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Remembered Today:

Ypres: Guided Tour Museum options


collinsc

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Hi


As per another of my threads, we are going to Ypres - we are doing a day touring around ourselves and a day guided tour. As part of our Ypres tour we have free entry and a guided tour (from our tour guide) to 1 of the following. I am hoping to visit all 3,.. but would appreciate advice as to which one would be best to visit with our tour guide?


Can anyone advise how long one would spend at each location? we may wish to utilise our time with our guide on other sites so may be sensible to go for the location where we may spend shortest amount of time?



Hooge Crater & Trenches


German Trenches at Bayernwald


Hill 62 Museum




Many thanks!


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Hi Collin

The best one to choose to go to with your guide is Bayernwald. If you go yourself then you will have to first go to the tourist office at Kemmel (if its open)to buy your entrance tickets. The guide will already have tickets. In addition you will save yourself €8.

Bob

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thanks everyone - keep the views coming!

Bob - hmm so the place to buy tickets isnt on site?

zonnebeke isnt one of the options included in the tour... but it is one we could go to on our own...

of the 4, is there one that we could go to that would we see alot of things that would mean we need not go to the others?

thanks

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1. Zonnebeke has a large museum display which is well labelled and a good underground 'bunker' set up and a recently built trench system

http://mmp.zonnebeke.be/en

2. Hooge museum is also good and nearby are some bunkers and craters in the grounds of the hotel which is accessible. Also opposite is

the Hooge CWGC Cemetery. The cafe does good snacks and refreshments.

http://www.hoogecrater.com/

3. Bayernwald is a set of German trenches and bunkers, trenches rebuilt on the original lines, looked a bit tired last time I was there.

Good explanation board of the site. Hitler served in the vicinity.

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/ypres-salient/remains-bayernwald.htm

4. Hill 62 - Previous owner has passed on and I am not sure what it is like now but trenches said to be from WW1 and a museum with a lot of exhibits but low on labels. Interesting picture viewers and nearby is Mount Sorrel Memorial and Sanctuary Wood Cemetery. Café on

site

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/ypres-salient/museum-sanctuary-wood.htm

They all have their plus points - check the web sites and see what you think will be best for you.

Hope this helps.

Regards

John

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Sanctuary Wood was unchanged when I visited in October. I don't know what the long-term future is but it's a tourist goldmine. It has been tidied up a bit in recent years but the ramshackle aspect is one of its charms; it still has something of the original museum established on the site for the earliest pilgrims. I agree that Zonnebeke is the best museum in the Salient. It has a large new display hall in addition to the extensive outdoor trench system.

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I am out in Ypres from Friday (27th) staying at Hooge Chateau Hotel so right next to the museum etc which is very good, but the best one in my humble opinion is Zonnebeke which is also only a short drive. This is one of the main reasons for stopping on the outskirts of Ypres rather then in Ypres for the first time in 15 years of visiting.

Only tend to visit Sanctuary wood (Hill 62) museum when touring with newbies as I find the charges 'a bit pricey' compared to others in the area.

Dave

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Collin

I made my first trip to Ypres just over a year ago. I did day one on my own to museums etc. I would absolutely endorse a visit to Zonnebeke but it takes a good hour or two to get the most out of it, so if included in a guided tour loses you quite a bit of time. Second day I had a half day tour with a guide which included Hooge (1 euro in the charity box), this fitted well in the itinary without too much time lost.

If I was doing it again as a first time I would take the guided tour day one to give perspective and focus. Day two would be Zonnebeke and any other interests.

I have very mixed feelings about "In Flanders Fields", a very good example of "multimeedah" dumming down to visitors with the attention span of a goldfish. However if you ignore the gloss it probably was worth picking the good bits out. I now wish I had gone up to the top of the tower; particularly if I had covered the ground on day one rather than two, if that makes sense.

Peter

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hi everyone, many thanks for the advice.

i have decided to go for bayernwald to be included in the tour, primrily to save the effort to pick up the tickets from the tourist office, plus i red on trip advisor that this site is best with a guide.

we will definitley try to include zonnebeke the following day when we drive ourselves around. we will also try to fit in hooge and hill62 on the same day.

more requests for opinions to follow!

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Hooge (Chapel) Museum, considerably extended over the last couple of years, is a good stop on your own - no particular benefit, I think, having a guide there. Zonnebeke very good - handy if your 'on your own day' is very wet. Regardless of the weather (well, almost), make the most of the guided day to get a good feel for the Salient - get him/her to point out prominent features as you go around the Salient so that you can get your bearings. It will be well worthwhile when you start reading more about he Salient when you get home - much easier to visualise things and follow them on a map in what is a very complex battlefield area.

