WWI sites in France

The American cemetery at Meuse-Argonne is amazingly beautiful. Largest of our cemeteries in Europe. On the day we visited last August there were about three other people there. You will not believe how beautifully maintained and stately it is. It is remote but well worth visiting.

The Somme has many of the memorials for the British, Canadians, South Africans etc centered on Amiens. Alex is right about Verdun, that was the centre of the French sector of the Western Front. It depends on which bits you are interested, but for the Western Front it will be France, stretching into Belgium.

Besides what is already mentioned:

-Meaux, Musée de la Grande Guerre
-Paris, Musée de l’Armée Invalides with a WWI section
-North of Amiens - river Somme - many smaller and larger places like Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Beaumont Hamel (Newfoundland) Memorial.
-Arras, Musée and Memorial de Notre-Dame de Lorette.
-Albert, Musée Somme 1916, never visited it but seems interesting.

In Belgium is Ypres and surrounding places to consider.

The Lafayette Escadrille memorial, commemorating the American aviators who joined the French to fight from the air before the U.S. even joined the war.

Just outside Paris.

Lafayette Escadrille official site

And Belleau Wood and Chateau Thierry

About an hour outside Paris.

Belleau Wood official site from ABMC

Thank you for all of these recommendations.

Arras is an interesting small city, easily reached by train from Paris. It is also the base for the nearby Vimy Memorial, national territory for Canadians. The free tour of the battleground illuminates how significant tunnelling was as a tactic, supplementing trench warfare. http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/overseas/first-world-war/france/vimy

The museum in Albert is certainly worth seeing. If you Google Circuit of Remembrance you can find a download of a driving tour of sights in the Somme.

Thank you. I am enjoying looking at all of these options.