Does anyone have advice for traveling and staying in Aachen? I have tix to the 2026 WEG and want to learn more about traveling to the City of Aachen and visiting the showgrounds
Aachen is lovely! Are you planning to stay nearer to the show ground, or in the historic city center? They’re a brisk 20-30 minutes apart, including a massive hill, so just be aware of that as you’re planning. (I’m sure there’s a bus but I was only there for two nights, so I just walked.) I stayed at the Hampton by Hilton Aachen Tivoli, it was a 15 minute walk to the grounds and the decor was very equestrian themed 
A nice surprise on a work trip!
If you want to do sightseeing outside of the show, the cathedral is stunning and historically important, and the city center (the area right around the cathedral) is wonderful to stroll around and window shop. Make sure to try Aachener Printen, they’re a traditional cookie that come beautifully decorated and make great gifts to take home (including CHIO Aachen themed ones)—there are tours that will take you to multiple shops, or you can walk around yourself and ask for samples, it’s encouraged if not offered as soon as you walk in.
Do you like beer? If so, I’m happy to dig up some recommendations, but I’m on my phone right now.
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Thank you! I have rented a large apartment that is a bit rural in Laurensberg which appears to be about 5 km from the CHIO stadium. I might use Uber as that worked well in Versailles. I plan to fly into Brussels and rent a car. I will be there Monday to Monday with eventing tix and dressage freestyle beginning Thursday ending Saturday, so I expect to have time to visit the cathedral and get to know Aachen. I am reading, and loving, its ancient history as the place where Charlemagne was crowned. I will likely spend the weekend prior in Brussels. I do like beer and cookies!!
Bring a second suitcase - the shopping is surreal.
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Nice! Like I said, I was on a work trip, so pretty much just showing up where I was told–all I knew about Aachen before I got there was that it had a big equestrian venue, but it became one of my favorite places I’ve visited in Germany. I’d love to go back and see something at CHIO at some point
It took me a while to dig these up, but the two best spots my local colleagues took me for beers were Domkeller and Wirtshaus am Hühnerdieb. I didn’t have food at Domkeller, but they had an interesting beer list for Germany with quite a few Belgians and other “unusual” options–I ended up going twice in three days, ha. The other one was more of a traditional German beer experience and their food was fantastic. Both had lovely patios. My colleagues also said that the Ratskeller (in the basement of the Rathaus) is a very classic option, but I didn’t have enough time to make it. It’s more upscale than the other two, if you want a nicer dining experience while you’re there.
FYI, I would not plan to rely on Uber unless it expands its footprint before you arrive–from my understanding (confirmed on Uber’s website) it’s not really a thing outside of the bigger cities.
Gute Reise!
Went to CHIO Aachen this year and it was amazing. I drove up and stayed in Heerlen NL and took the train over.
They have free with your ticket bus lines that drop you off at that stadium, which I recommend because Uber/Lyft/Bolt isn’t really active in the area. The busses are well marked and they go to the main downtown area where there was a nice little mall to grab a beer and lunch.
You can use the Free Now App which works because it contacts taxi companies, which are active but just a bit expensive. I taxi’d back because it was the Euros and wanted to watch the game. Your hotel will probably have a taxi companies number and they can get you a ride too.
It was raining between XC ending and night SJ, so I kicked out a bit to get dry and explore the city. My cousin used to live and work in Aachen, so I’ve been before. It’s not anything crazy, just a smallish working city.
The shopping at the park is amazing and the booths just have everything you could ever want. I picked up a new bridle, boots for my guy, a coat for me, and some new saddle pads. I physically had to stop myself from buying more. Some really good deals.
This past summer it was pretty chilly and we had so much rain. The year before it was stupid hot. So, bring a jacket that is waterproof. A nice unlined shell saved my day and easily folded into nothing in my bag. The ground, even on XC holds beautifully and they covered the really wet areas with boards so I was fine in just my sneakers.
I do not know how they do it for WEG, but for CHIO, you need to be back in the venue grounds before the last rider finishes XC or have a ticket for day Dressage/SJ to reenter the vendor village. Otherwise they won’t let you inside and you get stuck, which happened to my friend.
Also a heads up, print your tickets. They have printers at guest services but the line can be long. Hope this helped. I made a few mistakes this year and will hopefully have them ironed out by next year lol.
Also you can watch the SJ and the Dressage warm ups from the vendor village for free with no ticket. Really fun to just take a moment and check it out. Chill with a coffee and watch for a bit.
Thank you very much for your information and advice. It is very helpful!
Thank you very much for the information and advice. The beer gardens sound great! I have made a note of all of them.
