Aarau tourist information & hotel reservations

We warmly welcome you to visit Aarau and wish you a wonderful vacation.

Aarau is the capital of the canton Aargau and the district Aarau. The language spoken there is German and the town itself is located on the banks of the Aar River, near the Jura Mountains. It is the third largest city in the canton, located approximately at 400 meters elevation. In close proximity to the city are located the huge forests Gönhard and Zelgli.

The most beautiful part of the town in the Old Town, divided into 4 parts, called Stoecke. The place is often called the City of Beautiful Gables due to the lavishly painted gables of the buildings, characteristic for Aarau.
Most of the buildings in the Old Town date from the 16th century when there was massive renovation of the old buildings from the Middle Ages. The old town’s wall is still intact and during the 18th century the city began expanding out of its borders.
Some of the oldest structures date back to the 13th century – the Schlössli (small castle), the Rore Tower and one of the gates on the city wall. In fact the castle Schlössli is the oldest building in the town – when the establishment of the city began in the beginning of the 13th century, the building was already there. The City Hall was built in the beginning of the 16th century around the Rore Tower.
In Aarau you can become part of some beautiful festivals - Maienzug (May Day procession) and the Rüeblimart (Carrot festival). The culture of the city is also rich – you can visit the Kunsthaus, the Naturama and the city museum in the Schlössli.
Aarau as a whole is located near some large cities in Switzerland – Basel, Berne, Lucerne and Zurich. From there you can easily reach many other interesting places, go down to the river or to the Riviera in Schachen.

Aarau Transportation

For flights, trains and car-rental reservations as well as for buses, coaches and taxi ski transfers refer to the general Switzerland Transportation page!