Any recommendations on planning a weekend trip to the towns of Köln - Bonn - Aaachen -Brühl via train?
Day 1- A'dam to Köln, spend a day and night. Any recommended reasonably-priced hotels in the city center, close to Hauptbahnhof. What sights / museums to see in a day?

Day 2 - Take train to Bonn, but possibly stopping at Brühl, if it's worth it. Any suggestions? Is the Schloß close to the train station? What else to see in this town?

Then head to Bonn. Explore town on Day 2 and probably during the morning of Day 3.

Day 3 - Lunchtime head to Aachen. Stay at Aachen overnight. Recommend any hotels and sights to see?

Day 4 - Either head back to Koln for the train to A'dam or from Aachen head to Maastrict. Then back to A'dam.

Suggestions?!?

We will be traveling by train, so will this be a problem?

Should I spend more days in one town versus the other?

Interested in historic sights, great art museums, traditional meals, etc.

Thanks in advance!!

Here's a link to a thread on Bruhl, and the "Ugliest Staircase in the World."

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34500227

Peace. >- Robyn

We have family in the area so we always stay with them so I'm not much help on lodging.
The Cathedral in Koln is one of my favorite churches in all of Europe. It is very impressive and you can't miss it- when you walk out of the train station it is right there. We have lunched a couple times down by the river in a very colorful square. Touristy but good.
In Aachen we went to the church because it is the sight of Charlemagne's coronation. My aunt hired a student guide who was very informative and made it more interesting than if we had done it alone. She also took us to a park outside of Aachen where the borders of Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany meet. You can stand in all three countries at once. Hokey but cool. It might be hard to do it by train though.

Yes, Augustusburg castle in Bruehl is definitely worth it!! The train station is right next to the castle, too, maybe 200 yards. In the summer the gardens are also very nice.

In Bonn the musuem of German history after 1945 is really cool, as is the contemporary art museum (both not dowtown, but an easy subway ride away).

In Cologne the Chocolate/Cocoa museum is interesting, as is the former Gestapo HQ memorial museum.

Aachen - the whole city center is beautiful (city hall, cathedral, etc). Did not go the baths, but have heard nice things.

If you're interested in historic sights, consider taking a jaunt up to Remagen to check out the museum and former bridge. If you're not familiar with the history behind it, go to http://www.bruecke-remagen.de/index_en.htm. More than likely, you can take a very short train ride up to Remagen from Bonn. I live 10 mts outside of Bonn (American) so let me know if you have any questions specific to Bonn. Beethoven's house is near the main Marktplatz. There is a lot of shopping there too but that's about it (well, along with restaurants). Haribo gummy bears are made in Bonn and there is an outlet here. A little fun fact for you.

I second the recommendation of seeing the Dom in Koln. We always take people to see that. I've also taken a K-D round trip cruise from Koln which lasted 1-2 hours. It was kind of cheesy though. I just enjoy walking around the city. The chocolate museum info can be found at http://www.stollwerck.de/en/ (I had it bookmarked already).

Why Aachen? Why not check out a German town along the Rhine. Something like Bacharach/St. Goar? Not too much further up the Rhine from Remagen. Beautiful castle ruins and quaint villages. Linz is also another cute village not far from Remagen but on the opposite side of the river. Burg Eltz is incredible but may be hard to get to by train.

This is late (maybe), but regarding Aachen, I used to think it was dull, now I like it. The best hotel in town is the Quellenhof, now a Dorint/Sofitel. Elegant. Normally expensive, but you can find good deals on the Sofitel web site. It's a fairly short walk from the hotel to the cathedral. It has a nice terrace restaurant and bar. Also spa facilities.
Closer to the cathedral is the Best Western. I haven't stayed at the hotel, but have eaten at their Japanese restaurant...one of the best sushi bars in Germany. They get a lot of Japanese businessmen passing through.
More traditional German fare can be found at the Rose am Dom restaurant a stone's throw from the cathedral. The building dates back to the 14th century. Good choice for having the "usual suspects" of German cooking--pork chops, potatoes, etc.
The cathedral is the number one sight in Aachen. Ashamed to say, that's the only sight I'm really familiar with. The legend of the wolf and the cathedral is interesting, worth remembering if you ever find yourself in a debate about whether animals have souls or not.
Special note to chtiet, we are finally getting to Burghausen this year. Thanks for your help with that on an old post!

thanks to everyone for their advice. i returned from my trip and found Aachen and Brühl to be very enjoyable. i wasn't too impressed with Köln and Bonn, but it was nice to visit it and explore the town.

What did you find interesting and enjoyable about Augustusburg castle in Brühl?
Is it as close to the train station as another poster stated it is?

The Schloß is very close to the train station. As soon as you get out of the train station, the castle is straight ahead. The town of Brühl is small. There are tons of cafes in the town center.

provence97,
Thanks for the response about the location.
Is there anything special about the Schloß?

The castle is on UNESCO's World Heritage List. I was impressed with the Rococo staircase and rooms. It isn't as ornate as King Ludwig's castles in the Bayern region or the Versailles, but worth seeing.

provence97,

Thanks for the further info on the Schloß in Brühl.