mominthepark

My 14 year old daughter is very interested in visiting the WW1 trenches while we are in Europe this summer. She found information on Vimy Ridge and would like to go there. We will not have a car and the article she showed me says to take a train and have a taxi ready to take you the rest of the way. Is this advisable or is there another way of getting there? Or possibly another tour of other trenches? This is the number 1 thing on her list please help!

Thank you.

laverendrye

Vimy Ridge is one of the most impressive memorials on the Western front and is certainly worth visiting. From the visitor centre, you can tour the restored trenches and some of the tunnels built in preparation for the battle. Entrance to the site and the tours are free.

Without a car, you would take a train to Arras, and then arrange a taxi to and from the site, which is about 10km outside the town. The following is a very good visitor's guide, which includes a page on how to get there:

http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/rememb...y/vimy_contact

As an alternative, you could arrange a day tour from Paris to Arras and Vimy, but it would likely be somewhat more expensive than doing it on your own by train and taxi.

griz_fan

this will be a great year to visit, as it marks the centenary of of the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme, two of the largest battles of the war. I image that this will open up a lot of opportunities for tours, visits, etc...

You didn't mention where you'll be visiting, but I'm going to guess you'll be in Paris. From an earlier post of yours, it looks like your family is Canadian, so I would recommend focusing on something to do with the Battle of the Somme, since it was such an impactful battle for the Commonwealth (on the 1st day alone, the British Fourth Army suffered nearly 60,000 casualties with nearly 20,000 dead). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaumo...dland_Memorial might be a good option. http://www.somme-battlefields.com has some more information. The July 1st ceremonies are by ticket only, and I've heard that these events have sold out, but I'm sure you could visit on other dates.

http://www.somme-battlefields.com/ci...nes-and-trains should have some transport options.

This could actually be a very special part of your trip, given the timing. I'm a massive history buff myself, and I also have a 14 year old daughter. We did a big family European trip in the summer of 2014, and it was great. Only 12 at the time, she enjoyed it immensely. Best of luck!!

IMDonehere

We went to Belgium in 2014 and stayed at a hotel in Ypres called:

Hotel Kasteelhof ‘T Hooghe
Meenseweg 481
Phone 32 0 57 46 87 87

They had craters and the remnants of trenches on the premises.

sparkchaser

If she didn't have her heart set on Vimy Ridge, I would suggest a foray into the greater Ypres area in Belgium as there are at least two restored trench systems, the remains of trenches all over the place, Commonwealth cemeteries, and the most excellent In Flanders Fields Museum. One would need a car for most of that, or a hired driver.

northie

I highly recommend the Beaumont -hamel memorial . The guides are young Canadians and you walk through the actual trenches - it's different from many other memorials as the dead have not be reinterred and the whole site is a grave- very moving and interesting history. I had no idea Newfoundland was not a part of Canada at that time. We visited this from Amiens and hired a guide to take us there. If interested I can give you a contact .

Southam

Taxi drivers in Arras are very familiar with the Vimy memorial. They will arrange to pick you up at a fixed time from the memorial or give you a telephone number to call. Your daughter may be surprised (I was) at the importance of tunnels along with the conventional trench warfare. Arras is picturesque and has plenty of history in the Second as well as First world wars and is worth an overnight stay.

Avalon2

If you decide to add Ypres to your trip there are excellent
tours of the trenches leaving from the Flanders fields Museum at a very reasonable cost. If you stay overnight
you"d get to see Last Post at Menin Gate.

kerouac

If you want to add a little artistic culture to your trip, Lens is also very close to Arras and Vimy and has a newly built annex of the Louvre.

bilboburgler

It took something like 18 months of mining and hand to hand fighting underground that ridge before they finally blew it up

Christina

Interestingly, I noticed there is a special documentary on this topic on PBS Nova program tonight (where I live, should be recent in other cities). Check it out http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/militar...l-warfare.html

kerouac

I visited Vimy Ridge a year and a half ago and took quite a few photos there: http://tinyurl.com/nzhnpzw

Actually, I was also at Vimy Ridge last July when the Tour de France went through, but it was raining and pretty miserable.

mominthepark

Wow, thanks for all of those suggestions! We are American citizens, but flying out of Toronto as it is saving us money to do so. We are traveling to London, Paris and Rome, so for the trenches, we would go from Paris.

My daughter does not have her heart set on Vimy, she just found that when googling the trenches. How far away would Belgium be from Paris? We already have our accommodations set for Paris, so it would need to be a day trip-is that possible?

I will have her research the other options and decide where is the best and easiest to reach.

Thanks for the note about the documentary, I have the DVR set to record!

kerouac

Brussels is 1h20 minutes away by train.

kerouac

Frankly, I have similar interests about WW1, so I also visited Ypres a few years ago: http://tinyurl.com/zcesgcy

laverendrye

Lots of good suggestions here, but there are some practicalities which need to be taken into account. The OP has indicated that this would be a day trip from Paris, so travelling time is critical.

There is much to see in Ypres and about, but a day trip doesn't give much time. It may be 1h20 from Paris to Brussels, but to get to Ypres would take at least twice as long. There is much to see in Ypres including the Flanders Fields Museum and the Menin Gate (including the Last Post Ceremony), but to see the various battlefield sites requires a car (taxi, hired driver) or an organized tour.

The Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel is a very moving site, with the original trenches and a very good interpretation centre. However getting there without a car is a bit awkward. Amiens is only about an hour by train from Paris, but Beaumont Hamel is over 30km away and a taxi could be expensive. Albert is closer, but it is about 3 hours by train from Paris because of the connections.

I would still opt for Vimy. The memorial is magnificent, in my opinion the finest on the Western Front, and there is much to see on the site. It is less than an hour to Arras by TGV from Paris and as another visitor has pointed out, the taxi drivers are very familiar with Vimy. Arras itself is a very attractive town, and is worth a few hours of exploration. You can do that all easily in a day trip from Paris.

kerouac

<i>The memorial is magnificent, in my opinion the finest on the Western Front</i>

The South African memorial is also amazing but even more difficult to get to without a car.

AnselmAdorne

This brings back memories, mominthepark. Like kerouac and laverendrye, I have an interest on Great War history, and a few years ago traced the career of my late wife's great uncle, who fought in several places along the Western Front.

This report might give you and your daughter a flavour of what you might see, and, like laverendrye, I'd recommend Vimy if you have only one day. It is a site you will never forget.

Here's the link. Sadly, the photos have been taken down; you'll just have to use your imagination.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-picardy.cfm

Southam

A time-saving compromise for young students of WW1 is the Musee de la grande guerre in Meaux, about 45 minutes by train from Gare de l'est in Paris. This new museum concentrates on the experience of WW1 for both the grunts in the trenches and the common citizenry. http://www.museedelagrandeguerre.eu/en

PegS

Not the OP, but all your suggestions are giving me an idea for a day trip I'd never considered!