Belgium / Bruges, Ghent & Flanders Fields / Ypres (Ieper)Ypres (Ieper)
The Menin Gate and the Battlefields of Flanders Fields
A town rebuilt after the First World War, at the heart of the Ypres Salient. Every evening at 20:00 since 1928 the Last Post Association's buglers sound the Last Post under the Menin Gate, which carries the names of about 55,000 Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave; about 412 of them are Indian soldiers who fell in the First and Second Battles of Ypres in 1914-15, and a memorial to the Indian soldiers stands by the gate. The In Flanders Fields Museum is in the rebuilt Cloth Hall; Tyne Cot cemetery, the Passchendaele museum at Zonnebeke and Essex Farm are a short drive, best on a guided minibus tour or by hire car. About 2 hours by train from Brussels, usually changing at Kortrijk (estimate).
Highlights
- The Last Post at the Menin Gate, every evening at 20:00
- Names of the Indian soldiers on the Menin Gate
- In Flanders Fields Museum
- Tyne Cot Cemetery
- Passchendaele Memorial Museum
- Ramparts walk
- Cloth Hall
Things to do
- Last Post ceremony at the Menin GateEvening · 1h
- In Flanders Fields Museum and the Cloth Hall towerMorning · 2h 30m
- Guided battlefields tour: Tyne Cot, Passchendaele, Essex FarmMorning · 5h
- Ramparts walk to the Lille GateAfternoon · 1h 30m
Tours & tickets
Tourisma may earn a small commission if you book — it never changes your price.
When to go
Best time: April – June, September – November; 11 November for Armistice Day
Heads up
Armistice Day Crowds (11 November)
Around 11 November Ypres fills with visitors for the Armistice ceremonies at the Menin Gate: hotels sell out months ahead and the gate area is closed off. On other evenings arrive 30-45 minutes before the 20:00 Last Post for a place near the front.
- Armistice Day at the Menin Gate · 11 Nov — A public holiday in Belgium. Ypres holds its biggest Last Post of the year at the Menin Gate on the morning of 11 November, with a poppy parade; the evening Last Post at 20:00 is held as every day. The town fills, and the gate area is closed off: arrive very early or watch on the screens.