4 Best Sights in Ypres, Bruges and the Coast

The powerful interactive displays in the In Flanders Fields Museum preserve the terrors of trench warfare and the memory of those who died in nearby fields. The museum focuses on World War I, but expands to the universal theme of war. Computer screens, sound effects, scale models, and videos realistically portray the weapons, endless battles, and numerous casualties of the area’s wars. Each visitor receives a “smart card” with details of a soldier or civilian and follows that person’s fortunes throughout the war. The museum is housed on the second floor of the magnificent Lakenhallen (Cloth Hall) on the Grote Markt, a copy of the original 1304 building. If you climb the 264 steps in the square belfry, the view of turrets, towns, and fields seems endless. There are smart cards and other information in English. The museum also maintains casualty databases, which can be used by the public.

In Zonnebeke, 7 km (4½ miles) east from Ypres (take the N37), this museum is, simply put, a must-see. It houses the largest public collection of World War I memorabilia in western Flanders. Weapons, uniforms, documents, and photographs re-create the tragedy of the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele. You can even smell the different types of poison gas that were used. The cellar holds a realistic reconstruction of a dugout, a subterranean camp that lodged soldiers during the war; it was, according to one of them, “one of the most disgusting places I ever lived in.” Outdoors there are short sections of reconstructed trenches, both Allied and German.

In Zillebeke, 6 km (4 miles) east from Ypres, this museum is installed in an old chapel. Items on display include bombs, grenades, rifles, and uniforms. More than 6,500 British soldiers lie in the cemetery across the street.

Sharing the magnificent Lakenhallen (Cloth Hall) building with the In Flanders Fields Museum, the Yper Museum stands in sharp contrast to its neighbor, in that it shifts the focus away from the tragic events of World War I. Instead, the exhibits tells the story of the town's development from medieval times to the 20th century, using myths, legends, archaeological finds, and more than a dash of knowing humor. The only nod to more recent history is an exhibit about Léontine Pemeke (1858–1923), a photographer who moved to Ypres in 1887 and documented its buildings and people before, during, and after the 1914–18 conflict.