Bonn voyage

Once the grand capital of West Germany, now a stately university town filled with art, Bonn is the perfect place for an alternative city break.

Set on the banks of the Rhine, populated with bicycles, students and artisans, the pavements of Bonn are packed with beautiful houses, coffee shops and galleries.

A shining beacon of Bonn and a good landmark is the main university building of Kurfürstliche Schloss. The grand yellow building is visible from most parts of the city and is a good place to start exploring. On a sunny day, the lawn provides an ideal spot for a picnic, while the nearby lookout point offers stunning views across the Rhine.

Behind the university is Kaiserplatz, a busy square en route to the main Hauptbahnhof, where buses, trains and trams begin journeys to Cologne and surrounding areas. The square is the perfect place to watch the world go by with an ice cream - a favourite German pastime.

Just off the square and down Kaiserstrasse is one of the best cafes in the city. Innovation Point not only serves coffee and cakes but provides an upright piano, a copy machine and laundry facilities.

An afternoon spent in an antique chair at this cafe is an experience not to be missed; patrons can hear one of the friendly regulars tinkle the ivories and take in the original artworks on display.

Cafes are plentiful around this student area and another place to stop by for a cheap bite to eat is Cafe Blau. Students, lecturers and locals gather at this reasonably-priced eatery for breakfasts and bowls (actually bowls and not just big cups) of milky coffee.

Cafe Blau is the also good for stocking up on bread and ham before heading next door to the City Museum - oddly the cafe is separated from the museum by a velvet curtain - and perhaps completing the famous Museum Mile, which also includes the Kunstmuseum Bonn and the Haus der Geschichte.

In the opposite direction and towards the north of the city is the charming old town, Aldstat, the birthplace of Bonn's favourite son Ludwig van Beethoven and home to a plethora of trendy bars.

Down the winding cobbles of Aldstat, visitors can discover Pawlow, an underwater grotto that plays laidback funky tunes to an older crowd looking for a few quiet drinks and some highbrow chitchat- check out the toilets for the mirrored mosaic decor.

It is here that visitors can find the Frauenmuseum, which, as the name suggests, is the city's museum dedicated to women, and the small, independent Cafe de Arte gallery. Situated on Heerstrasse, the little gallery showcases work from local artists and serves coffee, juices, and if you stick around long enough the bar staff might just bring over some complimentary hummus.

Those looking for a spot of green space should hop on a tram and head to Rheinaue, the largest park in Bonn. As well as a lake - complete with pedalos - the park hosts the biggest flea market in Europe once a month. The third Saturday of each month between April and
October sees everything from gramophones to tents on sale at the Flohmarkt.

No trip to Bonn would be complete without a promenade up Poppelsdorfer Allee, or a trip to the city's impressive Munster church, where Beethoven played the organ as a young man.

If the delights of Bonn fail to satisfy, regular trains run to the larger city of Cologne, which is more than worth a visit for its spectacular cathedral and large shopping district. But be warned, cheap flights and bargain-hunting tourists mean that Cologne has lost the magic that Bonn holds.

Flights to Cologne-Bonn are available from Thomson with regular bus services from the airport to Bonn Hauptbahnhof.

Rebecca Amir