Aachen...tell me what that is like. I'm hoping to get there sometime.
We loved Chartres, but Reims even more. Chartres Cathedral was very dark. Reims had stained glass windows even over the doors and was awesome. (And we stayed in a wonderful place in Reims; what a splurge. I'll never forget it.)
Glad you get to travel...even if you don't like snails.
Aachen was delightful. We stayed at a hotel right next to the old medieval gate to the city. It is very nice for walking around. They had a public art display that consisted of fiberglass horses decorated in various ways like the cows on parade in Chicago and Kansas City. You never knew when you would come upon one. We took the train from there down the Rhine to Heidelberg which I just adored.