We're interested in taking a day trip on public transportation to Verdun while staying in Reims. Is it easier to take the train to Paris and then to Verdun than to travel directly to Verdun from Reims of either the train or bus? Can you get there and back in one day on public transportation?
Same questions for a day trip to Belleau Wood.
Thank you.
Verdun covers a large enough area that you would best see it by a car. It is not just a town to visit. If you don't wish to rent a car, then maybe arrange a tour which will take you around the woods and to the museum and Duomont Ossuary, etc. Perhaps you could rent a car at Reims for the day and return it there. A Verdun visit is best "felt" , not just seen, IMO.....the quiet and stillness in the forest and the shapes of the battlefields, now covered by nature's growth but still recognizable as a place of conflict, are what set this place apart. I have been three times, DH five or six. It always affects us, as it did our children in their late teens.
It might be possible to visit Verdun from Reims on public transportation, but I haven't been able to cobble it together. I was considering using this company for separate day tours from Reims to Verdun and Reims to Belleau Wood, but ended up deciding to stick with Germany for our next trip.
Unless you have a car, a tour might be best. As Judy said, the battlefield sites are not close enough together to make walking between them practical.
Utterly impossible to make a meaningful visit to the “AREA” around Verdun without a car. You could travel by train and arrange for a limited tour in the area around Verdun. I’ve driven the area 4-5 times and it’s quite rural.
Strongly recommend a private tour to see the Verdun area. American AOR is a bit of a distance from Verdun in case that was in your agenda. Good Luck, battle tours are worth the time and effort.
Getting to Verdun public transport-wise , I've done it from Paris and from Metz. I didn't go to Belleau Wood per se but nearby to Chateau-Thierry, (the main reason) as a day trips (did this twice) from Paris.
Paris Est to Chateau-Thierry is direct, ca. one hour by regional train. You could inquire in the Tourist Office, which I found hard to locate tracking it by the signs .
Aside from the US role and evidence (the American Church) in Chateau-Thierry, the Anglo-French WW1 military cemetery is there and the town is famous in French literature as it is birthplace of de la Fontaine. His house/museum is there too.
The Tourist Office in Reims is much easier to find, just in front facing the train station, plus a line of taxis . The area around Reims is grim with WW1 reminders, the numerous French and German cemeteries can be found there, such as that in Marfaux.
This website will answer your questions. https://www.abmc.gov/
From personal experience, you can get a bus to (near) the Verdun museum. But unless you're on a tour you're not going to get very close to any of the battle monuments. The "Verdun" battlefield is over 25 miles of front line that moved back and forth over 20 miles laterally. It takes days to see even a portion of it. I've spent over two weeks, over the past three years, visiting sites. I have taken a 5 day tour of the Marne focused on the American participation, but mostly I just drive. There are several excellent guides, I recommend the ones by Maarten Otte.
In Reims I use the 1919 Michelin Guide, which is very good for showing what the city looked like when the war ended and I find with a little work I can visit the places shown and described. The change is amazing. Reims is a couple hours drive from Verdun.
Belleau Wood is a bit tricky, it's behind the Cemetery outside Aisne. This is not reachable by bus that I know of, and I've never run into more than 2-3 people when I've visited. The path is marked, just go up the hill behind the memorial building. There's a German cemetery just outside the American one. The contrast is striking.
It's a 20-30 minute drive from there to the Chateau Thierry Monument, which sits on a hill overlooking the town. Great view from there. I think a bus gets you most of the way from town. Chateau Thierry is 3+ hours drive from Reims, straight down the champagne trail; it's a great drive, but not very fast because it cuts through a lot of small towns and the farm equipment is always on the road.
Hi,
You can take public transportation from Reims to Verdun, also a train and bus combination, as one of the ways from Metz to Verdun, depending on the departure time. I'll be back in that area in July, maybe stay in Reims, using public transport if feasible time-wise and no doubt taxis too. It's the outskirts where is located the French and German cemeteries I'm after.
