It's the gate in the form of a triumphant arch that is seen over the main road leading to the Cloth…read moreHall in Ieper (Ypres). The placement of it is over the road that led these soldiers to battle. The incription that you see, as you're standing in front of it, reads as follows: "To the armies of the British Empire who stood here from 1914 to 1918 and to those of their dead who have no known grave." As you walk under it, you'll see the names of the soldiers who died prior to August 15, 1917 in the Ypres Salient. They are grouped by their regiment. We were told that there wasn't enough room on this memorial to inscribe all of their names. The rest can be found on the memorial wall at Tyne Cot Cemetery. The number of fatalities at the salient was massive. Don't miss seeing the name of Lieutenant A. H. Helmet inscribed under the Canadian Artillery section. He's the friend of John McCrae who is said to be one of his inspirations in writing the famous poppy poem. His wooden grave marker was lost at Essex Farm during the destruction. Try to be at the gate for the 8pm Last Post ceremony if you happen to be staying anywhere near Ieper. This bugle ceremony has taken place at the Menin Gate Memorial since 1928. A great remembrance to all who were lost. There was a little personal connection found in one of the chambers at the middle of the arch. I was surprised to see so many names and regiments listed from East Anglia. It's where we lived for 4 years while stationed in Suffolk. It's just something that presented itself to me while there. On another note, there are a many monuments in the ramparts above it. It's totally worth a mention for anyone who is taking an "In Flanders Fields" tour and has enough free time to see it. There's a Nepalese Gurkha Memorial and an Indian Forces Memorial that are very unique. These are special tributes to the regiments who fought in the WWI battles in Ypres under the Commonwealth. I totally regret not having enough time to walk around the surrounding walls of Menin Gate to see all of it. I'd definitely spend more time here if there's ever an opportunity to visit this city again. It was a very memorable visit!

This is a truly unforgettable experience. Buglers from the Last Post Association have been…read moreperforming the Last Post ceremony every night at 8pm since the monument was built in 1927 (save the WWII occupation). * The ceremony starts promptly at 8pm. If it's a busy day (Friday, Saturday, or summer) I recommend getting there at 7 if you want a good view * It's woth it to take some time to tour the gate afterward - you'll be humbled by the sheer number of soldiers who were killed in WWI whose remains were never found.

A WWI history excursion to Belgium would not be complete without spending time here. The building…read morein which it is housed is a sight unto itself as it features wonderful architecture. The museum allows a somewhat personalized visit as a watch issued upon entry allows registration of basic information such as nationality and preferred language. One can then activate certain displays to get a response specific to that information. There are many items of interest to the history buff and the casual observer alike. It will require two to three hours at minimum to take in all of the information though some will spend more. The displays are excellent. The multimedia presentation is gripping and very well done featuring re-enactments of the accounts of medical personnel. For an extra cost, you can choose to climb the tower to take in the magnificent views afforded by the perspective from the top. Overall, this is a must-see if you are visiting Ypres. The information presented is outstanding, the displays are well done and the museum is well laid out. The €9 fee is unquestionably worth it.

What do you do when you've already visited Brussels & Bruges? We decided to take an In Flanders…read moreFields tour that includes admission to this museum. It was a great tour! It's located in the reconstructed Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle) at Grote Markt in Ypres. Did you know that it had been totally destroyed during WWI? You would never know this by looking at it. The museum itself is very well done. It focuses on the battles of the Ypres Salient. It's the Western Front in WWI that covered about 9.2 square miles and formed a semicircle around Ypres. The objective of the museum is to show more of the human side of the trench warfare battlefield through personal experiences and artifacts. There's a great amount of information about the artillery projectiles that were responsible for two-thirds of all deaths on the battlefield. There's also a display of medical items used to dress these wounds during the battle and at Advanced Dressing Stations such as the one in Essex Farm. The chemical warfare exhibit is the most haunting of them all, but then you'll see art in the midst of all of it. The art pieces are scattered throughout the displays as a segue or transition that humanizes the subject matter. My only regret is not purchasing the audio guide. They give you a microchipped poppy bracelet that allows you to enter. It can be personalized, but no one really gives you any instructions on how to program it. Who has the time for that anyway? It can be used with the interactive displays to scan for personal stories of people who lived through the war. You can keep the bracelet as a souvenir. We just dropped it back into the dedicated container on the way out. There's an option to climb up to the bell tower if you have the time. We also saw a nice café in the museum with a gift shop. We had a very nice visit at the museum and Ypres. It's a beautiful city!

