Jump to content
Jump to footer
Book now
To the online version

Aachen: laid-back tour through 3 countries

Aachen laid-back tour through 3 countries

Bike tour
7 Days / 6 Nights
individual tour
easy
from
899.00 €
Book now Book
from
899.00 €

This round trip starts in the cathedral city of Aachen and combines a variety of landscape experiences on a variety of bike paths. You will follow the Rur River bike trail via the historic fortress town of Jülich to the Dutch border town of Roermond. Here, the Rur flows into the Meuse and this varied river offers the most beautiful and well-developed bike paths to the medieval university city of Maastricht with its vibrant cultural scene. Here you cycle cheerfully back and forth in the Dutch-Belgian border area. In this leisure dorado you can visit nice little towns like the white town of Thorn or Alt-Rekem, which in 2008 was voted the "most beautiful place in Flanders". The cultural highlight of the round trip is the final stage from Maastricht to Aachen through the province of South Limburg with its many picturesque villages, palaces, castles and churches and the fascinating underground cave world of Valkenburg.

This trip is perfect for people who:

  • Undecided travellers: On this trip, you don't have to choose just one country as your destination - you can travel to three!
  • Pleasure-seekers who like to sit in a beer garden or restaurant with a good wine in their hand.
  • People who like it flat and love wine, as there are many desirable wine villages to discover along the way 

Highlights

Aachen - Baths and Science City
The city of Aachen can look back on a 2000-year history with many sights. Even the Romans settled in Aachen, because they appreciated the thermal springs, which are located below the present city center. Aachen sights

Couven Museum
From Rococo to Napoleonic Empire style to Biedermeier - the Couven Museum presents bourgeois lifestyle and living culture in the heart of Aachen. Couven Museum 

Jülich old town and citadel
The historic city center with the Witches' Tower, the Bastion of St. James, the castle and its citadel, the market square, the old town hall and many other historic sights can be explored on a tour of the old town. Jülich

Cuypershuis Roermond
The Cuypershuis, the former home and also the workplace of Pierre Cuypers, is a true cultural treasure and not at all a boring museum. Cuypershuis

The white town of Thorn
In the south of Holland, in the province of Limburg, you will find the small town of Thorn. Thorn

Maaseik
The town of Maaseik is a typical Belgian town with beautiful squares, including the Grote Markt square with buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries, the town hall and numerous museums. Maaseik

Fort Sint Pieter - Maastricht Underground
The fascinating world of Maastricht Underground is open to visitors all year round. Fort Sint Pieter

Vrijthof Maastricht
With its carefully trimmed ancient trees, the cobbled Vrijthof is now a lovely place to linger. Vrijthof

Valkenburg with the fluvial grotto
Valkenburg itself is best known for its marl grottoes. Valkenburg

Aachen: laid-back tour through 3 countries
easy
Bike tour
7 Days / 6 Nights
individual tour
from
899.00 €
Book now Book

Tour

Come to Aachen early today - it's worth it! The Aachen Cathedral was the first German building in the list of UNESCO World Heritage listed in 1978. It is the coronation church of 30 German kings, the burial place of Charlemagne and until today a significant pilgrimage church with a unique cathedral treasury. On a leisurely tour, you can also visit the historic 14th-century town hall and the new city museum before enjoying the famous "Aachener Printen", which are not only offered at Christmas time in a variety of flavors.

The first stage leads you directly to the main station of Aachen. After a short train ride to Eschweiler (not included in the tour price, additional costs approx. € 10.00 per person incl. bike, depending on the tariff) you get on your bikes. You follow the tiny river Inde to the Haus Palant and further on to Lamersdorf. Here at the bottom of the Goltsteinkuppe you should go on the Indemann whose viewing platform offers a spectular view over the near open brown coal tip "Inden". However you decide, your flat cycle path leads you directly along the border of the mining area. You pass the idyllic Lucherberger Sea which west coast is a named nature protected area with its rare birds and reach the Rur River. Now you follow this lively river until Jülich where the fortress is worth to visit.

Another full day on the versatile Rur shore bike path! Today, vast open fields dominate alternating with small villages. Not for nothing this fertile landscape was once the granary of the "Holy Roman Empire". The flat bike path usually runs directly on the idyllic shore and some lakes on the way lure with varied bathing breaks. Especially the Effelder Waldsee with its fine sandy beach and the beautiful terrace in the near of your hotel invite you to watch the sunset.

Today you will have a interesting day. After a short ride you will cross the border to the Netherlands. On beautiful Dutch cycle paths you come past the castle Daelenbrook to St. Odilienberg with the remarkable Romanesque basilica. In the old Hanseatic town of Roermond you will reach the Rur mouth in the Maas. The many listed buildings in the city center are dominated by the cathedral and a stroll through the old town will immerse you in the relaxed Dutch way of life. From now on, the navigable Meuse is your companion and new causeways serve as well-developed and signposted bike paths through this diverse water landscape. The white town of Thorn, with the listed village center and the beautiful abbey church, attracts visitors to a worthwhile stop. Now you have only a few kilometers left to your hotel in Maaseik in Belgium and with that you have been cycling in 3 countries during one day!

