# Ypres (Ieper) The martyred city of the First World War: the Last Post every night at eight, the In Flanders Fields Museum, Tyne Cot and the cemeteries of the Salient. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/belgium/ypres · Revisado: 2026-11-12 Ypres, Ieper in Dutch, is the Flemish city that the First World War left reduced to rubble. For four years it stood at the centre of a salient, a pocket of the front surrounded on three sides by the German army, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers died around it. It was later rebuilt exactly as it was, with its Cloth Hall and its cathedral, and today it is the place people come to understand that war. Every night, since 1928, buglers have played the Last Post beneath the Menin Gate. ## How do you get there from Brussels? By car, about an hour and a half, some 125 km on the E40 towards Ghent and the A19, which ends at Ypres. It is the best option if you want to see the cemeteries and museums in the countryside on your own. In the city, the Albion car park is just round the corner from the Grote Markt. By train, about two hours with one change, at Kortrijk or Ghent. The station is a ten-minute walk from the centre. Without a car, the battlefields can be seen on a minibus tour that leaves from the Menin Gate. ## What to see in a day? In the morning, the In Flanders Fields Museum, in the Cloth Hall: two hours on the war in Flanders told by those who lived through it, and for €2 more, the belfry. Stroll around the Grote Markt and the cathedral and have lunch in the centre. In the afternoon, head out into the countryside. By car, in a quarter of an hour you reach the Passchendaele Museum and, three kilometres further, the Tyne Cot cemetery, the largest Commonwealth cemetery on the continent, with almost 12,000 graves. On the way back, the Langemark German cemetery shows the other side. Without a car, the afternoon tour by Over the Top Tours covers the south of the Salient: Hill 60, the Messines craters and the site of the Christmas Truce. At 20:00, the Menin Gate and the Last Post: arrive half an hour early. If you have time to spare beforehand, walk along the ramparts to the Lille Gate. ## Day trip or one night? It can be done in a day from Brussels, but the Last Post at eight in the evening forces you to return late: by car you reach Brussels at about half past ten, and by train it is tight. The best thing is to stay one night: an evening in the city and the Last Post, and the next morning the tour or the cemeteries to the north. ## Where to eat? On Sunday, the place with an open kitchen is De Ruyffelaer, grandmother's cooking in an old Flemish dining room, also at lunchtime. On weekdays, Klei, on the Grote Markt itself, has a lunch menu at €42 with local produce, and the Ariane restaurant serves in sittings designed to get you to the Last Post. Try the katteklauw, the Ypres bun, at breakfast. ## Where to stay? The Albion Hotel is right in the centre, 300 metres from the Grote Markt, with enclosed parking. The four-star Ariane Hotel, five minutes away, has free parking, a garden and a restaurant. For 11 November, book months in advance. ## Ypres and the rest of Belgium Ypres is far from the other day trips from Brussels: it is in the Westhoek, the western corner of the country. It combines well with Bruges, about 60 km away, or with the coast at Ostend and De Haan, less than an hour by car. If you are interested in the Second World War, Bastogne is its equivalent in the Ardennes. ## Dónde está - Cerca: Ostend and De Haan (a 44.7 km), Bruges (a 46.3 km), Damme (a 52.4 km), Ghent (a 62.5 km) ## Qué hacer - **The Menin Gate and the Last Post at eight o'clock** (45 min · All ages; in silence during the ceremony · Free, no booking): The Menin Gate is a triumphal arch that Sir Reginald Blomfield built at the eastern exit of Ypres, through which soldiers marched to the front. It was unveiled on 24 July 1927 and its walls carry the names of more than 54,000 Commonwealth soldiers missing in the Ypres Salient up to 15 August 1917; those who fell afterwards are at Tyne Cot. The Last Post Every evening, at 20:00 sharp, the police stop the traffic beneath the arch and the buglers of the Last Post Association sound the Last Post. It has been held every day since 2 