With practical inner-city map Aachen at a glance 2019/2020 Places of interest, guided city tours, gastronomy, leisure tips and much more © rcfotostock / fotolia.com www.aachen-tourismus.de © rcfotostock / fotolia.com Index Sights & museums 3 Guided tours 14 Our favorite spots 20 Shopping 22 Theatre & Entertainment 24 Food & Drink 27 Leisure time & family 38 Events 44 Spa & Reha 46 Arrival & mobility 48 Camping 50 Service & Imprint 51 Citymap Sights & museums © Bernd Schröder / ats Sights & museums Cathedral The Aachen Cathedral is one of the most Accessibility famous examples of occidental architecture. With reservations the It is the coronation church of more than 30 Cathedral is accessible German kings, burial site of Charlemagne, barrier-free. major pilgrimage church and cathedral church of the Aachen diocese since 1930. In Contact 1978 it was the first German building to be Domhof 1, 52062 Aachen included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. [email protected] www.aachenerdom.de A guided tour is therefore an essential part of any visit to Aachen and a ‘must‘ for anyone Business hours who loves historic buildings and churches January – March: (see guided tours page 15). daily 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. April – December: Services are held at the following times: daily 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Mon – Fri 7 a.m., 10 a.m. Sat 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m. Note Sun 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m.*, 11.30 a.m., No visits during the ser- 6 p.m. (vespers) vices, e.g. no visits before 11 a.m., on Saturday and (*High Mass, Aachen Cathedral Choir) Sunday before 1 p.m. Ecumencial midday meditation Short-term closure due Tue – Fri 1.30 – 1.45 p.m. to church festivities is possible. 3 Cathedral Treasury The Cathedral Treasury in Aachen is the most Accessibility important ecclesiastical treasury north of the The Cathedral Treasury is Alps. It houses sacral art treasures, among accessible barrier-free. them some unique exhibits like the Cross of Contact Lothair, the Bust of Charlemagne and the Johannes-Paul-II-Str. Persephone sarcophagus. These exhibits 52062 Aachen document the importance of the Cathedral of tel.: +49 241 47709-140 Aachen as a place of the medieval treasury. [email protected] www.aachenerdom.de Individuals are invited to explore the treasury www.aachener-domschatz.de with a guided tour (see page 15). Business hours Admission: 5,-,reduced price 4,-, January – March: € € Mon 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. groups from 10 persons up 4,- p. p., € Tue – Sun 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. families: April – December: (1 adult + children up to 17 years) 5,-, Mon 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., € (2 adults+ children up to 17 years) 10,-) during the Advent season € until 6 p.m. Tickets: Cathedral information Tue – Sun 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Last admission 20 min. before closing. Cathedral information The Cathedral information point is contact Accessibility point for all information around the Aachen The Cathedral information Cathedral and meeting point for Cathedral point is accessible barrier- and Cathedral Treasury guided tours. Tickets free. for Cathedral tours and admission to the Contact Cathedral Treasury can only be obtained here. Johannes-Paul-II-Str. The Cathedral information shop sells post- 52062 Aachen cards, souvenirs and publications about the tel.: +49 241 47709-145 [email protected] Cathedral and Cathedral Treasury. www.aachenerdom.de Business hours January – March: daily 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. April – December: daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. © A. Steindl / ats 4 Sights & museums Rathaus At the beginning of the 14th century the WC Aachen citizenship built the gothic ‘Rathaus‘ (town hall) on the foundation walls of the Contact derelict palace building of Charlemagne. Markt Between 936 and 1531 the banquets of the 52062 Aachen tel.: +49 241 432-7310 Aachen royal coronation ceremonies were www.rathaus-aachen.de held at this place. Today the monumental co- ronation hall still reminds of this time. There Business hours are also reproductions true to the originals of daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. the imperial regalia, among them the imperial At special events the town hall remains closed. crowns, swords and the gospel books of Information: sovereigns of the Middle Ages. www.rathaus-aachen.de Admission: 6,-, reduced price 3,-, € € free admission for children & young people under 22 years © B. Schröder / ats Tip Museum card „Six for Six“ The ‘Six for Six’ museum card provides admission to the five city museums (Ludwig Forum, Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Couven Museum, Centre Charle- magne, Internationaes Zeitungsmuseum) and the ‘Rathaus‘. ‘Six for Six’ is valid for 6 months, costs 14,- ( 10,- discounted) and is available from the relevant € € Aachen museums. 