Especial Bonn
Oberkassel, the Bonn village between the Rhine and the Ennert
Two old parish churches, a baroque country house, five hectares of rare trees and a quarry-edge deck, all within walking reach of the Rhine bank at Oberkassel.
Por Camille LefèvreBonn on foot, one neighbourhood at a time
A quarry in the Ennert hills above Oberkassel gave up a double burial in 1914, 14,000 years old and holding the oldest known domestic dog. The find is displayed across the river at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Bonn. Those quarries are flooded now, deep basalt lakes in beech woods at the northernmost tip of the Siebengebirge.
The village core on Königswinterer Straße
Start on foot in the old core, where the through road and two side lanes still set the shape of the place. Alte Evangelische Kirche Oberkassel (corner of Königswinterer Straße and Zipperstraße) was built between 1683 and 1685. French troops burnt it out in 1689, and it was rebuilt by 1698. It is the oldest Protestant church anywhere in Bonn and one of the first raised in the Rhineland after the Thirty Years' War.
The church is a plain rendered rectangular hall with no tower, under a tall steep slate gable roof. Weathered old gravestones stand around it in the churchyard, which anyone can walk into with nothing to pay.
St. Cäcilia Oberkassel (Kastellstraße 40) has the oldest fabric in the quarter. The Romanesque bell tower of around 1200 began life as a choir tower with an apse, and it stands over a narrow lane, grafted onto a later nave. Four storeys of round-arched twin openings break the stone face. Five bells hang inside, the eldest from the 15th century. Quiet visits outside Mass are welcome. Both of these are working parish churches, and the parish office for St. Cäcilia, at Kastellstraße 38, is where you ring before bringing a group.
Lippesches Landhaus (Königswinterer Straße) is Oberkassel's grandest building, a two-part late-baroque country house of 1750 to 1760 by Johann Conrad Schlaun. Pale rendered walls with white window surrounds sit under a slate hipped roof, set back behind a wall and gatepiers. The Counts of Lippe-Biesterfeld held it for 200 years, and local tradition has the young Beethoven teaching piano here. The house is privately owned and lived in, so viewing is from the street only. An events caterer occupies the Kavaliershaus at the side, and functions there are bookable by arrangement.
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Arboretum Park Härle on Büchelstraße
Arboretum Park Härle (Büchelstraße 50) is five hectares of hillside tree collection above the village, with the entrance gate at the foot of the slope. Towering rare conifers and huge rhododendrons grow along stone steps that climb the hill. The flat section called the Neuer Garten has gravel paths and benches to sit on.
The park does not open daily, so check the dates before you build a day around it. Free guided tours run on the first Saturday of the month and one Wednesday evening from March to October. They last 90 minutes to two hours and need no booking. The park also opens on Friday afternoons. Entry is free and donations go to upkeep. Dedicated tours are arranged in advance by email at [email protected].
Tram 62 or 66 to Oberkassel-Mitte leaves five minutes' walk. No car reaches the park itself.
Skywalk Rabenlay and the quarry lakes
Skywalk Rabenlay (walked in from the Wanderparkplatz on Oberkasseler Straße) was built in 2017 above the old Stingenberg quarry in the Ennert hills east of the village. A narrow timber deck sits on a single steel strut and cantilevers 9 metres out over the sheer rock lip, beech forest behind you. Ahead lie the Rhine valley, Bonn's skyline and the ruined Drachenfels.
The platform is free and unstaffed, and you can only reach it on foot. Parking at the Wanderparkplatz costs nothing and the walk in is 2 km, easy enough with children. The deck measures 24 m², so a large group takes turns at the rail.
Deeper in the Ennert, Dornheckensee & Blauer See hold blue-green water in a bowl of dark vertical basalt walls, with beech woods crowding the rim and old quarry adits open in the rock face. The Dornheckensee is 20 m deep and holds freshwater jellyfish. Both lakes form an open nature and bird reserve, free to walk. Swimming is strictly forbidden and the signs say so. The footpaths are steep and stony, and they run narrow at the cliff edges.
The Rhine bank at Oberkasseler Ufer
The Oberkasseler Rheinufer is what the trip out here is for. A gravel-and-asphalt foot-and-cycle path runs right on the bank, flat and uncrowded, under willows and poplars. Long loaded barges slide past, and the wooded Siebengebirge fills the far side with the ruined Drachenfels on the skyline. May to September is the season for it.
The path is a public right of way with no limits and nothing to pay, and the Rhine cycle route runs straight through. Bonn city centre and the Minster are 6 km downriver.
Café Restaurant Bundeshäuschen (Oberkasseler Ufer 4) is a low white-rendered house almost on the bank, with a broad front terrace of chairs ranked along the water and a shaded beer garden alongside. The riverside cycle path passes the gate. The Opgenorth family has run it for generations, with Rhenish Sauerbraten and schnitzel at midday and fresh waffles in the afternoon. Mains are €14 to €24. It serves Wednesday to Sunday, 11:30 to 21:00, and the kitchen closes at 20:00. Mondays and Tuesdays are closed. Book by phone on 0228 441103, and ask about the separate rooms for a function.
Bikini Beach Bonn (Karl-Duwe-Straße 1) is the quarter's one bit of nightlife, a seasonal beach bar on the sunset side of the river. Imported sand lies underfoot on the bank, with deckchairs, parasols and a timber bar hut, and the sun drops behind the water with the Siebengebirge in silhouette. Cocktails are €10 to €13. Open-air DJ nights run through the season, and Oliver Koletzki's strandliebe open air was here in June 2026. The season is May to September, so check the schedule before you count on an evening here. Reserve a lounge area ahead for a weekend.
