Hampshire Hotel O - Ieper ★★★

For the entire duration of the First World War, German troops besieged the town. This front was called the “Ypres Salient” by the British defenders. The place became historic because the Germans didn’t succeed in conquering the city, in spite of violent battles that cost the lives of more than five hundred thousand soldiers. Things to see in and around historic Ypres:

First World War
In and around the city there are no fewer than 170 military cemeteries. For many, mainly the British, Ypres is the centre of remembrance of the First World War. More information about what happened in this part of West Flanders between 1914-1918 can be found in In Flanders Fields Museum, Ramparts War Museum and Memorial Passchendaele 1917. Menenpoort is a remembrance monument on the east of the city. This city gate was built by the British in 1927 in memory of 54,896 missing British solders killed in action in the First World War. The Last Post is sounded every evening here at 8:00 p.m.

Places of interest
Ypres has a rich history that goes back to the Middle Ages. Grote Markt and the old houses still standing around it give the city a medieval feel. There are also many historic buildings in the centre that give a good impression of that time. Lakenhalle, Europe’s largest Gothic-styled civic building, is such a historic building, as is Sint-Maartenskerk. Both were completely destroyed during the First World War and were re-built afterwards.

Walking and cycling
There are beautiful areas for cycle trips to the south and east of Ypres including through Gasthuisbossen and the Verdronken Weide and Palingbeek nature reserves.