Verdun/World War I Batttlefield

By car it's less than three hours each way. Sites are rather scattered. You could probably do it all by car in a hard full day (but not in winter) and toss in an hour or so at Reims as well.

Martin, that would be a lot of driving and not much visitation time at the Verdun sites. As noted, they are quite spread out. The Citadel, Fort Douaumont, Verdun Memorial (and museum), the American cemetery and separate memorial, and Fort Fermont just to name a few all compete for the quality viewing time they deserve. So, one day....do-able, but not optimal.

How about using public transporation? Is that an option?

I'm sure you could get there, but not get around very well unless there's a tour of some kind. Somebody will know the whole story. I drive and stumble around on my own, sorry.

Martin,

I was interested in this and didn't want to rent a car. I researched quite a bit and found that even if you got to Verdun by train, you really needed a car or an organized tour to get around and see things.

There is a tour offered by the TI, but it is in French only. A few of the private, English-speaking tour guides mentioned online have retired.

I ended up choosing Ypres/Ieper in Belgium instead. It was an interesting town, great WWI tour options and a really memorable (goose bump inspiring for me) "Last Post" nightly at the Menin Gate.

If you did this and stayed for the "Last Post," which has been done nightly since the end of WWII, you'd have to stay in Belgium.

This is a very special place to the Commonwealth Nations and is worth a day.

If you should go to Verdun, not too far away is the
Meuse-Argonne cemetery. Despite being the largest European cemetery holding US soldiers, it is not heavily visited -- probably owing to its location and the forgotton nature of the US role in WWI.

Hi Martin. I haven't been to Verdun, but my husband and I have gone to a number of the Canadian WW I meccas, specifically Vimy Ridge and Beaumont-Hamel. Both are closer to Paris, but also provide a close up view of battlefields, tunnels, cemetaries, and well done interpretive centers.

We drove to Etain in '99, spent two nights there so had plenty of time to visit Verdun,Douemont, Ft Fermont, and the walled towns of Montmedy, and Marville where we met the mayor who unlocked the church for us. Having a car gives you the freedom to stop when something catches your eye. We went to the Meuse-Argonne Cemetary on our way back to Paris.

We did a day trip in '07 from Paris to Verdun by train and met a private tour guide at the station who took us in her car, mostly to the Fort Douamont area, 2 museums and the cemetery, and then dropped us back at the station. It was a very long day, but so worth it. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, she has actually written a book about Fort Douamont. If you're interested, I'll look up her contact info for you.