This is a 9 km ‘runseeing’ tour of Aachen, featuring the city’s historic centre and the sprawling campus of RWTH Aachen — Europe’s largest technical university.

RWTH Aachen. Image by א (Aleph), http://commons.wikimedia.org

The route starts in the historic centre of Aachen, with the two most important sites: City Hall (Rathaus Aachen), containing the replica Crown Jewels, and the landmark Aachen Cathedral, known for Charlemagne’s striking octagonal chapel & gilded shrine. The next section heads west through the campus of RWTH Aachen, which covers a large area as far as Schurzelter Str. It’s a fairly modern university, with many buildings and some nice green spaces.

Going out, use the series of roads south of the Königshügel (stadium), where there’s a running track. Go as far as Campus Blvd (just west of Campus Blvd. there’s a nice cycle path that’s good for running). Head north on Campus Blvd., then use Forckenbeckstraße to loop around, then east on Halifaxstraße/Kopernikusstraße, staying north of the stadium.