exilencfc

I will be traveling from Frankfurt to London by rail in May and i'm wondering about stopping off in Aachen en-route. It's a city i'm keen to see but I think i'd only get around 4 hours there and i'm not sure if it's worth the bother - though I don't know when i'll get another chance.

Can anyone confirm if Aachen HBF has luggage lockers, my understanding is that it does.
I'm entirely confident about the travel aspect of it - I speak German and have done a fair bit of German rail travel (i've done Frankfurt-London 3 times before) - it's just whether or not it's worth going to Aachen for that amount of time. And yes I do realise it would be far more convenient to stop in Brussels for a few hours instead, I just don't like the place very much (or Cologne come to that).

jt82

http://www.bahnhof.de/bahnhof-de/Aachen_Hbf.html seems to indicate that they do have luggage lockers, I can't recall seeing a decent sized German station that doesn't, but I've only travelled through Aachen and not stopped there so can't confirm personally or help you re: is it worth the stop

bacchus85

Hello,

Aachen Hbf definitely has luggage lockers.

And the station is about 1km away from the Dom, so in my opinion it is definitely possible to stop there for a few hours.

Enjoy your trip!

offerendum

In my eyes it´s definitively worth it - very nice city

LondonElite

The cathedral alone should be worth a visit.

qpr

There are lockers at the trainstation.

Aachen is always worth a visit.

If you have the chance, do it

exilencfc

Thanks guys, sounds like it's a goer then. On a related issue, if I want to do a day trip up the Rhine Valley from Frankfurt, am I right in thinking I can buy a tageskarte to Koblenz and use it on a hop- on hop-off basis?

mfkne

To be frank 4 hours sound just about right, I wouldn't know what to do there for more than 4 hours.

SkyBuck

Yes, but because of the länder boundaries it would need to be the Quer-durchs-Land ticket (44€ weekdays) or Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (40€ weekend). Alternatively you could get an RMV tageskarte (16€) to cover Frankfurt to Mainz/Wiesbaden and a Rheinland-Pfalz ticket (24€) beyond that.

exilencfc

Thanks, I can buy a Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket on the day from a ticket machine can't I? (It'll be a Saturday or Sunday)

bacchus85

Yep, that will work out just fine.

You can find all information about the Schönes Wochenend Ticket here:

http://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/offers/...e-ticket.shtml

Analise

Every time I take the DB to Amsterdam and we stop at Aachen, I've always wanted to visit the cathedral. If you have the opportunity, go for it.

Xyzzy

Just utside of Aachen is the Dreiländerpunkt -- where NL, DE and BE meet and you ca be in 3 countries at once. It's really close -- walkable even -- and easy to get to by bus. Some details here and here.

gaobest

The newspaper museum (zeitung museum) is also cute. Fun 8 minute visit. Very one of a kind - I read about it in bill Bryson's book ages ago.

Glad you'll see Aachen. Lovely walking. Easy. Have fun!

MSPeconomist

I don't think this is feasible in four hours. Taking buses is too much of a risk, even in efficient Germany.

I've spent a weekend in Aachen and found it interesting and very pleasant in a quiet way. The historic center, including the cathedral, is well preserved in general. It's fun to see in in both day and night. There are some historic pubs and restaurants which are good too, assuming that you like German food and German wine/beer.

A quick four visit is better than not seeing Aachen at all.