Rohmühle at the Bonner Bogen
The old cement works at Oberkassel's northern edge has become the Bonner Bogen, and Rohmühle (Rheinwerkallee 3) is in the converted brick mill building. A large raised sun terrace projects toward the Rhine, with the Siebengebirge ridge filling the far bank. The cooking leans regional and takes in Black Angus steaks, pasta and a full vegan list. Mains are €20 to €35. It opens daily, 11:30 to 23:00. Reserve ahead in summer on 0228 4100707.
Eating on Königswinterer Straße
IKARUS Haus zur Wolfsburg (Königswinterer Straße 737) fills an old village inn behind a dark timber-and-plaster frontage. The dining room is panelled in warm wood, and charcoal-grill platters arrive on metal dishes. This is one of the top kitchens in Oberkassel and the local favourite for a loud, generous, fairly priced dinner, with mains at €13 to €22. It serves Tuesday to Saturday, 17:00 to 22:30, and on Sunday from 11:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 22:30. Mondays are closed. Long tables are its everyday trade; phone 0228 4337047.
Marcello Chiriatti has run Lo Scoglio im Himmelreich (Königswinterer Straße 685) for years in the lane called Himmelreich. The setting is the draw, a sheltered courtyard terrace behind an old Oberkassel house with greenery against rendered walls. Wood-fired pizza and southern-Italian plates are served in the inner rooms. Pizza and pasta are €10 to €18. Tuesdays are closed. The restaurant's own website is a placeholder at present, so book by phone on 0228 9329800.
Savvy Nosh (Königswinterer Straße 626) does the best daytime eating in the quarter, out of a small bright bistro and shop. Open shelves of cookware and jars of delicacies line the walls, and the day's short menu is chalked up at the counter. The menu carries full vegetarian and vegan cooking. Lunch is €10 to €20. Hours are Tuesday to Friday, midday to 18:00, and Saturday evening. The Saturday evening set menu needs a reservation on 0228 9449490.
Where to stay in Oberkassel
Kameha Grand Bonn (Am Bonner Bogen 1) is the one international-standard hotel at this end of the Rhine bank, on the Oberkassel and Ramersdorf boundary. The building is a curved block of glass and steel facing the river, with a cavernous atrium lobby, suspended cocoon seating pods and a terrace looking at the Siebengebirge. It has 254 rooms, 36 of them suites, plus event space, coach access and parking. Doubles start at €160. The in-house Yunico holds a Michelin star for Japanese-Mediterranean cooking and serves on Wednesday to Saturday evenings.
Pension Oberkasseler Hof (Königswinterer Straße 613) is the sensible base for anyone here to walk. It is a modest family-run guest house in the village street, 14 rooms with bright art on white walls, at €53 to €90 with breakfast. Breakfast itself is served next door at Café Breuer. Parking is free. Bonn-Oberkassel station is five minutes away, the Rhine bank a few minutes further, and the Ennert trails start from the door. A vaulted German cellar restaurant runs below the house with a skittle alley off it, set up for a group evening. For rooms elsewhere in the city, use the Bonn hotel search.
Days, closures and booking
Work the week around the closed days. Bundeshäuschen shuts Mondays and Tuesdays, IKARUS shuts Mondays, Lo Scoglio shuts Tuesdays, and Savvy Nosh is a lunch kitchen with one evening service on Saturday. Arboretum Park Härle opens only on its tour dates and Friday afternoons, Bikini Beach only in season, and Yunico only on Wednesday to Saturday evenings. Reserve Rohmühle ahead in summer, and book the Savvy Nosh set menu before you walk down.
See the Bonn guide for the rest of the city.
Antes de ir
What is there to see in Oberkassel?
The old village core has three free landmarks: the Alte Evangelische Kirche of 1683 to 1685, the Romanesque bell tower of St. Cäcilia from around 1200, and the late-baroque Lippesches Landhaus, a private home you can only see from the street. Above the village, Arboretum Park Härle is five hectares of rare trees, and Skywalk Rabenlay and the flooded quarry lakes are up in the Ennert hills.
When can you visit Arboretum Park Härle?
The park is not open every day. Free guided tours of 90 minutes to two hours run on the first Saturday of the month and on one Wednesday evening from March to October, and you do not need to book; the park also opens on Friday afternoons. Entry is free and donations go to upkeep. Tram 62 or 66 to Oberkassel-Mitte puts you five minutes' walk away, and you cannot drive to the park itself.
How do you get to Skywalk Rabenlay?
You can only get there on foot. Parking at the Wanderparkplatz on Oberkasseler Straße is free, and the walk in is 2 km through beech forest. The platform is free and unstaffed, and at 24 m² a large group has to take turns at the rail. The view covers the Rhine valley, Bonn's skyline and the ruined Drachenfels.
Can you swim in the Dornheckensee or the Blauer See?
No. Both lakes lie inside an open nature and bird reserve where swimming is forbidden, and the footpaths are steep and stony, with narrow stretches at the cliff edges. The Dornheckensee is 20 m deep and has freshwater jellyfish.
Which Oberkassel restaurants close on which days, and what needs booking?
Café Restaurant Bundeshäuschen closes Mondays and Tuesdays, IKARUS Haus zur Wolfsburg Mondays, Lo Scoglio im Himmelreich Tuesdays. Rohmühle opens daily, and in summer you should book ahead on 0228 4100707. Savvy Nosh serves lunch Tuesday to Friday plus Saturday evening, and the Saturday set menu needs a reservation on 0228 9449490.