July 1928. It is free and no booking is needed. It lasts about 15 minutes. How to be there Arrive at 19:30 if you want to see it up close, especially in summer and around 11 November, when it fills up. Silence is kept and there is no applause. In 2027 the memorial turns one hundred. - **In Flanders Fields Museum and the Cloth Hall belfry** (2 h · Teenagers and adults; there is a family route · €12 adults · €10.50 over-60s · €7 ages 19 to 25 · €6 ages 7 to 17 · free under 7 · family €26.50 · belfry +€2): The In Flanders Fields Museum occupies the Cloth Hall, the great Gothic building on the Grote Markt, rebuilt after being left in ruins in the First World War. It tells the story of the war on the Flanders front through the people who lived it: soldiers, nurses, refugees. Tickets €12 for adults, €10.50 for over-60s, €7 for ages 19 to 25, €6 for ages 7 to 17 and free for under-7s; the family ticket, for two adults and three children, costs €26.50. The audioguide and the climb up the belfry, with a view over the town and the plain of the front, are €2 each. There are combined tickets with the Yper Museum (€15.50) and with the Passchendaele museum (€19.50). Opening hours Open every day from 10:00 to 17:30, with ticket sales until 16:30; from 16 November to 31 March it is closed on Mondays. It is also closed from 5 to 19 January 2026, on 26 and 27 June, on 24, 25 and 31 December, and from 4 to 18 January 2027. The visit takes between an hour and a half and two hours. - **Tyne Cot Cemetery, at Passchendaele** (1 h · All ages, with respect · Free): Tyne Cot is the largest Commonwealth military cemetery on the European continent: almost 12,000 graves on a hillside at Passendale, in the municipality of Zonnebeke, where the Battle of Passchendaele was fought in 1917. On the back wall, the memorial to the missing carries another 35,000 names of British and Irish soldiers who fell after 16 August 1917, who did not fit on the Menin Gate, and a separate memorial remembers the New Zealanders of October 1917. The visit It is free. The cemetery is open from dawn to dusk and the visitor centre from 9:00 to 18:00; there are guided tours. Allow an hour. It is on the Vijfwegestraat in Zonnebeke, about 11 km from Ypres; without a car you can get there on a guided tour or by bike. - **Guided minibus tour of the Ypres Salient** (4 h · Adults and teenagers who understand English · €40 per person): The Ypres front is made up of dozens of cemeteries, craters and trenches scattered through the countryside, with no public transport between them. The most convenient way to see them without a car is a minibus tour with a local guide. Over the Top Tours, with a bookshop next to the Menin Gate, runs two a day. The two routes The morning tour, from 9:30 to 13:30, goes to the northern sector: Essex Farm cemetery, the German cemetery at Langemark, the Canadian Brooding Soldier, Passchendaele, Tyne Cot and the trenches and museum at Hill 62. The afternoon tour, from 14:00 to 17:30, goes south: the 1917 Battle of Messines, the mine craters, Hill 60, the Irish Peace Park, German trenches, the site of the Christmas truce and the Ploegsteert memorial. Each costs €40, in an eight-seat minibus, in English. - **Passchendaele Museum, in Zonnebeke Castle** (2 h · Teenagers and adults; a family route for the little ones · €13 adults · €8 students aged 18 to 26 · €7 ages 7 to 17 · free up to 6 · with the In Flanders Fields Museum, €19.50): The Passchendaele Museum is in the park of Zonnebeke Castle, about 8 km from Ypres and 3 from Tyne Cot. It tells the story of the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, one of the bloodiest of the war, with objects, reconstructions and interactive rooms; a route with a map and audio guide takes children round. Tickets and opening hours €13 for adults, €8 for students aged 18 to 26, €7 for ages 7 to 17 and free up to 6, with an audioguide included. The combined ticket with the In Flanders Fields Museum costs €19.50 (€11 for ages 7 to 17). Open every day from 10:00 to 17:30, with last entry at 16:30. Closed on 24, 25 and 31 December, 1 January and from 4 to 31 January 2027. The Zonnebeke tourist office is in the same building. - **The German military cemetery at Langemark** (30 min · Adults and teenagers · Free): Langemark