When talking to the new owners at Hill 62 late summer last year they were expecting to close the museum from about Christmas for a month or so and do a lot of refurbishment; I hope to pop in there in middish March and will be interested to see what they have achieved.

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we are going in june, would v much appreciate your view on Hill 62 after your visit...

our plan is that we will visit many places with the guide and we will have a list of places we will visit on the second day... and we'll learn from the guide about perhaps any missing locations or any locations perhaps not worth visiting from our list - i will share those lists on here in due course!

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Hi

This is the list i plan to give to our tour guide as a suggested itinerary. NB- This is a full days tour.

I would very much appreciate opinions on...

a) whether the below is achievable on a full days tour (if not what would you advise to drop)

b ) whether there are some locations on my list that you think are not necessary to be with a guide and is therefore a location we can visit on our own the prior/following day

c) whether there are some locations on the Self Guide list that would be best visited with a guide

d) any locations ive entirely missed off my list that is worth a visit!

TOUR GUIDE

North of Ypres

Vladslo German war cemetery, Praatbos

The Trench of Death

Yser tower

Ypres Area

Langemark

Harry patch memorial (last fighting soldier)

The brooding soldier/Saint Julien

Tynecot cemetery

Essex farm

Polygon wood

Hill 60

South of Ypres

Bayernwald

Spanbroekmolen

Lone tree crater/Pool of Peace

Messines Ridge

Irish Peace Park

Xmas truce

Ploegsteert

SELF GUIDE

Menin Gate

In Flanders Field Museum

Ypres Cemetery

Hooge Crater Café

Potizje Chateau Lawn Cemetery

The War Memorial to the 50th (Northumbrian) Division/Oxford Rd cem

Hill 62 Sanctuary Wood Museum

Yorkshire Trench near Boezinge

Artillery Wood Cemetery

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery

Bedford House Cemetery

Ramparts Cemetery

Artillery Wood Cem

Zonnebeke- Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917

Passchendaele New British Cemetery

Museum of battle of fromelles

Zantvoorde Brit Cem

Hell Fire Corner

Houthulst Begraafplaats (Belgian Military Cemetery)

Thanks!

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Hi Collin

You have no chance of achieving all that in one day. You need to cross off all of the North of Ypres sites and visit them yourself together with the Belgian cemetery at Houthulst. Your guide should be able to cope with the rest that you have planned for him/her.

Bob

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Hi

barry - we will have one full day tour and then two half days ourselves...

thanks Bob. I did wonder about the north part! so the "ypres area" and "south ypres" would be achievable? are there any that wouldnt benefit from a guide ?/ are there locations on that list that youd recommend swapping out for any on the "self guide" list?

cheers

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  • Admin

I'd cross Fromelles off as that is some distance from Ypres, you would have to do that separately

Michelle

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thanks michelle - really showing my ignorance here... which in my list is at fromelles!?

we are travelling from ypres to somme, so i do have in mind some fromelles locations to visit ourselves on the way... e.g. pheasant wood

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  • Admin

You have listed Museum of Battle of Fromelles between Passendale and Zantvoorde, I appreci you can go there on you way south but not in a day from the salient

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Have just arrived back from Ypres and having not visited the Zonnebeke museum since the trenches were established went there on my first morning and what a pleasant surprise, the museum was always very good but now I think it is excellent, well worth at least a couple of hours of anyone's time when in the Ypres area.

Dave

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Forgot to mention that the Trenches of Death were closed when I tried to visit on Saturday. I did no see any information posted as to when they would be open again, Visitor centre shut and gates to the trenches locked, although you can still walk along the canal bank to see them but not quite the same impact.

Dave

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Forgot to mention that the Trenches of Death were closed when I tried to visit on Saturday. I did no see any information posted as to when they would be open again, Visitor centre shut and gates to the trenches locked, although you can still walk along the canal bank to see them but not quite the same impact.

Dave

From the website of Tourism Diksmuide : ( http://toerisme.diksmuide.be/product/600/dodengang - curiously there seems to be no English version available.... )

Trenches of Death (Dodengang)

From 16 November untill end of March open only on Tuesdays and Fridays 09:30 - 16:00 (gate open untill 15:30)

From 1 April 2015 open daily 10:00 - 18:00 (gate open untill 17:30)

JW

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Thank you JWK that explains it, at least we had a good visit to the tower at Dixmuide and I actually picked up the courage to go out onto the roof at the top of the tower despite my fear of heights

:rolleyes: Dave

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Went to Westfront Museum at Nieuwpoort today. It's newly opened and well worth a visit if in the area.Tells the full story of the inundation, with lots of artefacts etc.

Barry

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