It’s around 200 km from Ghent to Aachen where we headed on our second day of our road trip, we took the E17 and E313 roads skirting around Antwerp thus missing the congestion around Brussels.
We checked into the IBIS Aachen Marschietor for two nights, which is within walking distance of the centre of the old town.
Aachen is Germany’s western most city, it is a spa town bordering Belgium and the Netherlands with a population of around 245,000.
The main attractions are:
The Aachener Dom (Cathedral) with its Octagonal Chapel, which is made of bronze, wood & marble
was built around 800 and was the first UNESCO world heritage site in Germany. The Chapel is absolutely stunning with an amazing 12th century chandelier hanging in the centre. it’s worth taking a trip to Aachen just to visit the Dom. At the time if you paid 1 euro you were free to take photos at your leisure, a euro was never better spent!
Elisbrunnen on Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz is a building of classical architecture, this pump room was 
reconstructed since the original, built in 1827 was almost totally destroyed in WW2. There are two drinking fountains from which mineral water from the Kaiserquelle spring runs freely. The sulphurous water is warm at around 52 deg c and is said to have healing powers.
The water can also be seen bubbling up from beneath.
Kreislauf des Geldes ( cycle of money ) is an interesting fountain at the end of the Elisgarten depicting the effects of money on men. It consists of several
allegoric figures made of bronze symbolising greed, patronage & begging. It was created in 1976, fed by the thermal springs the water flows all year round just as money does.
The Rathaus (Town Hall) is an impressive building in Marktplatz in the centre of the old town. It has an 
impressive façade on both sides unlike many other Rathaus’s we’ve seen on our travels. Originally built in the 14th century it was extensively damaged by fire in 1883 and underwent an eighteen-year restoration. WW2 saw the Rathaus severely damaged by bombing raids but the structure of it survived & was once more restored.
Eating out: Our favourite restaurant was the Elisenbrunnen Restaurant also on Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz. We had dinner there on the first night; Wiener Schnitzel (made with veal), potatoes & cucumber salad & cranberry sauce. I have eaten Wiener Schnitzel in Austria & Germany but this one was definitely at the top of the list! (Look out for my own recipe of Schnitzel & Potato Salad coming soon in our Global Cuisine section).
We were so impressed with the meal that we booked for breakfast (Frühstück) the next day:
We enjoyed a sharing platter for two which consisted of; a breadbasket with three types of bread / Salami / Smoked Ham / Ham / Aged Gouda Cheese / Brie / Tomatoes / Jam / Cream Cheese & Chives
/ Boiled Eggs / Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice / Fresh Peppermint Tea / Darjeeling Tea. It was delicious and at 19.40 Euro at the time amazing value!
A leisurely day will see all that Aachen has to offer but it is well worth a visit if you find yourself in the area.
Check out my other Road Trip posts to see where else we stopped off.
Next stop Koblenz