is one of the four German military cemeteries in Flanders, on the Klerkenstraat, north of Ypres. More than 44,000 soldiers are buried beneath the oaks, half of them in a mass grave. It is sober and dark, with low stone crosses and flat headstones, and the contrast with the white Commonwealth cemeteries explains much about how each side remembered the war. - **The Ypres ramparts, from the Menin Gate to the Lille Gate** (1 h · All ages; accessible with pushchairs and wheelchairs at nine points · Free): Ypres has kept almost its entire belt of ramparts, with the moat full of water, and a tree-lined path runs along the top. The classic stretch goes from the Menin Gate south to the Lille Gate, the Rijselpoort, with the guardhouse and the lock room. Next to it, the Ramparts Cemetery is a tiny military cemetery, at the water's edge. How to do it Climb onto the rampart next to the Menin Gate and walk south with the moat on your left; on the way back, enter the town along the Rijselstraat. The ramparts have nine access points for wheelchairs and pushchairs. It is free and always open. - **The Grote Markt and St Martin's Cathedral** (45 min · All ages · Free): When the war ended, Ypres was a field of rubble. The city decided to rebuild the centre exactly as it was: the Cloth Hall, one of the great civic Gothic buildings of Flanders, and St Martin's Cathedral, just behind it, were raised again stone by stone over the following decades. Today the Grote Markt, with its terraces, is the centre of everything. What to see The façade of the Cloth Hall, with the belfry; inside are the In Flanders Fields Museum, the Yper Museum and the tourist office. Behind it, St Martin's Cathedral, with free entry. Under the belfry, on the Sint-Maartensplein, there are public toilets. ## Dónde comer - **De Ruyffelaer** (Restaurant, Ypres · centre, €€). Qué pedir: a Flemish stew from the daily menu, home cooking - **Klei** (Restaurant, Ypres · Grote Markt, €€€). Qué pedir: the €42 Gastrolunch at lunchtime or the €77 four-course menu in the evening - **Ariane Resto** (Restaurant, Ypres · near the centre, €€€). Qué pedir: the North Sea sole or the beef cheeks stewed in Sint-Bernardus beer ## By plane: Fly to Brussels or Charleroi and take the train to Ypres Ypres is at the far western end of Belgium, about 125 km from Brussels and 30 km from Lille. The usual way is to fly to Brussels-Zaventem (BRU) or Charleroi (CRL), with direct flights from several Spanish cities, and continue by train with one change, or hire a car at the airport to tour the front. Lille airport (LIL) is closer, but has fewer flights from Spain. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Ariane Hotel** (Hotel): The Ariane is a four-star hotel on the Slachthuisstraat, a five-minute walk from the Grote Markt and seven from the Menin Gate, in a quiet area with a garden and pond. It has 62 rooms with individual air conditioning and boxspring beds, several on the ground floor. What it offers Free private parking with seven electric chargers, an enclosed bike garage with sockets, wifi, a lift, room service, a bar, a restaurant and a garden terrace from April to September, with a petanque court and a children's corner. Reception books battlefield tours, taxis and restaurants, and sells In Flanders Fields Museum tickets at a discount. It has a small exhibition room on the First World War. Getting there By car, it is the most convenient option in Ypres thanks to the free parking. From the station it is about a fifteen-minute walk. The restaurant is closed on Sunday. - **Albion Hotel** (Hotel): The Albion is on the Sint-Jacobsstraat, in the historic centre of Ypres: 300 metres from the Grote Markt, the Cloth Hall and the In Flanders Fields Museum, and a few minutes from the Menin Gate. It has 32 rooms, the Classic ones with warm decor and the Premium ones, more modern, with a view over the rooftops. The rooms and breakfast All have a bathroom with a bath or shower, a small fridge, a coffee machine and kettle, wifi and extra-long boxspring beds; there is a lift and one adapted room. Breakfast is a buffet with bread from the bakery next door, farm cold cuts, Westhoek cheeses and the katteklauw, the Ypres bun. Also open to non-guests, for €27 (€17 for ages 6 to 14). Parking and getting there