How do you get around Aachen?

Walking — the centre is compact and the market wraps round the cathedral. Bus — the city network, and across to the Dutch and Belgian borders. Train — Cologne in thirty-five minutes, Brussels in an hour and a half. Thermal baths — the Carolus Therme, fed from the springs the Romans used. Airport: Cologne/Bonn (CGN), an hour by train

Aachen Travel Tips & Guide — Weather, Costs, Safety

Q: When is the best time to visit Aachen?

The best months to visit Aachen are Late November to late December for the markets, and May to September for everything else — the markets are busiest at weekends and in the last fortnight before the holiday.

Q: What currency is used in Aachen?

Aachen uses the Euro (EUR). Euro, and cards work almost everywhere — but the Christmas market stalls are the exception, and a good many of them still want cash for a mug of Glühwein. Carry notes for the market and nothing else. Never change money at a station booth.

Q: Is Aachen safe for tourists?

Aachen rates 5 out of 5 for safety. Very comfortable. The market is dense around the cathedral and the lanes between the stalls are narrow. The sulphur smell in parts of the centre is the springs and not a fault. The city is on a slope and wet cobbles are the usual hazard.

Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash

A view of a city at sunset with a pink sky — Aachen, Germany

A group of people sitting at tables outside of a building — Aachen, Germany

Brown concrete building under blue sky during daytime — Aachen, Germany

A dog with a green collar — Aachen, Germany

Photos by Igor Shalyminov, Shannia Christanty, Jennifer Latuperisa-Andresen and Farschad Roschanipour on Unsplash

I have been here

Getting aroundEasy

Things to doA week easily

FoodVery good

PricesGood value

SafetyVery safe

Best time to visit all of Germany

Late November to late December for the markets, and May to September for everything else — the markets are busiest at weekends and in the last fortnight before the holiday

Climate month by month

Average high and low · °C

5°

0°Jan

6°

0°Feb

10°

2°Mar

13°

4°Apr

18°

8°May

20°

11°Jun

22°

13°Jul

22°

13°Aug

18°

10°Sep

Now14°

7°Oct

9°

4°Nov

6°

1°Dec

Rainfall · mm per month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Best months to visit This month · wettest 85mm in Jul

Where it is

50.78°N, 6.08°E Open in Google Maps

Things to do

A week easily

Stand under Charlemagne’s chapel and look up
Buy Printen from a Printenbäckerei, not a stall
Sit in the Carolus thermal baths after a cold day
Walk to the three-country point
Drink a Belgian beer because you can

Aachen travel tipsthe general rules

Currency budget Germany

Good value

Local currencyEuro (EUR)

Exchange rate1 EUR = 1.15 USD1 EUR = 0.86 GBP

Euro, and cards work almost everywhere — but the Christmas market stalls are the exception, and a good many of them still want cash for a mug of Glühwein. Carry notes for the market and nothing else. Never change money at a station booth.

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ATMs & cards

Use a bank’s own machine — Sparkasse, Volksbank, ING, BNP — rather than the Euronet ones near the markets and stations, which charge and push their own conversion. Always decline the conversion.

Avoid these

Euronet
the machines beside the Christmas markets

Use these instead

Sparkasse
Volksbank
Deutsche Bank
Commerzbank

Decline the conversion. Draw before the market rather than at it: the independent machines cluster where the stalls are, and a good many stalls still want cash.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

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Safety all of Germany

Very safe

Very comfortable. The market is dense around the cathedral and the lanes between the stalls are narrow. The sulphur smell in parts of the centre is the springs and not a fault. The city is on a slope and wet cobbles are the usual hazard.

Where to walk, and where to pay attention (4 areas)

Comfortable, including after dark

Worth more attention

the lanes between the market stalls at peak times — narrow, and the crowd only moves one way

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

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Entry & visa Germany visa rules

Passport

No visa needed

Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.

Other passports

No visa neededup to 90 days

90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.

Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)

A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.

How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.

Official government source · checked 2026-08-09

Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.

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Health & emergencies all of Germany

Excellent and cheap

Emergency number112

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor

Worth having

Routine vaccinations up to date
Tick-borne encephalitis for the south (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg) if walking in forests

Getting treated

EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

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Food tip

Very good

Printen, which is not Lebkuchen whatever anyone says — harder, darker, and made with a sugar beet syrup rather than honey; Reibekuchen, potato pancakes with apple sauce; and because the border is minutes away, genuinely good Belgian beer in ordinary bars.

Getting around

Easy

Ride-hailing

UberWorks here
BoltWorks here
FREE NOWWorks here

Uber brokers licensed hire cars rather than its own drivers

Pricey€10–18 across town

Against a taxi: Roughly level with the meter, and Germany is one of the few places where a taxi is sometimes cheaper.

The Rückkehrpflicht — hire cars must return to base between jobs — is why a car can be ten minutes away in a small city.

Walking — the centre is compact and the market wraps round the cathedral
Bus — the city network, and across to the Dutch and Belgian borders
Train — Cologne in thirty-five minutes, Brussels in an hour and a half
Thermal baths — the Carolus Therme, fed from the springs the Romans used
Airport: Cologne/Bonn (CGN), an hour by train

Been there? Something changed

Time zone and your working day

08:54Thursday in Aachen

Offices closed

Europe/Berlin — 6 hours ahead of you

2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.

No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.

Aachen

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You

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office hours both at once night

Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.

The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more

Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.

Getting online

Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Germany, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.

Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026

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Must-see

The cathedral, and Charlemagne’s octagonal chapel inside itThe Christmas market between the cathedral and the town hallPrinten, the hard spiced biscuit the town is built onThe Elisenbrunnen and the sulphur springsThe three-country point, where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet

Nearby day trips

CologneMaastrichtLiègethe Eifel

Say a few words

German

HelloGuten TagGOO-ten tahk
PleaseBitteBI-tuh
Thank youDankeDAN-kuh
Yes / NoJa / Neinya / nine

4 more phrases

Excuse meEntschuldigungent-SHOOL-di-gung
How much is it?Was kostet das?vas KOS-tet das
The bill, pleaseDie Rechnung, bittedee REKH-nung
Cheers!Prost!prohst

Religion

Split Catholic and Protestant, and largely secular

The south is Catholic, the north Protestant, and a growing share is neither. Church tax is a real thing residents pay.

Do's and don'ts

Do

Be punctual — arriving late without warning is genuinely rude
Separate your rubbish; recycling rules are taken seriously
Make eye contact when toasting, and say prost
Carry cash; plenty of bars and restaurants still refuse cards

Don't

Do not jaywalk, especially with children present — people will tell you off
Do not make Nazi references or salutes, even as a joke; several are criminal offences
Do not walk in the red-paved bike lanes
Do not expect small talk from strangers; directness is not coldness

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Where to stay in Aachen

No Holistay rentals in Aachen yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.

In the meantime, here is Aachen on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:

Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more

List your Aachen property

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