Famous for its fields of poppies and lined with tombstones of fallen soldiers, Ypres (EE-pruh; pop. 35,000) and its environs continue to bear witness to the city’s role in WWI. It was here that the Germans realized that their anticipated quick victory would instead become an entrenched and bitter stalemate. Once a medieval textile center, Ypres was completely destroyed by four years of combat but was impressively rebuilt as a near-perfect replica of its former self. Today, the town is surrounded by over 150 British cemeteries and filled with memorial sites. The In Flanders Field Museum, Grote Markt 34, documents the gruesome history of the Great War. (☎057 23 92 20; www.inflandersfields.be. Open daily Apr.-Nov. 15 10am-6pm, last entry 5pm; Nov. 16.-Mar. Tu-Su 10am-5pm. €8. MC/V.) Behind the museum is St. Martin’s Cathedral, rebuilt using pre-war plans and ornamented with a rose window given to Belgium by the British military. The cathedral itself is a testament to living history, with photographs on the altar that show the destruction of the church. Underneath the organ lies a memorial to the British soliders who died during the war. (☎057 20 80 04. Open daily 9am-noon and 2-6pm. Free.) Across the Markt, the names of 54,896 of the 100,000 British soldiers whose bodies were never found are inscribed on the Menin Gate. Every night at 8pm, the Last Post bugle ceremony honors those who defended Ypres (www.lastpost.be). With Menin Gate behind you, go right and take the Rose Coombs Walk to visit Ramparts Cemetery, where tombstones line the river. Bike the 3-4km journey to the first cemetery or make a daytrip to the battlefields nearly 40km ride out of town.
B&Bs are the cheapest accommodations in Ypres; call ahead to ask about availability and arrival times. The old but comfortable B&B Zonneweelde , Ligywijk 129, is also a good bet. (☎057 20 84 00; www.nooit-gedacht-ieper.tk. Breakfast included. Free Internet. Singles €30; doubles €50; triples €70. Cash only.) Restaurants line the Grote Markt; the crowded Au Miroir , Grote Markt 12, is a safe bet. (☎057 20 47 88. Entrees €6-20. Open daily 10am-midnight. AmEx/MC/V.) Get groceries at Super GB, Vandepeereboompl. 15. (☎057 20 29 35. Open M-Th and Sa 8:30am-7pm, F 8:30am-8pm.)
Trains run to Bruges (2hr., 1 per hr., €11), Brussels (1hr., 1 per hr., €16), and Ghent (1hr., 1 per hr., €10). The tourist office, Grote Markt 34, is inside Cloth Hall; with the station behind you, head down Stationsstr., turn left on Tempelstr., then right on Boterstr. (☎057 23 92 20; www.ieper.be. Open Apr.-Sept. M-Sa 9am-6pm, Su 10am-6pm; Oct.-Mar. daily 9am-5pm.) Postal Code: 8900.
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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