The private, enclosed and supervised car park is at D'Hondtstraat 59, around the corner: €16 a night for guests, by reservation, from 7:30 to 22:00, with chargers and a garage for motorbikes and bikes. From the station it is a ten-minute walk. ### Servicios - **Ypres station and the train from Brussels**: About two hours from Brussels, changing at Kortrijk or Ghent · ten minutes' walk from the Grote Markt ## By car: Ypres and the Salient by car A car is the freest way to see the old front: the cemeteries, craters and museums are scattered through the countryside, 5 to 15 km from Ypres, with no practical public transport between them. From Brussels it is about an hour and a half along the E40 and A19, which ends in the town. Presupuesto orientativo: 100–170 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Ariane Hotel** (Hotel): The Ariane is a four-star hotel on the Slachthuisstraat, a five-minute walk from the Grote Markt and seven from the Menin Gate, in a quiet area with a garden and pond. It has 62 rooms with individual air conditioning and boxspring beds, several on the ground floor. What it offers Free private parking with seven electric chargers, an enclosed bike garage with sockets, wifi, a lift, room service, a bar, a restaurant and a garden terrace from April to September, with a petanque court and a children's corner. Reception books battlefield tours, taxis and restaurants, and sells In Flanders Fields Museum tickets at a discount. It has a small exhibition room on the First World War. Getting there By car, it is the most convenient option in Ypres thanks to the free parking. From the station it is about a fifteen-minute walk. The restaurant is closed on Sunday. - **Albion Hotel** (Hotel): The Albion is on the Sint-Jacobsstraat, in the historic centre of Ypres: 300 metres from the Grote Markt, the Cloth Hall and the In Flanders Fields Museum, and a few minutes from the Menin Gate. It has 32 rooms, the Classic ones with warm decor and the Premium ones, more modern, with a view over the rooftops. The rooms and breakfast All have a bathroom with a bath or shower, a small fridge, a coffee machine and kettle, wifi and extra-long boxspring beds; there is a lift and one adapted room. Breakfast is a buffet with bread from the bakery next door, farm cold cuts, Westhoek cheeses and the katteklauw, the Ypres bun. Also open to non-guests, for €27 (€17 for ages 6 to 14). Parking and getting there The private, enclosed and supervised car park is at D'Hondtstraat 59, around the corner: €16 a night for guests, by reservation, from 7:30 to 22:00, with chargers and a garage for motorbikes and bikes. From the station it is a ten-minute walk. ### Servicios - **Albion car park, on the D'Hondtstraat**: Enclosed car park in the centre · €1.50 an hour for the public · from 7:30 to 22:00 · electric chargers ## Car-free: Ypres by train, on foot and on a tour Without a car, Ypres works well if you stay one night: you arrive by train, see the town, the museum and the Last Post on foot, and the next day take a minibus tour of the cemeteries. As a day trip from Brussels, it is about four hours of train travel there and back. Presupuesto orientativo: 120–200 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir without a car - **Ariane Hotel** (Hotel): The Ariane is a four-star hotel on the Slachthuisstraat, a five-minute walk from the Grote Markt and seven from the Menin Gate, in a quiet area with a garden and pond. It has 62 rooms with individual air conditioning and boxspring beds, several on the ground floor. What it offers Free private parking with seven electric chargers, an enclosed bike garage with sockets, wifi, a lift, room service, a bar, a restaurant and a garden terrace from April to September, with a petanque court and a children's corner. Reception books battlefield tours, taxis and restaurants, and sells In Flanders Fields Museum tickets at a discount. It has a small exhibition room on the First World War. Getting there By car, it is the most convenient option in Ypres thanks to the free parking. From the station it is about a fifteen-minute walk. The restaurant is closed on Sunday. - **Albion Hotel** (Hotel): The Albion is on the Sint-Jacobsstraat, in the historic centre of Ypres: 300 metres from the Grote Markt, the