Private Day Trip from Paris: Tour of the Ypres Salient WWI Battlefield in Belgian Flanders

Relax on a scenic drive through northern France to Belgium, where you’ll visit the famous battlefield of the Ypres Salient, an area that saw many of the biggest battles during World War 1.

Thousands of soldiers from the Commonwealth countries, as well as Germany, France and Belgium, defended the land around the Ypres Salient from the German Army. This battlefield saw numerous deaths during the war, and is now the site of several cemeteries and memorials honoring those who lost their lives there. With your guide, discover these sites including St Julien Memorial, a Canadian memorial sometimes referred to as the 'Brooding Soldier,' and Polygon Wood, the 5th Australian Division Memorial.

Next, discover the Essex Farm Cemetery and bunkers, an area used as a dressing station during WWI and often associated with John McCrae, a Canadian soldier who was stationed here. Learn how he wrote ‘In Flanders Fields,’ the famous poem that resulted in poppies becoming one of the world's most recognized memorial symbols for fallen soldiers.

With your guide, walk up to Hill 60, a famous battlefield on raised land that saw heavy fighting during the war. Unlike other battlefields in the Belgium Flanders region, Hill 60 saw a lot of fighting underground in tunnels created by mines.

Visit the Tyne Cot Cemetery, where many soldiers who died in the Ypres Salient are buried. See the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, the stone wall that surrounds the cemetery containing the names of missing soldiers from the UK and New Zealand.

On your tour, you’ll also have free time to explore the town of Ypres at your leisure and have lunch (own expense). See the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, which has the names of thousands of missing Commonwealth soldiers inscribed on it, before enjoying a comfortable ride back to Paris.