Date of "Rhine in Flames" 2014: 3 May

Magnificent fireworks and Bengal lights attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from Germany and abroad

If you wish to gain an extraordinary impression of Bonn and its region you should travel to this Federal City on the first May weekend. For it is then that pyrotechnical specialists set the Rhine aflame, creating a spectacular show of light. Once a year, "The Rhine in Flames along the Siebengebirge” (Rhein in Flammen am Siebengebirge) is organised between Linz and Bonn. The river banks and numerous landmarks and sights are bathed in magic colours. Along the Rhine promenades of Linz, Remagen, Rheinbreitbach, Unkel, Bad Honnef, Königswinter, Niederdollendorf and Bonn, 2,000 red Bengal lights and five fireworks add an incomparable ambience to the Rhine Valley that night. That is why this event attracts so many viewers from Germany and abroad to one of the most scenic regions of Germany.

With dusk falling, a fleet of over 60 illuminated ships starts floating down the legendary river to Bonn. There the 25,000 passengers on board and tens of thousands of spectators ashore watch the evening’s highlight, a firework of the international premium class. For over 20 minutes, the bright colours of rockets, bombs, flickering stars and pyrotechnical novelties cast a spell over the visitors in the Rheinaue Leisure Park, the grounds of the National Horticultural Show of 1979. Year after year, all of this is accompanied by music which can be received by radio and so guarantees a unique experience in every corner of the park. If you wish to witness a unique ambience and see unforgettable images you should earmark next spring for a visit to Bonn.