Cloth Hall and the In Flanders Fields Museum, and a few minutes from the Menin Gate. It has 32 rooms, the Classic ones with warm decor and the Premium ones, more modern, with a view over the rooftops. The rooms and breakfast All have a bathroom with a bath or shower, a small fridge, a coffee machine and kettle, wifi and extra-long boxspring beds; there is a lift and one adapted room. Breakfast is a buffet with bread from the bakery next door, farm cold cuts, Westhoek cheeses and the katteklauw, the Ypres bun. Also open to non-guests, for €27 (€17 for ages 6 to 14). Parking and getting there The private, enclosed and supervised car park is at D'Hondtstraat 59, around the corner: €16 a night for guests, by reservation, from 7:30 to 22:00, with chargers and a garage for motorbikes and bikes. From the station it is a ten-minute walk. ### Servicios - **Ypres station and the train from Brussels**: About two hours from Brussels, changing at Kortrijk or Ghent · ten minutes' walk from the Grote Markt ## With teenagers: Ypres with teenagers Ypres is one of the best history lessons you can give a teenager: the First World War told in a modern museum, immense cemeteries and, every evening, the Last Post ceremony beneath the Menin Gate. It works best if they arrive knowing something about the war. ### What works best The In Flanders Fields Museum, €6 for ages 7 to 17, and the climb up the belfry The Last Post at 20:00, free Tyne Cot and the German cemetery at Langemark, to compare The minibus tour with trenches and craters, if they understand English ### Where to stay Albion Hotel, in the centre, for walking back from the Last Post ### Where to eat De Ruyffelaer, home-style Flemish cooking ### Worth knowing The tour is in English The cemeteries call for silence and respect ### Qué hacer with teenagers - The Menin Gate and the Last Post at eight o'clock - In Flanders Fields Museum and the Cloth Hall belfry - Tyne Cot Cemetery, at Passchendaele - Guided minibus tour of the Ypres Salient - Passchendaele Museum, in Zonnebeke Castle - The German military cemetery at Langemark ## As a family: Ypres with the family With children, Ypres calls for pacing: one museum, a walk along the ramparts and the Last Post, which surprises people of any age. The cemeteries are better understood from the age of 8 or 10. ### What works best The ramparts, with a pushchair, from the Menin Gate to the Lille Gate The In Flanders Fields Museum, free for under-7s with a €26.50 family ticket The Passchendaele Museum, with a children's route with a map and audio The Last Post, fifteen minutes at 20:00 ### Where to stay Ariane Hotel, with a garden and children's corner Albion Hotel, with a cot and extra bed on request ### Where to eat Ariane Resto, on weekdays ### Worth knowing In summer and on 11 November the Menin Gate fills up: arrive at 19:30 so the children can see The trenches are not accessible with a pushchair ### Qué hacer as a family - The Menin Gate and the Last Post at eight o'clock - In Flanders Fields Museum and the Cloth Hall belfry - Tyne Cot Cemetery, at Passchendaele - Passchendaele Museum, in Zonnebeke Castle - The Ypres ramparts, from the Menin Gate to the Lille Gate - The Grote Markt and St Martin's Cathedral ## Consejos ### Arrive early for the Last Post In summer and around 11 November there are hundreds of people. At 19:30 you can still see well. ### Museum combined ticket The joint ticket for the In Flanders Fields Museum and the Passchendaele museum costs €19.50. ### Book a taxi If you go to Tyne Cot without a car, book the taxi in advance: there is no taxi rank in the countryside. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How long does it take from Brussels to Ypres? About an hour and a half by car and about two hours by train, with one change. ### What time is the Last Post? Every day at 20:00, at the Menin Gate. It is free. ### What is there to see in Ypres in a day? The In Flanders Fields Museum, the Grote Markt, the ramparts, Tyne Cot or a tour of the Salient, and the Last Post. ### Can you see Tyne Cot without a car? Yes, on a minibus tour from Ypres or by booked taxi. ### Is it worth staying overnight in Ypres? Yes: that way you see the Last Post without returning to Brussels at night and can spend the morning on the front.