Discover the best top things to do in Belgian Westhoek, Belgium including Flanders Battlefield Tours, Frontline Tours, Tyne Cot Cemetery, Last Post ceremony, Battlefield Exploration, Menin Gate Memorial, The Bluff Crater, In Flanders Fields Museum, Hooge Crater Museum, Blankaart Nature Reserve.
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5.0 based on 1,014 reviews
Flanders Battlefield Tour is well known for organising both, daily tours of the Ypres Salient and the Somme amongst other Western Front areas. Run by Jacques Ryckebosch and Genevra Charsley both are extremely passionate about the First World War. Prior to Flanders Battlefield Tour Jacques curated for many years at Talbot House (TOC H as it was known by the soldiers/veterans) meeting and becoming good friends with First World War veterans. Genevra Charsley has been a member of the Western Front Association since 1997 and assisting with the Poppy Parade on Armistice in Ieper (Ypres) since 1997, both are associate members of the Guild of Battlefield Guides and both have featured on BBC television and international television. Our guides all come highly recommended and are as equally passionate about the First World War, residing within the Ypres Salient they are always well informed and involved about the latest discoveries and development..
5.0 based on 252 reviews
We invite you to join us in the comfort of our air-conditioned Mercedes minibus, for an interesting, informative and unforgettable journey through Flanders Fields and its amazing history.
5.0 based on 1,440 reviews
It is now the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world in terms of burials. At the suggestion of King George V, who visited the cemetery in 1922, the Cross of Sacrifice was placed on the original large pill-box. There are three other pill-boxes in the cemetery. There are now 11,956 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in Tyne Cot Cemetery. 8,369 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to more than 80 casualties known or believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials commemorate 20 casualties whose graves were destroyed by shell fire. There are 4 German burials, 3 being unidentified. The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. The TYNE COT MEMORIAL forms the north-eastern boundary of Tyne Cot Cemetery and commemorates nearly 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom and New Zealand who died in the Ypres Salient after 16 August 1917 and whose graves are not known. The memorial stands close to the farthest point in Belgium reached by Commonwealth forces in the First World War until the final advance to victory. The memorial was designed by Sir Herbert Baker with sculpture by F V Blundstone.
Extremely moving experience. Very sobering thoughts about the millions who lost their lives in the trench warfare of World War 1. Tyne Cot cemetery should definitely be on everyone’s bucket list.
5.0 based on 2,613 reviews
Everything that has been written about this Ceremony is true,if you can possibly make the journey to Ieper then you must experience this very moving tribute carried out at 8.00pm every night. I had the honour of laying a Wreath recently and this experience ranks as one of the most emotional moments in my life and one that I was honoured to have taken part in. We owe a debt of gratitude to the thousands of people who gave their life’s so willingly in the name of freedom.
5.0 based on 74 reviews
Battlefield Exploration is a specialist battlefield tours provider, providing battlefield tours to the battlefields of the Great War. Based in Ypres, tours run daily to either the Ypres Salient, Messines Ridge, Arras and the Somme. Other battlefields are of course also available upon request.
We took a private 4-hour tour with Wouter and it was terrific. Wouter provided a history of the war and the battles around Ypres. He also provided a lot of stories of the soldiers as well as the local citizens.
5.0 based on 4,861 reviews
Ypres (now Ieper) is a town in the Province of West Flanders. The Memorial is situated at the eastern side of the town on the road to Menin (Menen) and Courtrai (Kortrijk). The YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL now bears the names of more than 54,000 officers and men whose graves are not known. The memorial, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield with sculpture by Sir William Reid-Dick, was unveiled by Lord Plumer on 24 July 1927. Each night at 8 pm the traffic is stopped at the Menin Gate while members of the local Fire Brigade sound the Last Post in the roadway under the Memorial's arches.
Anyone can apply to lay a wreath at one of the 8pm ceremonies that have run every night for 90 years at this extraordinary memorial, thanks to the dedication of the Town's volunteers, including the buglers who play Last Post and a version of Reveille. On this evening there were children and youths from about ten schools, alongside the Royal Artillery Association standard bearer, here to present the standard to the Town in recognition of its extraordinary efforts to remember the fallen. Arrive early if you want a close to the arch front row position.
4.5 based on 3,564 reviews
The Ypres region was the backdrop to on of the bloodiest battles in history, 100 years ago. Now the last witness have died too, the In Flanders Fields Museum is more than ever the gateway to the First World War in Flanders. The In Flanders Fields Museum confronts the visitor with the consequences of the Great War. Old and young are faced with life and death in the Ypres front region. The exhibition with touching video projects, unique sound fragments and the most up-to-date multimedia applications immerse you in the life at the front. each visitor also receives a poppy bracelet that enables him/her to discover four personal stories of 'Joe Public' in the Great War. By logging in you can meet your peers in the war, a century ago.
The In Flanders Fields Museum is housed in a beautiful historic building in the centre of the main square. Ypres was the site of one of the bloodiest battles in First World War in Flanders and the exhibitions show how the battle progressed, how the soldiers survived in the trenches and the senselessness of death in battle. The In Flanders Fields Museum gives the visitor a Poppy bracelet to wear which allows you to interact with the exhibits and read more information - this allows you to immerse yourself in the exhibits and makes the experience more 'personal'. The living history videos with first hand accounts were excellent. I cried several times throughout the museum as it was so personal/real. A Must see museum- the more you immerse yourself into the exhibits, the more emotional it becomes.
4.5 based on 742 reviews
Full scale reconstructions of war scenes, an extended collection of weapons, war equipment and photos make this museum to a true must-see!The chapel, in which the museum is located, dates back from the early twenties. This chapel was built directly across the Hooge Crater cemetery in memory of the many fallen soldiers on the battle fields of ‘Hooge’ over a period of 4 years. Rare military clothing of the troops, that where fighting in the ‘Ypres Salient’ (Ieperboog) are exposed in glass displays. Also you can see some full scale scenes of the Great War battle fields, very authentically reproduced. The theme of the scenes is very divers: German bunkers, British trenches and full scale horses with cavalry troops on their backs.
Hooge Crater Museum is an interesting and informative museum, which really helped me understand some of the features of the warfare in World War One. There were many visual elements to the museum, with plenty of artefacts and objects that helped explain the key features of the warfare. The museum was a lovely tribute to those who had died and served in the war. There is a café and also a small gift shop, where, amongst other things, bullets found in nearby battlefields can be bought for a very reasonable price. The museum is well kept and a must - go if you are in the area.
4.5 based on 62 reviews
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