Vimy Ridge and Memorial

There is no public transportation to the Vimy Memorial. You might be able to arrange for a car service or a taxi to take you there and bring you back if you can't rent a car. Its a national memorial site; entrance is free. No ticket required. On the other side of Arras is the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. Information on both sites can be found on the Veterans Canada website: https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/visit-canadian-memorials-in-europe

Allow time for a good look at Arras itself, a very handsome city with war history of its own. The majestic city hall has art deco features; the Wellington quarry helped the underground battles in WW1. The city maintains a helpful website; here is a section about the digs.
https://www.arraspaysdartois.com/en/remembrance/wellington-quarry-the-end-of-the-tunnel/

Yes, I did this, albeit a few years ago. It was a wonderful experience for any Canadian.

I had rented a car and recommend you do the same. Vimy is not just not convenient for public transportation. Its only a 15 minute drive from Arras, but it will be nice to have a car. There is a Europcar office right in Arras Station.

There are no "tickets"; it is entirely free.

First go to the Visitor Centre. That is where you will park. Get information on when the guides will be doing tours.

Three highlights you have to see are:
1. The Memorial itself, obv.
2. The trenches, near the Visitor Centre. Its amazing how close the two trench lines were to each other.
3. The Grange, which is a bunker.

Tons of information here: https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/vimy

I’m not Canadian but Vimy Ridge is a must see battlefield. Unless you want to take a comprehensive battlefield tour rent a car and drive to the monument. No ticket required. There are some pretty decent restaurants around there too.

@darrenblois - do you mind if I ask about the price of car rental?

Also, Victoria - we will be doing the same just a few days after you, so look forward to hearing what works out for you. We'll take the train from Paris in the morning and then rent a car, I think. Jennifer in Vancouver

I don't mind you asking but my information is pre-Covid. It was very cheap through Europcar, like EUR 35 a day or something like that. I have heard prices have gone up substantially. Just Google Europcar and that will get you started.

I visited about two years ago. I took the train from Paris to Arras and took a taxi from the train station.

Check out the memorial website. They offer a tour of parts of the trenches and the underground tunnels.

If you want to do some pre-reading, Pierre Berton's book Vimy is very good at describing why this battle was so important to Canada.

I just had my hotel in Arras call a taxi for me - the charge was like €20 then. The driver said he'd be back in an hour, I declined that offer because I took a sandwich and a bottle of water and planned to spend quite a bit of time there. When you're done, just go to the Memorial building and they will gladly call a taxi for you. The Memorial is staffed by Canadian university students doing rotating 6-month stints.

The Memorial was both stunning and emotionally draining for me.