Aachen in 4 days

Aachener Dom (Aachen Cathedral) about 45 minutes · heart of the city

Charlemagne's UNESCO-listed Palatine Chapel, his burial place, and Germany's first UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed 1978).

Domschatzkammer (Cathedral Treasury) about 1 hour

One of the most significant church treasuries in Europe — the Cross of Lothair, the Bust of Charlemagne, and the Persephone sarcophagus.

Aachen Rathaus (Town Hall) & Krönungssaal (Coronation Hall) about 1 hour · heart of the city

Built on the foundations of Charlemagne's palace hall; the great Coronation Hall upstairs hosted 30 royal coronation banquets.

Centre Charlemagne (Neues Stadtmuseum Aachen) about 1 hour and 15 minutes

Aachen's modern city-history museum, built directly over Charlemagne's palace courtyard between the Dom and the Rathaus.

Grashaus about 30 minutes

Aachen's oldest surviving secular building (c. 1267) and its original town hall — now a free European-history stop on the Route Charlemagne.

Elisenbrunnen about 15 minutes

A neoclassical colonnaded pavilion over Aachen's sulfurous thermal spring — the city's most photographed landmark after the Dom.

Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum about 1 hour and 15 minutes

Aachen's principal fine-art museum — medieval sculpture, Old Masters and a notable Rhenish religious-art collection in a grand 1901 villa.

Internationales Zeitungsmuseum (International Newspaper Museum) about 45 minutes

A quirky, little-visited museum on the history of the printed newspaper, with a vast historic newspaper archive.

Pontstraße & Pontviertel about 1 hour

Aachen's lively student and nightlife street, running northwest from the Markt toward the university — bars, cafes, and independent shops.

Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst about 1 hour

Contemporary and pop art in a converted 1920s umbrella factory — part of the Peter and Irene Ludwig collection network.

Burg Frankenberg (Frankenberg Castle) & Park about 30 minutes

A 13th-century lowland castle in a leafy residential quarter, later home to aviation pioneer Hugo Junkers — now an events venue set in its own park.

Lousberg about 1 hour

A 264m wooded hill on the edge of the old town, laid out as one of Europe's earliest public parks (1807) — the best skyline view over Aachen.

Carolus Thermen Bad Aachen about 3 hours

A large modern thermal spa fed by Aachen's own hot mineral springs — the same waters Charlemagne and the Romans bathed in.

Wasserturm Belvedere (Belvedere Tower) about 15 minutes

A 1950s water tower turned rotating panorama restaurant atop the Lousberg — exterior view any time, interior currently only for events and Sunday brunch.

Neues Kurhaus & Stadtgarten about 30 minutes

A grand 1916 neoclassical spa-and-casino building fronting Aachen's Stadtgarten park — reopening as an event venue after a long renovation.

Elisengarten & Roman Bath Ruins about 15 minutes

A small landscaped garden behind the Elisenbrunnen, with excavated Roman bath foundations visible under a glass-and-steel pavilion.

Puppenbrunnen (Puppet Fountain) about 15 minutes

A 1975 bronze fountain on Krämerstraße with movable jointed figures — Aachen's most hands-on piece of public art.

Couven Museum about 45 minutes

Period-furnished Rococo and Biedermeier interiors in an 18th-century townhouse, named for Aachen's leading Baroque architect family.

Marschiertor about 15 minutes

Aachen's best-preserved medieval city gate, part of the 13th-century fortification ring, near the main station.

Burtscheid Abbey (St. Johann Baptist) about 30 minutes

A former imperial abbey church anchoring Aachen's spa quarter of Burtscheid, rebuilt in airy Baroque style after a fire.