World War I Battlefields Tour of Flanders from Ghent

Learn about the tremendous sacrifices of World War I soldiers on this moving and enlightening full-day tour of Belgium's Flanders battlefields from Ghent. See a variety of tributes to the fallen, and visit the Vladslo German War Cemetery and Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery to better understand the war’s terrible toll. See where John McCrae wrote the famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields,’ and take an audio tour of In Flanders Fields Museum to learn more about WWI. Finally, attend the Last Post ceremony in Ypres, an emotional daily tribute to those who perished defending the town.

After meeting your guide in Ghent's Old Town at 10am, travel for about an hour by comfortable coach to the Vladslo German War Cemetery, where more than 25,000 soldiers are laid to rest. See Käthe Kollwitz's heartbreaking 'Grieving Parents' sculptures, a tribute to her youngest son who is buried near the statues.

Continue to the small town of Diksmuide to see the Trench of Death, where many Belgian soldiers lost their lives. Admire the Gate of Peace and Yser Tower (IJzertoren) before leaving town.

Pass the Canadian war memorial in St-Julien on your way to Passendale (Passchendaele), where your guide will tell you about the major WWI battle that took place here. Recharge with a lunch of freshly baked bread and cheese at the town's Old Cheese Factory.

Just outside Passendale, visit Tyne Cot cemetery, the largest cemetery for Commonwealth soldiers in the world. Observing the seemingly endless rows of grave markers and the memorial with the names of some 35,000 soldiers still missing gives you a sense of the enormous cost of war.

Your next stop is the Essex Farm field hospital where doctor and poet John McCrae is said to have written the famous war poem 'In Flanders Fields." In nearby Ypres, visit the In Flanders Fields Museum and take an audio tour to learn more about WWI and those who lost their lives fighting it.

After leaving the museum, pass Hellfire Corner, which endured continual firing by the Germans during the war, and Hill 60, home to a series of strategically significant tunnels. Take a break for dinner (own expense) in Ypres before attending the riveting Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing. This nightly tribute to those who died defending Ypres features buglers playing "Reveille' and a moment of silence.

Following the ceremony, board your coach for the drive back to Ghent. Your 11-hour day tour of some of the most historically significant World War I sites ends in Ghent's Old Town at around 9pm.

• Transport by air-conditioned coach
• Entrance to In Flanders Field Museum
• Lunch at the Old Cheese Factory
  

• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Gratuities (optional)
• Food and drinks, unless specified
• Poppy (1 euro) at In Flanders Field Museum