Liege to Aachen/Cologne

[newmilton]

I need to go to Liège for a few days in February, and have duly purchased an 'Any Belgian Station' return. That being said, while I am happy to be told otherwise, I'm not sure there is that much to see, and was toying with the idea of popping across the border to Aachen or maybe Cologne.

Two questions: 1) if I do that while I am in Liège itself, is there any recommended ticket or other advice people can offer; and 2) if I decided to go into Germany first then return to Liège, is it better simply to buy a High Speed ticket from Brussels and ignore the 'Any Belgian Station' addon, or is there a station near the border I could travel to, and a ticket I can buy in advance from said station to my final destination without overly extending the journey time, adding to the hassle, or falling foul or whatever rules there might be about split ticketing.

Many thanks.

 

[Spoorslag '70]

1. There is the (extremely good value for money, especially during weekends) Euregioticket valid on:
-all buses in eastern Belgium, the southern part of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands (as far north as Roermond) and the area around Aachen (as far as Euskirchen!)
-(local) trains, roughly in the same area
for just 19,00€! (More information: https://www.belgiantrain.be/en/tickets-and-railcards/crossborder/euregio-ticket)

2. Splitting at Hergenrath should work, if you are OK with taking the classic line east of Liege (very highly recommended)

 

[30907]

Aachen is definitely worth visiting, and the Euregio is your best bet.
For Cologne, I'd look at ICE/Thalys fares, unless you can work in Liege-Hergenrath one way on your ABS ticket (bear in mind that it is only valid one day after arrival/before departure). For flexibility, a NRW Schoener Tag day ticket plus Euregio would be €50 - only after 0900 once you're beyond the Aachen District.

 

[johnnychips]

However, if you do happen to be in Liege on Sunday, don’t miss La Batte market by the river in the morning.

 

[AlbertBeale]

I need to go to Liège for a few days in February, and have duly purchased an 'Any Belgian Station' return. That being said, while I am happy to be told otherwise, I'm not sure there is that much to see, and was toying with the idea of popping across the border to Aachen or maybe Cologne.

Two questions: 1) if I do that while I am in Liège itself, is there any recommended ticket or other advice people can offer; and 2) if I decided to go into Germany first then return to Liège, is it better simply to buy a High Speed ticket from Brussels and ignore the 'Any Belgian Station' addon, or is there a station near the border I could travel to, and a ticket I can buy in advance from said station to my final destination without overly extending the journey time, adding to the hassle, or falling foul or whatever rules there might be about split ticketing.

Many thanks.

Re your (2): Given that the extra price for Any Belgian Station is about £5, and from - say - Welkenraedt (where the Brussels-Liege-Eupen trains meet the local shuttle over the border to Aachen) it's £3-£4 to Aachen, then it's certainly cheaper than adding a Brussels-Aachen ticket to a London-Brussels one. It's a slower journey of course, but then the old line east of Liege is scenic and (you might think) worth the extra time anyway, even apart from the cost saving.

The only counter-argument to this is if you were travelling to Brussels on a train that went on through to Amsterdam. It seems there are often London-Amsterdam tickets cheaper than London-Brussels ones (and you can just get off at Brussels!); so that saving would offset some of the higher price of getting a regular Brussels-Aachen train instead of the Any Belgian Station add-on plus a local train over the border. (You obviously can't get the add-on if your ticket is to Amsterdam!) But this is academic for you, if you've already bought the add-on ticket...

Cologne is interesting, though Aachen is on a more human scale (as well as being closer to Belgium). The little network of cobbled streets in the centre of Cologne, near the station and Cathedral, is lovely ... apart from the fact that every 3rd premises seems to be a garish bar full of very drunk people on some nights of the week. (Or maybe I was unlucky!)