The In Flanders Fields museum transports visitors back to WWI’s Western Front, the main theater of war between 1914 and 1918. The trench-lined front bordered Ypres, with the fields around the city presiding over some of the bloodiest battles.
Visitors explore the galleries on a self-guided basis, dipping in and out of as many as 3,000 accounts charting the stories of individuals—such as soldiers and nurses; learning about the war’s key events, and observing audio-visual displays and collections of original artifacts such as weapons, communications equipment, and uniforms. The museum features in almost all WWI battlefields tours from Brussels or Bruges; making it easy to combine it with other must-sees such as Tyne Cot Cemetery and Ypres’ Menin Gate. Private tours are also available for those wanting in-depth attention from a guide and the option to tailor their itinerary around their personal interests.
The In Flanders Field Museum is housed in Ypres’ Cloth Hall, in the city’s Grote Markt. By public transit, catch the #60 bus from Ypres train station to the Markt—roughly a 10-minute journey—or walk there via Stationstraat and Boterstraat in around the same time.
The museum is usually open daily between April to November and has a slightly reduced opening schedule between November to March. It’s also closed on public holidays and for a period each January—double-check with the museum before visiting for the most up-to-date hours.
The In Flanders Fields Museum brings extra resonance to its subject by enabling visitors to follow the stories of individuals caught up in the trench warfare around Ypres. On entering, visitors receive a wristband bearing the name of soldiers involved in the fighting. They then scan the wristbands on the display screens to discover the battles they fought in, the conditions they suffered, and to learn about their lives; and poignantly, their ultimate fate.
