Eupen
Eupen is a small town in the province of Liège, Belgium. It is the capital of the German-speaking community of Belgium. Large parts of the municipality are covered by forests and the Hautes Fagnes wetlands.
Understand
The town counts around 20,000 inhabitants (2018). As the administrative centre of the German-speaking community of Belgium, which comprises a few municipalities along its eastern border, it is the seat of parliament of this community.
- 1 Tourist-Info Eupen, Marktplatz 7, ☏ +32 87 55 34 50, info@eupen-info.be.
Get in
By bus
Line number 14, run jointly by ASEAG of Germany and TEC of Belgium, connects Eupen with Aachen, in Germany. A journey between the two towns takes approximately 30 minutes, with a single ticket costing €6.90 as of January 2024. German subscriptions like the Deutschlandticket are not valid within Belgium or for cross-border trips.
By train
InterCity line IC01 run by Belgian nation rail carrier SNCB runs from Eupen to Ostend, stopping in many major Belgian cities such as Liège, Leuven, Brussels, Ghent and Bruges. The 1 Eupen Train Station is north of the town centre at Bahnhofstrasse 2, and has a staffed ticket office, open daily from 07:00-14:15.
By car
Eupen is quite near to the E40 highway between Liège and Aachen. You must get off at exit 38 called Eupen - Welkenraedt.
By plane
The nearest Airport is in Liège (LGG IATA) which is served by a few airlines with various European destinations. The larger Belgian airports of Brussels (BRU IATA) and Brussels South in the city of Charleroi (CRL IATA) are a bit further away but are a lot bigger and serve a lot more flights than Liège.
Another option is to fly to Cologne (CGN IATA) and get to Eupen through Aachen.
Get around
See
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- 1 St. Nicholas Church (Nikolauskirche), Marktplatz. This Renaissance church was built between 1721 and 1729.
- 2 Eupen City Museum (Eupener Stadtmuseum), Gospertstraße 52, ☏ +32 87 74 00 05, stadtmuseum.eupen@swing.be. Tu-F 09:30-12:00 and 13:00-16:00, Sa 14:00-17:00, Su 10:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00. Museum depicting the history of the town, its cloth-weaving history and carnival.
- 3 IKOB International Art Centre East Belgium, Rotenberg 12b, ☏ +32 87 56 01 10, info@ikob.be. Contemporary art museum with temporary exhibitions. The museum is closed when changing exhibitions. €6 regular, €4 reduced. Free on first Sunday and Wednesday of the month..
- 4 Moorenhöhe Park, Haasberg. For a panoramic view over the lower part of the town, take a walk to Moorenhöhe Park.
Do
- Football at 1 Kehrweg Stadion, Kehrweg 14, ☏ +32 87 56 13 77. KAS Eupen play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. The stadium (capacity 8360) is 1 km southeast of town centre.
Events
- Carnival: . February. It begins on Thursday with an Old Ladies procession, which began in the 19th century when women couldn’t take part in carnival activities, so they held their own celebrations one day earlier. The children’s parade on Sunday (14:30) is followed by the carnival’s major parade that leaves from Werthplatz on Rosenmontag or Rose Monday (12:30). It is a tradition to throw paper roses along the parade route. Floats and costumed locals precede the Carnival Prince. On Tuesday, another children’s procession (14:30) follows a different route. There's entertainment, and the carnival ends when the prince returns the city keys to the town hall. (date needs fixing)
Buy
Eat
- 1 Haus Ternell, Monschauer Straße 3, ☏ +32 87 30 00 48.
- 2 Meeting Point, Hütte 79, ☏ +32 87 88 01 09, info@restaurant-meetingpoint.be.
Drink
Sleep
- 1 Gîte d'Étape d'Eupen, Judenstraße 79, ☏ +32 87 55 31 26, gite.eupen@gitedetape.be. The only hostel in Eupen. Has 17 rooms. From €16.40.
- 2 Sleepwood Hotel, Neustraße 61, ☏ +32 87 55 50 88, kontakt@sleepwood.eu. From €79.
- 3 Hotel Ambassador Bosten, Haasstraße 81, ☏ +32 87 74 08 00, info@ambassador-bosten.be.
Connect
Eupen has 4G from all Belgian carriers. As of July 2022, 5G has not reached town.