Aachen travel guides

Aachen's old town is compact and walkable, but two rules decide how the day is shaped: the cathedral is free to enter while the throne needs a guided tour, and travellers report the Rathaus interior needs a booked tour. This plan works around both.

Aachener Printen are not ordinary gingerbread: they are hard, deeply spiced and protected as a regional specialty. This guide explains what makes them different, how to read a bakery shelf, and how to choose, store and gift them on a visit to Aachen's old town.

Aachen after dark is a short, traffic-calmed walk between the cathedral, the Rathaus, the Katschhof and the market square, with Printen shops and the Pontstraße student strip minutes away. Interiors close in the evening, so build the night around exteriors first, then food, then bars.

Choose one direction instead of stacking four towns into a single day. This guide weighs Bonn, Aachen, the Rhine around Koblenz, the Moselle at Cochem, and cross-border options, using the guided tours an English-speaking operator lists for travellers from Cologne.