Every night at 8pm, traffic through the Menin Gate is halted while buglers sound the Last Post in remembrance of the WWI dead, a moving tradition started in 1928. Every evening the scene is different; buglers may be accompanied by pipers, troops of cadets or a military band. There's usually at least 100 or so visitors, most of whom have some connection to someone who was lost in Flanders Fields.
The Last Post
Top choice in Ypres
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Groeningemuseum
28.48 MILES
Bruges’ most celebrated art gallery boasts an astonishingly rich collection that's strong in superb Flemish Primitive and Renaissance works, depicting the…
Museum Sint-Janshospitaal
28.33 MILES
In the restored chapel of a 12th-century hospital building with superb timber beamwork, this museum shows various torturous-looking medical implements,…
Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Cemetery & Museum
16.96 MILES
The death toll was horrific – 1917 Australians and 519 Britons killed in just one day of fighting – yet the Battle of Fromelles was largely forgotten…
Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed
28.63 MILES
The western end of the stadhuis morphs into the Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed. The basilica takes its name from a phial supposedly containing a few drops…
Lakenhalle
0.25 MILES
Dominating the Grote Markt, the enormous reconstructed Lakenhalle is one of Belgium’s most impressive buildings. Its 70m-high belfry has the vague…
Stadhuis
28.64 MILES
The beautiful 1420 stadhuis features a fanciful facade that’s second only to Leuven’s for exquisitely turreted Gothic excess. Inside, an audioguide…
Brugse Vrije
28.67 MILES
Eye-catching with its early baroque gables, gilt highlights and golden statuettes, this was once the seat of the ‘Liberty of Bruges’, the large autonomous…
Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk
28.36 MILES
Dominating its surrounds, this 13th-century church was reopened in 2015 after extensive renovations. Its enormous 115m spire is unmissable throughout much…
Nearby Ypres attractions
1. Menin Gate
A block east of Grote Markt, the famous Menin Gate is a huge stone gateway straddling the main road at the city moat. It's inscribed with the names of 54…
2. Gateway to Ypres
0.05 MILES
This excellent visitors centre should be your first port of call if you're a Commonwealth citizen looking for information about a family member who died…
3. Lakenhalle
0.25 MILES
Dominating the Grote Markt, the enormous reconstructed Lakenhalle is one of Belgium’s most impressive buildings. Its 70m-high belfry has the vague…
4. In Flanders Fields Museum
0.26 MILES
No museum gives a more balanced yet moving and user-friendly introduction to WWI history. It’s a multisensory experience combining soundscapes, videos,…
5. Museum Godshuis Belle
0.26 MILES
A single small chapel room featuring some unexpectedly high-quality medieval art, mostly religious.
6. St-Maarten en St-Niklasskerk
0.26 MILES
Directly behind the Lakenhalle, this vast church was a cathedral until 1797 and was almost totally destroyed in WWI. Reconstruction has beautifully…
7. Ramparts
0.27 MILES
Ypres is unusual in that it has retained extensive sections of its city fortifications. Designed by French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de…
8. Merghelynck Museum
0.27 MILES
Unrelated to WWI, this museum faithfully reproduces a French manor house dating from 1774 and is filled with period antiques and artworks. The catch: it's…