Travel to Flanders
Details: Passchendaele Canadian Memorial Park visit
In 1917, the Allies slogged through the swampy, rain-soaked, mud-drenched ground of Passchendaele toward heavily armed German troops, losing many lives and tanks in the process. Canadian troops were brought in at the end due to the difficult conditions -- their earlier victories had conferred an elite status -- and with their efforts the high ground was finally won. The battle was ultimately meaningless, however; the corridor opened by the action later proved unnecessary. Because of the horror of the Battle of Passchendaele, the name has come to symbolize the idea of war in its most brutal and senseless form.
Details: Memorial Museum of Passchendaele 1917 visit
Step into the new immersive experience ‘Passchendaele 1917’ and find yourself right in the middle of the landscape of 1917. By means of powerful visualizations, appropriate music and historical images projected several metres tall, the Battle of Passchendaele is presented chronologically. A total experience in which young and old are completely immersed in the story and landscape of 1917.
Details: St Julien Memorial
German soldiers fighting on the Western Front first used mustard gas during the Battle of Ypres, and the St Julien Memorial marks the spot where Canadian soldiers first confronted this new weapon of war.
Details: Tyne Cot National Cemetery
Visit the largest Commonwealth world war cemetery. Almost 12,000 soldiers are buried here, and additional 35,000 names of missing soldiers are inscribed on the back wall. The list of missing continues on the Menin Memorial Gate.
Details: In Flanders Fields Museum visit
In Flanders Fields Museum presents the story of the First World War from the invasion of Belgium, to 4 years of trench warfare and peace in the region since. Visit the Museum and honor over 600,000 who fell
Details: Attend Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate
At 8pm traffic is stopped while buglers from the Ypres Fire Brigade play the Last Post and Reveille. Since 1929, this nightly ceremony has commemorated the almost 55,000 British Commonwealth soldiers who died nearby that could not be identified or found. The only time this Ceremony has not taken place was during the Second World War.
Note the Menin Gate will undergo renovations from April 2023 to March 2025. During that time, scaffolding will partially cover the memorial and the name panels will not be visible to visitors. However, the names on the monument will be made accessible by means of a digital search application in the CWGC Ypres Information Center in Ypres, only a few meters away from the monument. During that time, the Last Post Ceremony will continue to take place daily at 8PM.