It is free, it is extensive, it has evil Russian propaganda. Do I need to say more?…read more I do have to take off a star for not accommodating stupid Americans like me. Even with the audio guide, there are some parts of the museum that you will just have to squint at intelligently, take pictures thinking that you will translate when you get home (you won't), and move on with the other children to the big tank. Big tanks require no translation. Neither does the life-sized canoe crashing through the wall with life jackets pouring out of it (bet you're going now, aren't you?)

This is one of the best museums to visit if you are at all interested in contemporary German…read morehistory (WWII and on). While it is a bit frustrating if you don't know German (only the major captions on signs are translated into English, though I heard you can ask for an English guide), the fact that it's free more than makes up for it. Regardless of my utter lack of German language ability, I still managed to spend hours in this museum. The best part? Admission is absolutely FREE. Definitely a must-see attraction in Bonn. Go with German locals if you can; it'll likely make your visit much more meaningful. Note: You will be asked to turn in your personal belongings at the coat check. Also, there is a direct entrance to the museum from the Heussallee/Museumsmeile U-Bahn station, on the western side of Friedrich-Ebert-Allee -- going through this entrance will actually allow you to see a neat car and train.

Whether you love or loathe Beethoven (though apparently you aren't actually supposed to loathe him)…read moreone cannot ignore the fact that the guy was a genious. Anyway, this is the house where he grew up in and it is basically a museum dedicated to everything Beethoven. Mind you, there are a number of parts of the house which, rather than being the original rooms, simply contain what amounts to Museum pieces, though you do get to see the original instruments and the original pieces that he had written. It is certainly with checking out if you happen to be in Bonn, but then again it is hard to ignore the fact that you are in Beethovens home town when you are in Bonn.

Very emotional!…read more Being a super huge fan of Beethoven's work since I was a child, I was very excited to visited the house and was not disappointed! The house is very well kept and the souvenir shop is really good. The house is small, but there are many stairs, and you climb two times. The collection is extensive, and you can learn everything about the Beethoven's house association, and about other composers that were part of his life. You can see a lot of his work in original form (well, copies), his testament, letters, objects (even some hair from his head, lol!) Music he wrote, his piano, and other instruments... And also the room in which he was born! I was very pleased with the visit, and was a very special moment to me. You can also sit down in the end and listen to music. And they sell a cd in the shop with some compositions being played with the original instruments. Good points: - Big collection - Everything is well preserved and organized - Staff was friendly - The shop has nice things about Beethoven - There is a parking garage nearby (150m) that isn't too expensive! Right when you go up you see many nice shops and a small market with fresh food. Some bad points: - It was a bit hard to find, we passed through it two times, and only then realised we were standing infront of it and had to open the door (which looked like it was locked to me) to get in - Most signs of the objects and other things were in German - You can't take pictures

This is a great museum for maths aficionados. Captures incredible history of Arithmetic in general…read moreand its cryptographic and more sophisticated discrete maths in particular. Several exhibits and all for about three euros fee. You can spend many hours on the four floors with some original but some replicas of some of the rarest calculation machines ever built. For English users, you have enough in English in terms of supplementary cards. Must visit if you are in Bonn.

Mechanical calculators? I literally cranked out numbers in this place. The old-school calculators…read morehad hand cranks to drive the mechanism. It was a lot of fun to be able to play with some of the display calculators. Most of the calculators that you can play with come with quite detailed instructions in case you want to follow along and understand the mechanism. A beautiful space, reasonably well documented displays (even with English info), and just the right size to spend about two hours museum-ing. The focus is clearly calculating machines, but there's art as well as modern furniture on display. In some cases, the modern chairs slightly upstage the calculators. The floors are laid out such that the top floor contains the most ancient calculators and each floor down gets us closer to the present day. Worth a visit.

We visited the castle during a trip up the mountain with the Drachenfelsbahn with a combined…read moreticket. Not knowing what to expect, we spend first money in an excellent giftshop before entering the castle. What a nice place. A lovely location with great views, nice furniture and wall paintings, but, above all, fantastic stained glass windows. A great place to visit.

Such a beautiful, but eccentric, castle near Bonn!…read more Schloss Drachenburg is definitely reminiscent of Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, but has its own uniqueness. The castle is a crazy mix of architectural styles and has an over-the-top, display of wealth, but, again, it's a castle. They were built to impress and impress it does! It's funny to learn that, although it has a very medieval feel, the castle was only built in the late 1800s. The decorations are gorgeous and make you feel like you're living in a fairy tale! Although the castle suffered some damage during the war, it has been beautifully restored and the grounds are still well-maintained. Our visit came a little too early and we just missed out on the start of a Christmas market at the castle. Regardless, it was a magical visit and worth the trip out of Bonn! Definitely pay the extra couple euros and enjoy a ride on the funicular too!

I really enjoyed my visit at the Bundeskunsthalle, beyond the nice architecture of the building…read moreitself, the widely open space of the whole area invites for a nice walk. The exhibition varies and thus inform yourself before hand it it suits your interests from my point of view it is definitely worth visiting.

This is the little brother to the Deutsches Museum in Munich. It's nowhere near as large, but has…read morean interesting collection of experimental artifacts with an emphasis on physics. (As an example, they have the vacuum chamber where fullerene was first synthesized.) If you're a scientist, you'll enjoy looking at the retro equipment (and recognize how many famous experiments were run on hacked together gear). There's also some hands-on for the kids. Plan an hour or two max, though -- it is much smaller than Munich.