5 Sights & museums © P. Hinschläger Centre Charlemagne – Neues Stadtmuseum Aachen The new city museum ‘Centre Charlemagne – WC Neues Stadtmuseum Aachen‘ in the heart of the former palatinate area of Charlemagne brings Contact important stages of the city’s history to life: Katschhof the Carolingian time, in which Aachen became 52062 Aachen tel.: +49 241 432-4994 the centre of the Franconian Empire, the city of info@centre- coronations and sophisticated health resort of charlemagne.eu the baroque period. In the history laboratory you www.centre- can immerse into Carolingian daily life and try charlemagne.eu out many things yourself: How heavy was a chain Business hours mail? What kind of cloths did ordinary people Tue – Sun 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. wear? What was the ink made of used for the Last admission 30 min. magnificent scripts? before closing. Discover the Route Charlemagne starting from the New City Museum Aachen! Admission: 6,-,reduced price 3,-, € € free admission for children & young people under 22 years Barrier-free access WC Handicapped access- P Handicapped parking ible toilet available available 6 Sights & museums Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst The Ludwig Forum for International Art WC P Aachen is a multidisciplinary, contemporary art institution. It is based on the collection of Contact Peter and Irene Ludwig with key works of Pop Jülicher Str. 97 – 109 Art, photo realism and European art from the 52070 Aachen tel.: +49 241 1807-104 1960is until today. The collection comprises [email protected] more than 3000 works – from artists e.g. www.ludwigforum.de Duane Hanson, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Nancy Graves, Neo Rauch, Phyllida Business hours Barlow, Jenny Holzer and many others. It is Tue – Sun 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. starting point for an attractive and multiface- Thu 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. ted exhibition and event programme. Thu ZENTIS day, free admission. Last admission 30 min. Admission: 6,-, reduced price 3,- (separate € € before closing. prices for special exhibitions), free admission for children & young people under 22 years as well as for for Euregio childcare centres and schools. Thursday is ZENTIS day, free admission. © Erro, Venus, 1975. Aus dem Zyklus Tableux Chinois, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst Aachen, Schenkung Peter und Irene Ludwig © Erro/VG BildKunst Bonn, 2019. Foto: Ludwig Forum Aachen/Anne Gold 7 Sights & museums © A. Herrmann / ats Couven Museum Until the 12th of October 2019 the Couven Accessibility Museum will be closed owing to renovation With reservations the work. Couven Museum is acces- sible barrier-free. Since 1958 the ‘House Monheim‘ in the his- torical city centre of Aachen has been an exhi- Contact bition place of particularly impressive upper Hühnermarkt 17 middle-class cultivation of home décor. The 52062 Aachen tel.: +49 241 432-4421 rooms form a harmonious ensemble of various [email protected] interior design styles from Rococo to the Bie- www.couven-museum.de dermeier era. In a large room display cabinet a selection of magnificent silver utensils of Business hours the 18th century are e.g. presented. More Tue – Sun 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. practical equipment in the kitchen – coffee Last admission 30 min. before closing. roaster, coffee grinder and porcelain table- ware – shows that luxury drinks as coffee, tea and chocolate also found their way into middle-class life. Admission: 6,-, reduced price 3,-, € € free admission for children & young people under 22 years 8 Sights & museums Grashaus Aachen is the city of the Charlemagne Prize WC and has the special commitment of introdu- cing young people to the topic of Europe. Contact This takes place in the ‘Grashaus‘, which Fischmarkt 3 represents the station ’Europe’ of the Route 52062 Aachen tel.: +49 241 432-4998 Charlemagne. The ‘Grashaus‘ is one of the museumsdienst@ oldest buildings in Aachen and of great histo- mail.aachen.de rical importance. Although the educationalists www.grashaus-aachen.eu have adjusted themselves to their young audi- Tip ence with monumental comic drawings of the Public guided tour in Ger- Berlin artist Andree Volkmann and modern man language on the interactive media stations, the beautiful old history, building history and architecture has well been preserved. After new use of the Grashaus registration – visitors can visit the house with each Saturday at 3 p.m. Only upon prior arrange- the historic charter hall and the central hall ment under +49 241 432- called ’chapel ’. 4998 or museumsdienst@ mail.aachen.de Admission: Only within booked groups or as participant of the public guided tour 2,- € (see tip) Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum The Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum undergoes WC an interim period. The house gets a new air-conditioning system and until 2020 it is only Contact open on special occasions – e.g. Tuesdays from Wilhelmstr. 18 1 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. for the KUNSTPAUSE (art 52070 Aachen tel.: +49 241 47980-40 break) (again from September 2019, before = info@suermondt-ludwig- summer break). museum.de www.suermondt-ludwig- During the interim period the museum carries museum.de out research, restoration work and prepares exhibitions.