I didn't come down here on the tour, but rather searched for it the morning we were heading off to…read morego for a drive around France. Mind you, they can be a little difficult to locate namely because it is hidden away in an industrial area to the north of Ypres. The trenches appear to have been rebuilt and one of the reasons is that the sandbags have actually been made out of cement. While it isn't as fancy, or as authentic, as some of the other places around here, it is still worth checking out if you are like me and like checking out trenches.

We came across this nice little museum on the main road to Ipre. Its located in an old church &…read moreschool house right opposite the Hooge Cemetary. It has a vast amount WW1 relics & a small cafe that serves nice coffee & sandwiches. Seemed to be pretty busy with coach tours whilst we visited. Car parking was on the main road with designated free spaces. Entrance to museum was 4.50 euro. They seem to do a roaring trade in battle field relics from rusty bullets to shell casings & hand granades, not sure how customs would see these items on return to UK in the current climate. Worth a look.

The story behind this place is that during some time after the war some children were playing in…read morethe forest and one of them fell down a hole. When their parents came to rescue them they discovered a huge network of preserved trenches. In fact this is apparently one of the very few preserved trenches from the war namely beause after the war ended, with the exception of a couple of patches of land, and a huge number of cemeteries, any trace of the war was pretty much destroyed. However, this is on private land but it has been opened to the public for you to crawl through the old trenches and bunkers, and it is definitely worth checking out. I came here on one of the tours, and you do need to purchase tickets to enter.

Talbot house was the finest house in Poperinge at the outbreak of WW1 being the residence of the…read moretown's wealthiest hop merchant. When the war broke out the house was rented by an English army chaplain Philip "Tubby" Clayton as a refuge for soldiers granted leave from fighting at the nearby frontline. The house was purchased by a trust and has been preserved as tribute the story of Tubby Clayton and the men that he provided a haven to during the war. The house has a museum and is also open to guests. When we arrived we were greeted by two friendly dutch ladies who turned out to be volunteers who acted as wardens to the house during our stay. Every guest is presented with a nice warm cup of tea and a chat about the history of the house and the surrounding attractions relating to WW1. On our trip we visited the Passchendale museum with realistic trenches and dugouts, Tyne Cot cemetery, the Irish peace garde and finished with the playing of the last post which takes place very night at 8pm at the Menin Gate in Ypres. Talbot house provides comfortable accommodation at very reasonable prices, there is also a beautiful kitchen where guests can store and prepare there own food. Breakfast can be ordered in our sourced form the nearby bakeries in the town There is free parking in the Gasthuis lot to the rear or elsewhere in the town. Apart form the WW1 sights, Poperinge is at the centre of the Belgian hop growing region which is home to some of the best Belgian beers including West Vleteren, St Bernardus and the ubiquitous Poperinge Hommer Beer. This is an exceptional and unique place and should not be missed by anyone wanting to immerse themselves in the atmosphere and experience of WW1.

Doubles as a bed and breakfast with a separate Yelp listing - did not stay here. The museum is very…read morewell put together with a surprising number of rooms and plenty of history to take in surrounding World War 1. At the end of the museum self-guided tour, you are able to go into the bed and breakfast portion (within the actual historic house) and sit and have tea with one of the staff. We also were given a tour of some of the rooms in the historical bed and breakfast, which were very impressive. The experience was well put together, unique, and the staff were outstanding. I found the experience to be personal, homely, and educational. Really glad we stopped in.

If you're a beer enthusiast, this is a must visit. They do some cool exhibits on the history of hop…read morefarming, and after driving the area and seeing modern hop vines, it was cool to know how they got that way. There are also a handful of displays on breweries that are local to the Ieper and Poperinge area. On the ground level is a 42 cabinet display of almost every beer made in Belgium, from every region except Brussels. (I told them Brussels was missing and she said she'd note it to the guys.)

Everybody knows that Belgium is famous for beer, but there would be no beer in Belgium if it wasn't…read morefor hops. Hops are plants used in beer making that are a stabilizing agent and also to give it flavor. The Hop Museum celebrates this plant by showing the history of it, which was once harvested in abundance in the area. You are given an audio guide that will talk to you through the displays over the museum's four floors. Other than a couple short movies and quizzes, you will learn how the hops were grown and harvested, about the peasants and foreigners who used to come to Poperinge to help out with the harvest, and of course the celebrations (with lots of beer!) that were held after the harvest was completed. Hops are still grown in the area but not in the numbers as before, with most of Belgium's hops now coming from Germany and the Czech Republic. This museum is very interesting and will give you a better apprecation for the nation's favorite drink. And just added to the museum is the Belgian Beer Wall so you can see the hundreds of different national brews. Sante!