What is the Bonn self-guided walking tour?
The Bonn self-guided walking tour is an audio walk through the centre of Bonn, told by narration on your phone instead of a guide. Count on about 3 hours: the walking itself takes only 30 minutes over 2.5 km, so most of the time is spent at the 10 stops, listening and looking around. You choose the day and the hour.
Outside the Minster you hear the legend of Cassius and Florentius, the Roman soldiers said to have died for their faith here, and why two huge stone heads lie on the ground beside the church. On Münsterplatz the narration tells how Franz Liszt helped pay for the Beethoven Monument of 1845 and Queen Victoria came to its unveiling. On Bonngasse you stand outside the house where Beethoven was born in December 1770, and at the Old Town Hall you learn who waved from its double staircase: Charles de Gaulle and John F. Kennedy among them.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 30 min · 2.5 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do on the walking tour
Listen
Each stop has its own story, from saints and prince-electors to the decades when Bonn was a capital. The text is on screen too, if you would rather read.
Walk on
Between stops, Google Maps leads the way: only 30 minutes on foot over 2.5 km of flat streets.
Stop for a while
Break for coffee or an hour inside a museum, then return to the route later that day or on another one.
Eat and shop
Tips for food and local shops near the route come with the stops, and the app lets you change where you begin and the order.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walking tour is for
Beethoven admirers
The monument, his birthplace and the court church where the electors prayed all lie on one short walk through the city where he grew up.
A stopover or day trip
The walk begins at the main station, so you can step off the train and start listening straight away.
Anyone who avoids groups
No meeting point and no flag to follow: you stay as long as a place holds you and walk on when you choose.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: Central Station, Bonn Minster, Beethoven House, Electoral Palace
10 stops · about 30 min walking · start: Bonn Central Station · finish: Egyptian Museum
From Bonn Central Station on the western edge of the centre, the route crosses to the Minster and the Martinsbrunnen beside it, then to the Beethoven Monument on Münsterplatz. Through the rebuilt Sterntor you reach Bonngasse and the Beethoven House, before the Palace Church and the Old Town Hall on the market square. The last stretch runs along the Electoral Palace, now the university, and ends at the Egyptian Museum in the Koblenzer Tor. In the app you can start elsewhere or reorder the stops, and none of them needs a ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Bonn Central StationStart
Bonn's main station lies on the western edge of the city centre, a short walk from Münsterplatz. The railway reached Bonn in 1844 with the line to Cologne, and from 1949 the station welcomed many politicians and diplomats, as Bonn became the seat of the West German government.
2Bonn Minster
Bonn Minster is one of the oldest churches in Germany, built mainly in Romanesque style between the 11th and 13th centuries. It is dedicated to Cassius and Florentius, Roman soldiers who according to legend died for their faith here, and two large stone heads of the saints by the sculptor Stephan Balkenhol lie beside it.
3Martinsbrunnen (St Martin's Fountain)
This fountain stands on Martinsplatz, right beside the Minster. Square and fountain are named after St Martin, the Roman soldier who according to legend cut his cloak in two to share it with a freezing beggar, a story the Rhineland still celebrates every November with lantern processions.
4Beethoven Monument
The bronze statue on Münsterplatz was unveiled in 1845, 75 years after Beethoven's birth, and was the first public monument to the composer. It was created by Ernst Julius Hähnel, Franz Liszt helped to pay for it, and Queen Victoria attended the celebrations for its unveiling.
5Sterntor
The Sterntor is the last surviving gate of Bonn's medieval town fortifications. It was taken down at the end of the 19th century to make way for traffic and then rebuilt a short distance away using its old stones, so the gateway you walk past today is a reconstruction.
6Beethoven House
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in this house on Bonngasse in December 1770. In 1889 a group of Bonn citizens founded the Beethoven-Haus association to save the building, and today it holds one of the largest Beethoven collections in the world, from manuscripts to his instruments.
7Palace Church (Schlosskirche)
This church inside the former Electoral Palace was the court church of the prince-electors of Cologne, who ruled from Bonn. Today it serves as a Protestant university church, so services and concerts are still held in the palace where the electors once prayed.
8Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus)
The late baroque Old Town Hall on the market square was built in 1737 and 1738 under Elector Clemens August. From its double staircase, state guests such as Charles de Gaulle and John F. Kennedy greeted the crowds while Bonn was the capital of West Germany.
9Electoral Palace
The Electoral Palace was built from 1697 to plans by Enrico Zuccalli for Joseph Clemens, prince-elector and archbishop of Cologne, who made Bonn his residence. Since 1818 it has been the main building of the University of Bonn, and its long front faces the Hofgarten, a wide lawn popular with students.
10Egyptian MuseumFinish
The Egyptian Museum of the University of Bonn is housed in the Koblenzer Tor, a baroque gate building of the palace complex from the 18th century with a road running through its arch. Its collection of objects from ancient Egypt is used both for teaching and for exhibitions open to visitors.
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Collected on GetYourGuide