After Drielandenpunt, we crossed into our fourth country of the trip: Germany. France, Belgium, and the Netherlands were already behind us, and Aachen was the first proper German stop on the list.

Wandering Aachen’s Old Town

Aachen’s old town is small enough to explore entirely on foot, which suited everyone, two tired humans and one very over-walked dog. We wandered past the Rathaus (Aachen’s Gothic town hall, its facade lined with statues of German kings) with the Karlsbrunnen fountain out front, topped with a statue of Charlemagne himself. From there it’s a short stroll through Katschhof, the big square Aachen locals call their “living room”, to the quirky Kreislauf des Geldes fountain, a bronze sculpture group from 1976 where the figures act out greed, generosity and everything in between, fed by the city’s thermal springs so it never freezes.

A Café, a Wedding, and Forgetting to Be Tourists

By this point it was time to eat, so we found a little café right in front of the Dom, Aachen’s cathedral, and let Cookie collapse under the table for a proper break. His little paws were done for the day.

While we were sat there, a wedding was happening at the Dom, and it ended up being the highlight of the city for us. We’re getting married next year ourselves, so obviously that became the only topic of conversation for the next couple of hours. We even booked our wedding photographer while we were sat there with our coffees. Not exactly what we planned for a stop in Aachen, but I’m not complaining.

It wasn’t until we were deep on the motorway afterwards that we realised we hadn’t picked up a magnet. We were so wrapped up in wedding talk that we completely forgot to be tourists.

The Rathaus, with Charlemagne keeping watch over the fountain

Cookie, unimpressed by 1976 German sculpture, very impressed by the pigeons

The Dom, Aachen’s cathedral and the oldest in northern Europe

Would I Recommend Aachen? Yes, as a Day Trip

It’s a nice stop, but I wouldn’t book a stay longer than two days here. It’s absolutely worth visiting and seeing, but there are other German places worth spending longer in. Aachen works best as a day trip, and there are plenty of tours running in from other cities if you’d rather not drive.