others are not but the prices are twice as high.
posted by fake at 10:41 PM on June 2, 2006