We are planning several days in Belgium to kick off our European trip. Ypres seems to be a good city tour if interested in World War I.
Has anyone toured World War I battlefield and the like?
Thanks
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7206 posts
I did a tour offered by Quasimodo tours out of Bruges. Very nice tour and worth the money. I don’t know of tours that start in Ypres/Ieper.
Posted by
3459 posts
I am trying to create an itinerary for a trip that will cover Bastogne and some WWI sites in northern France. This outfit looks good for tours from Ypres. They get good reviews on TripAdvisor.
Posted by
3 posts
With a bit of research, we did a self-guided tour via rental car that was quite moving. Basically the whole area around Ypres was a battlefield. There are many, MANY cemeteries -- most are near former aid stations, which were scattered all over the place. The Essex Farm Cemetery and bunkers www.cwgc.org is where "In Flanders Fields" was composed; the author was later killed. The Yorkshire Trench and Dug Out www.ww1battlefields.co.uk was discovered by amateur archaeologists. It's in an industrial area, but worth visiting because you can actually go in the trenches. Langemark and Tyne Cot are the 2 large cemeteries -- Tyne Cot has an especially moving visitor center. Hard-fought Hill 62 has a peaceful panoramic view from the top. St. Julien's "Brooding Soldier" monument marks where 2000 Canadiens were killed in the first ever chlorine gas attack. All of these had no admission fee. Across the road from Hooge Crater Cemetery was a really neat place with trenches, artillery shells, and bunkers: http://www.hotelkasteelhofthooghe.be/Engels/Egeschiedenis.htm -- rustic, but worth the Euro or 2 to enter and walk around. Go early if you want to see The Last Post at the Menin Gate.
Posted by
Atlanta
80 posts
The excellent In Flanders Fields Museum is in Ypres and worth including in a visit to the area.
Posted by
Sevilla
1298 posts
Ypres Flanders Battlefield Tours are very good and I can personally recommend They are this one https://www.ypres-fbt.com
If you have a car, you can construct your own tour using the relevant volume by Major & Mrs Holt which are "bible" of Western Front guide books. The latest editions include sat nav GPS coordinates.
It's worth staying overnight in Ieper to attend the nightly Menin Gate ceremony and walk the walls or visit the cemeteries at dusk. Nearby Poperinge is also interesting.