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Our new location MILESTONE Aachen West is officially open! We´ve compiled a list of best Day Trips in and around the city, for all of our new Aachen Milestoners, so they can get exploring! Enjoy.
What´s a more appropriate day trip in an ancient city known for its spas then, well, a trip to the spa? To be more specific, the Carolus Therme Day Spa. It´s located right next to Stadtpark (City park). This spa was opened in 2001 with all the modern facilities but draws its inspiration from Aachen´s 2000-year old hot springs bathing tradition. Here you can enjoy differently tempered pools (in accordance with the ancient Roman tradition), a Baltic Sauna landscape or various oriental baths. Trade the busyness of your everyday life for a relaxing day at the spa!
Due to the current COVID-19 situation, the Carolus Therme Day Spa will, however, remain closed until October 19th, 2020. Head over to their website for more info.
This charming small resort town is located south of Aachen. The first mention of Monschau was made in 1198. Its historic castle (Burg Monschau) sits on top of the hill overlooking the city and is as old as the city itself (approximately 800 years old) . Nowadays, other than a tourist attraction, the Burg Monschau is a location of the annual Open Air Klassik Music Festival. Monschau is also recognizable for its narrow streets and many preserved half-timbered houses, all of which have remained mostly unchanged for the last 300 years. For its charm and historical significance, Monschau has become a popular tourist attraction. There are also several nearby museums you can visit, such as the historic Monschau brewery or Coffee roaster Wilhelm Maassen, both with a 150 year old tradition behind their crafts.
Monschau is 45 minutes away from Aachen by car or an hour by train.
Aachen´s Ludwig Forum for International Art has been home to contemporary art in all of its forms since 1991, even though its origins can be traced way back to 1968, the year the Neue Galerie – Sammlung Ludwig opened its doors. Throughout the 70s and 80s, it has been a vital artistic meeting point where artworks from East Germany, Romania and the USSR were displayed alongside artworks from West Germany, Italy and France. It also features masterpieces by the likes of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Duane Hanson and many others in its collections. Today, the Forum is truly an international hotspot where contemporary works like videos, dance and theater performances and live art collide to create a true home for contemporary arts.
Ludwig Forum for International Art is located on Jülicher Straße 97-109, in close proximity to Europaplatz
Opening hours
Tuesday–Sunday: 10am – 5pm
Thursday: 10am – 8pm
Monday: closed
Looking to take a break from the bustling city to reconnect with nature? Look no further than the Eifel Mountains. The Eifel mountain range lies south of Aachen. The mountains occupy a region from western Germany to eastern Belgium. Integrated in the mountains are several parks, the most well-known ones being the Eifel National Park and Eifelpark (wildlife and leisure park).
Eifel National Park is the 14th national park in Germany. It´s an hour away from Aachen by car. It extends over an area of approximately 110 square kilometers in the middle of the Hohes Venn Eifel nature park. Its forests are home to wildcats, red deer, eagle owls and other wildlife. A Wilderness Trail and cycling paths run past rivers and valleys that are gorgeously filled with wildflowers in the spring. The park surrounds a World War II military training ground that you can now take a guided tour to. The volcanic Eifel geopark was certified as a UNESCO global geopark in 2015!
Opening hours
The Eifel National Park is open 24/7!
Eifelpark is a wildlife and leisure park first opened in 1964. It´s a 2-hour drive away from Aachen (by car). At the time, it was the first open-air wildlife enclosure in Germany. Brown bears and Canadian timber wolves are just some of the renaturalised species you can find here. Today the Eifelpark concentrates more on the ´leisure´ part, hence you have different carnival-style rides to choose from: Carousels, rollercoasters, freefall towers, water rondels, bumper cars- you name it! With more than 50 attractions to choose from (4 of which were opened this year), a day filled with fun and adrenaline is guaranteed!
Opening hours
open every day from 10am to 6pm
Fancy a trip to the Netherlands? Maastricht is only half an hour away by car! This city has been around since the ancient roman times and has developed into a cultural hotspot, a center of many international universities and a well-visited tourist attraction. Maastricht has 1677 national heritage buildings, the second highest number in the Netherlands, topped only by Amsterdam. It is also known as the birthplace of the Euro. Historically, here you´ll find a little bit of everything: Roman ruins, churches from the Middle Ages, 19th century industrial buildings and many more.
For a weekend trip from one student hotspot to another – Maastricht is perfect for you!
Did you know that only an hour and a half of driving by car separates you from the greatest race track in the world? That´s right! The Nürburgring has been home to racing since 1925. It´s a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex and features various race tracks, for example a Grand Prix racetrack built in 1984 and a much longer and older Nordschleife (´north loop´), built in the 1920s. Nordschleife has always been known as one of the most dangerous race tracks in the world, particularly after the 1976 Niki Lauda crash. Lauda was then the reigning world champion and the only person ever to lap the Nordschleife in under 7 minutes (a record he holds to this day). At the time, Lauda encouraged fellow drivers to boycott the 1976 race due to safety concerns.
As you probably guessed, the event still ended up taking place and Lauda dealt with those consequences in a very personal manner. Since then, the Norschleife has been made safe, but it still stands for one of the most dangerous race racks in the world.