Where do I find things in Aachen?

On our information page about doctor’s visits, pharmacies and health insurance, you will find advice on what to do if you are ill (or, rather, if you want to get well again).

All of the local authorities in the City of Aachen are listed on the city’s website. Here you will find the Residents’ Office (e.g. for registering an apartment), the Aliens’ Registration Office (e.g. for all issues relating to your stay) and further offices.

All Aachen universities offer academic counselling. If you do not yet know exactly what you want to study, you can turn to the central academic counselling service. If you have questions about a specific subject or department, make use of the counselling centre of the relevant faculty.

Central academic counselling service of the RWTH Aachen
Departmental advisors of the RWTH Aachen
Central academic counselling service of the FH Aachen
Departmental advisors of the FH Aachen – on the websites of the degree programmes

If you need information about the overall admission requirements for studying in Germany or support in choosing your field of study, preparing your application and taking further administrative steps, we at Sprachenakademie will gladly advise you. Simply arrange your appointment by email.

The Newcomer Service of the city of Aachen is aimed at new citizens who just moved to Aachen from abroad. It includes advice regarding daily life in Aachen, support with relocation formalities, free events in and around Aachen and a great network: all you need to start feeling at home in Aachen. More information and contact details can be found here. 

The Aachen universities offer so-called university sports: there are many different sports courses available here. A gym and a swimming pool are also among the university sports facilities. The fees for the university sports courses are affordable. If you are not a registered student, you can take part in university sports as a guest. You can buy a guest card, which is valid for one semester. With this guest card, guests can take part in any of the available sports for which no extra fees are charged. If extra fees apply, guests have to pay the relevant fees as well.

Take note: You need to register for many of the university sports courses. As these courses are very popular, you should register as early as possible in order to get a place. All the information about the sports available, times, locations, fees and registration periods can be found here.

There are also many sports clubs that offer different types of sports. On this website, you can select the city you are staying in and which type of sport you are interested in. You will then be shown the sports clubs that may interest you. If you want to make use of an offer from a sports club, you must generally become a member and pay a fee for a specific time period. To find out how much the fee is, you can enquire directly at the club before signing up.

In Aachen, there are several indoor pools and one outdoor pool. For most of the swimming pools, you can buy a day ticket, multiple-use ticket or season ticket (e.g. an annual ticket). You can see an overview of the Aachen swimming pools on the City of Aachen website.

In Aachen, there are several public libraries where you can borrow books. Normally, one needs to register and receives a user identification card. For information about the fees, borrowing rules and further services, consult the library websites:

Aachen City Library
Branches of the City Library
Haaren District Library
Aachen East District Library

The Aachen universities also have libraries where you can borrow books, even if you are not a registered student: in this case, you need a guest account. It is explained on the websites how to get this account and how borrowing books from the university libraries works:

University Library of the RWTH Aachen
University Library of the FH Aachen

There are several theatres in Aachen: the big City Theatre at “Theaterplatz” is hard to miss, but there are also some smaller theatres that offer a mixed selection of plays. These are the relevant websites:

Aachen City Theatre
DAS DA Theater
Grenzlandtheater
Theater 99
Theater K

You can find several interesting museums in Aachen. Information about the exhibits, opening hours and entrance fees are listed here:

Ludwig Forum (international art)
Suermondt-Ludwig Museum (art from antiquity to the 20th Century)
Internationales Zeitungsmuseum (all about newspapers and other media)
Couven Museum (furnishings of homes from the 18th and 19th Centuries)
Centre Charlemagne (all about Aachen and Charlemagne)
Zollmuseum Friedrichs (about the development of tolls in the border city of Aachen)
Aachen City Hall (historic halls and more)
Aachen Cathedral & cathedral treasury (Aachen’s most famous church with Charlemagne’s throne and treasury)
Aachen city archive (documentation of the history of Aachen City)

In Aachen, there are several cinemas with different thematic focuses. You can find out more about the cinemas and view their programmes here:

Cineplex & Eden Palast
Apollo Kino
Capitol
RWTH Filmstudio

If you like to watch the original versions of movies in English language, you should keep an eye on the programme of the Eden cinema which often features undubbed screenings. You might as well be fortunate scanning the programmes of the other cinemas in Aachen every now and then. The cinemas in Heerlen and Maastricht, both Dutch cities close to Aachen, almost always screen original movie versions.

If you are interested in renting a room for the duration of your stay, please send an email to accommodation[at]sak-service[dot]de. Please contact the accommodation team as early as possible: Very often, all available rooms are fully booked several months in advance.