Along the Maas you will repeatedly change the border side because you cycle through the most narrow part of the Netherlands. Here is the heart of this special cycling region, nature lovers and recreational athletes will be both happy, because old arms as nature reserves change with Maas-Lake, which allow a variety of water sports. All the area is surrounded by the Maas! Numerous beautiful cafés and shady beer gardens invite you to take a break. Another highlight is the church village "Oud-Rekem", which was named the most beautiful village of Flanders in 2008. Finally you cycle to the medieval university city of Maastricht and dive into the vibrant cultural scene or stroll in the ancient city center between almost 1500 monuments and the gothic Johannis Church (Sint Janskerk). In the evening Maastricht attracts you with a high number of international restaurants.

Today you can expect a new landscape, because the route leaves the river landscape and leads through the slightly hilly Zuid-Limburg. This is the tourist heart of the southernmost region of the Netherlands and the hub of the border triangle "Netherlands - Germany - Belgium". The varied day's tour leads through historic towns with churches, half-timbered houses and watermills and to castles, manors and country estates, which often entice with romantic retreats. You cycle in the narrow valley of the Geul to Valkenburg, the picturesque excursion destination with old aristocratic seats, preserved city gates, a romantic old town and the unique Fluweelengrotte with its carved in sandstone widely branched corridor system. From here you continue on small roads through this hilly landscape of Holland over Gulpen and Vaals back to Aachen, where the distinctive cathedral can be seen from afar.

Today ends the beautiful round trip on 2 rivers in the border triangle.

Map

Prices / Dates

Prices per person in EUR

Services / Info

All-carefree service

• Accommodation incl. breakfast: Comfortable middle-class hotels, mostly in the center
• Room with D/Bath/WC
• Luggage transport
• Cycling map with marked route
• Digital route guidance via smartphone app
• Tips for preparing your trip
• Tourist information
• 7-day hotline service

Worth knowing about the bike tour: Aachen laid back tour in 3 countries
Please find more specific and helpful information. If you have any further question please feel free to contact us by phone: +49-(0)6421-886890.

Arrival by train
Aachen is easily accessible by train. We recommend to take a taxi from the station to reach our partner hotels in Aachen. Current schedule information and price information can be found at www.bahn.de

Parking facilities at the arrival location 
There are cheaper paid multi-storey car parks and park-and-ride car parks near the hotels on the main roads leading to Aachen. From there you can continue to the city center with a special and cheap P+R bus ticket. These park-and-ride areas are located at the Westfriedhof (Vaalser Straße), at the Tivoli (Krefelder Straße), at the corner of Jülicher Straße and Berliner Ring and at the Waldfriedhof on Monschauer Straße. You will receive detailed information about the parking facilities at the hotel booked for you with the detailed travel documents no later than two weeks before the start of your trip.

Condition of bike paths
The laid back tour leads you mainly on flat bike paths from 35-55 km.

Extra costs that are not included in the tour price
The train journey on the 2nd day from Aachen to Eschweiler (approx. 12 minutes) is not included in the tour price. There are additional costs of approx. 10,00 € per person incl. bike, depending on the fare.
A possible tourist tax and charging fees for bicycle batteries are also not included in the tour price and must therefore be paid at the hotel on site.

7 day hotline service
Just in case the bike chain breaks, flooding makes it impossible to continue your tour or any other nasty suprise: You can reach us seven days a week and we will do anything to help you as fast as possible.

Passport and visa requirements
For EU citizens, there are no special passport or visa requirements and no health formalities to be considered for this trip.

Travel insurance
The tour price already includes the statutory insolvency insurance. In addition, we recommend that you take out travel cancellation insurance upon receipt of your travel confirmation in order to protect yourself against financial disadvantages in the event of travel cancellation, interruption of travel, illness or accident.

For all those who want to combine comfort with sustainability and only require digital travel documents, we grant a discount of € 20.00 per room.
Please let us know at the time of booking whether you would like to use printed or digital travel documents.

Available rental bikes

7 speed bike
27 speed bike
Velociped E-Bike
7 speed bike

We would recommend the 7-speed tourer for all those that are looking for a back-pedal brake and wide gel seat for maximum comfort in an upright sitting position. It is equipped with a simple hub gear shift and is perfectly suited to tours on flat to slightly hilly terrain.

27 speed bike

The 27-speed tourer is the best choice for cyclists that value the advantages of the dérailleur gear shift for flexibility whilst going up and down hills. This bike allows you to be a little more active without compromising on saddle comfort and practical everyday suitability.

Velociped E-Bike

 

E-bikes combine a lot of advantages. The electric drive ensures a completely relaxed cycling, even during long tours or on hilly routes. Other features, such as a suspension seat post and front fork plus well-tuned gears, ensure additional riding comfort.

Your travel expert for this tour

I provide you with advice and assistance

Steffi Groß

Travel Expert

You might also be interested in

from
899.00 €
Book now Book
You now receive special conditions when you book a trip.