The 101st Airborne Museum in Bastogne ranks among the BEST, MOST EFFECTIVE and MOST EVOCATIVE World…read moreWar II museums that you will ever visit. The Museum sits on a side street and the entrance is rather plain, but don't let that turn you away. GO INSIDE! Belgium lived with the war for five long years and the exhibits in this Museum illustrate the horror that the nation endured. Never before have we seen such gritty, grimy, REALISTIC exhibits. The attention to detail is outstanding. You'll feel that you're witnessing the fighting as it happens outside your door. By all means visit the "Belgian cellar" exhibit in the basement of the Museum. It's chilling! DON'T OVERLOOK THIS REMARKABLE MUSEUM!

The 101st Airborne Museum is a 3 story inside only museum that chronicles the 101st and its…read moreparticipation in WW2 and in particular The Battle of the Bulge. Admission is 14€ and I would budget around 90 minutes for a visit. There are many life size dioramas in the museum featuring several battle scenes with mannequins demonstrating what life was like in war. Also on display are many original relics from the war some fully restored and some not but all clearly annotated as to what they are. In the basement, is a room that upon entering gives a 5 minute virtual experience using sound and light of being in Bastogne during the German bombardment. I enjoyed my visit to this quality museum and recommend it.

I went to Belgium with a couple of friends and the plan was to visit Bastogne and sightsee. The…read moreprimary reason was to visit the Bastogne War Museum! Being a history buff, this was a win-win! The story of the battle is told from the Allied, German and Civilian perspectives. Parking is free, you pay at the entrance and you are given a communication pack that you wear around you neck, about the same weight as a camera. It has headphones, you tell the staff member handing them out which language you prefer to hear. I suggest wearing one. There are no other options to hear what is being said during the tour. You can take pictures of all of the exhibits, they request that pictures taken inside the exhibit theaters, to turn off your flash. The flow is designed to keep the sightseers moving. There are plenty of photo ops. After seeing the indoor portion of the museum you are guided outside. The centerpiece is the Mardasson Memorial. You can see it from the road. It is in the shape of a star. All 50 states and every unit that fought in the war are inscribed on the memorial. You can walk around at ground level, view the crypt and then you can take the stairs to the top and walk around on top and look at the surrounding area. There are 5 points on the star, each point has a plaque with a map showing the direction and which units (German/Allied) were fighting each other. Very detailed maps molded on each point. Another cool sight is the 30ft tall "Victory Kiss" statue. If you find yourself in Bastogne, and are a history buff. Pay a visit to this museum. The cost of admission is $14 Euro, or $17.05 USD. Cash, credit or debit cards are all accepted forms of payment. Kids under 6 and Senior Citizens get an admission discount.

A visit to the Bastogne War Museum actually includes admission to 3 locations. I will review each…read moreseparately. I recommend visiting each of the 3 sites in my order of listing below. The Bastogne War Museum is where you should start and buy your adult ticket for 28€. The Yelp location is accurate. It's located just outside of town. The only parking option is a pay lot for 7.50€ for the day next to the museum. Once inside you are given a free audio guide in your language that is very helpful. Use it. This is a very good museum that chronicles all of WW2 not just the Battle of the Bulge. One unique aspect of this museum are 4 video sequences paired each with a life like set that adds realism to the video presentation. I would budget 2.5 hours to visit here which also includes time at the outdoor Mardasson Memorial (separate Yelp review). The facility also has an onsite cafe if you get hungry. I rated this location a 4 and enjoyed my visit. It was better than I expected. The Bois Jacques battlefield is about a 5 minute drive away from the War Museum where you are given tickets for the Bois Jacques battlefield and the War Rooms. At Bois Jacques, this facility is unmanned. It has a free parking lot and you use your ticket from the Museum to scan a QR code at the gate of the battlefield to gain entrance. Bois Jacques is an actual battle site depicted in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. This is an outdoor visitation so weather plays a factor regarding your visit. Budget 30 minutes for here. I rated this site a 4 also. The Bastogne War Rooms is the third location that your Museum ticket gains you admission into. It is located less than a 10 minute drive from the museum and also has a free parking lot available. It is located very near another good museum called Bastogne Barracks (separate Yelp review) which is NOT affiliated with the War Museum. The War Rooms disappointed me. I found it boring and somewhat difficult to understand and poorly organized. If you attend I would budget 1 hour. Honestly, I would skip it and is why I gave it a 2 score.

Powerful monument to the Battle of the Bulge, marking the efforts of the American forces to hold…read moreoff the Germans later in the war. There's a sign with the full inscription in French, English, and German. There's an eagle statue for the 101st Airborne. The monument is imposing and dignified with the full story of the campaign etched in the internal facets. Each of the United States is engraved on the outer upper facets of the star. The monument is placed on the ridge, overlooking the surrounding hills, where the battle was fought. The crypt has a bright mural, a good space for reflection on the sacrifices of human kind during war.

This monument also known as The Battle of the Bulge Memorial is next door to the Bastogne War…read moreMuseum. It is an outside structure in the shape of a 5 pointed star. On the walls of the monument are the names of US States along with the names of the different US military units that were involved in the battle. During my visit the gates were locked due to some renovation going on inside so I was only able to observe from the outside. Surrounding the monument are many concrete benches for sitting and taking in the views of not only the impressive monument but also the beautiful Belgium countryside visible from that location. This monument is managed by the American Battle Monuments Commission who also manage all of the foreign based military cemetery's that include US war dead. There is no cost to visiting other than possibly having to pay for parking at the museum next door. Budget 20 minutes to visit here. Best time to visit is immediately before or after visiting the Bastogne War Museum next door.