Bonn’s old town Things to know about cherry blossom season
Bonn · Every year, cherry blossom season in Bonn's old town (Altstadt) attracts numerous tourists. It looks like the season will run from April 1 until 15 this year. Here is some background and relevant information about the big event.
It is a pink-colored spectacle, and one can hardly imagine Bonn without it. Every spring, many tourists flock from all over the world to Bonn’s old town. They come to see the cherry blossoms between Heerstraße and Breite Straße.
Peak season in 2018
The likely peak season this year is from April 1 to 15. Of course, it can’t be predicted exactly because weather plays a crucial role. If it is too warm, the cherry trees are already blossoming in mid-April. If the weather is too cold, the buds open later. Usually, however, the peak of the cherry blossom season in Bonn falls in mid-April, lasting for around ten days to two weeks.
Sprouted up in the eighties
Described as one of the most beautiful districts in Bonn, the old town was still quite gray just three decades ago and characterized by heavy through traffic. In the mid-1980’s, several urban planners finally decided to tackle renovation of the narrow streets. The historic facades all round were renewed, the traffic situation calmed down, and Japanese cherry blossoms were planted. And this despite initial protests from local residents who were worried that their apartments would be darkened as a result of the trees. Nobody could have guessed at that time that the pink sea of flowers would become a crowd pleaser.
Social media hype
In both the offline and online world, the cherry blossoms in Bonn are now an international event. On social media platforms, Heerstraße is hailed as one of the most beautiful streets in the world. Bloggers mention the Bonn blossoms on their personal lists of places everyone should visit. The Facebook page "Places to see before you die" dedicated a special story to the cherry blossoms in 2012, helping it to become even more widely known around the world. On Instagram, there are several hundred entries about the cherry blossoms with both German and English hashtags. This year will probably bring even more.
Getting there
Free parking in the old town is rare during cherry blossom season. It is better to take tram Line 66 to the event, getting off at the “Stadthaus” stop. Alternatively, one can take bus 604 or 605 directly to the old town. There are stops right at "Dorotheenstraße" and "Heerstraße". It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the main station via Thomas-Mann-Straße.
Original text: Judith Nikula, Translation: ck
