A WWI history excursion to Belgium would not be complete without spending time here. The building…read morein which it is housed is a sight unto itself as it features wonderful architecture. The museum allows a somewhat personalized visit as a watch issued upon entry allows registration of basic information such as nationality and preferred language. One can then activate certain displays to get a response specific to that information. There are many items of interest to the history buff and the casual observer alike. It will require two to three hours at minimum to take in all of the information though some will spend more. The displays are excellent. The multimedia presentation is gripping and very well done featuring re-enactments of the accounts of medical personnel. For an extra cost, you can choose to climb the tower to take in the magnificent views afforded by the perspective from the top. Overall, this is a must-see if you are visiting Ypres. The information presented is outstanding, the displays are well done and the museum is well laid out. The €9 fee is unquestionably worth it.

What do you do when you've already visited Brussels & Bruges? We decided to take an In Flanders…read moreFields tour that includes admission to this museum. It was a great tour! It's located in the reconstructed Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle) at Grote Markt in Ypres. Did you know that it had been totally destroyed during WWI? You would never know this by looking at it. The museum itself is very well done. It focuses on the battles of the Ypres Salient. It's the Western Front in WWI that covered about 9.2 square miles and formed a semicircle around Ypres. The objective of the museum is to show more of the human side of the trench warfare battlefield through personal experiences and artifacts. There's a great amount of information about the artillery projectiles that were responsible for two-thirds of all deaths on the battlefield. There's also a display of medical items used to dress these wounds during the battle and at Advanced Dressing Stations such as the one in Essex Farm. The chemical warfare exhibit is the most haunting of them all, but then you'll see art in the midst of all of it. The art pieces are scattered throughout the displays as a segue or transition that humanizes the subject matter. My only regret is not purchasing the audio guide. They give you a microchipped poppy bracelet that allows you to enter. It can be personalized, but no one really gives you any instructions on how to program it. Who has the time for that anyway? It can be used with the interactive displays to scan for personal stories of people who lived through the war. You can keep the bracelet as a souvenir. We just dropped it back into the dedicated container on the way out. There's an option to climb up to the bell tower if you have the time. We also saw a nice café in the museum with a gift shop. We had a very nice visit at the museum and Ypres. It's a beautiful city!

These are the only trenches left intact from the Battles of Ypres in World War I. They are a grim…read morereminder of how millions of soldiers lived and died during the four years of the conflict. The farmer who preserved the (British/Canadian) fortifications passed them on to his grandson, who still operates a private cafe and museum on the grounds. The museum is a bit hokey, but the trenches themselves are certainly real enough. And what an odd name for the place - it was anything but a sanctuary, and within a few days of the conflict's start, any wood had been completely blown to bits.

A great place to visit & experience the Ypres salient battle field. Trenches & tunnels to explore…read more A museum full of artefacts & photographs including old slide boxes to view. It is also strewn with old shells. It's 10 euros to enter. There is a cafe for coffee & snacks. The only problem is the the 15 cats that have free rein & their associated smell within the cafe area.

The museum building was being renovated on the outside so looked a bit shabby but once inside the…read moremaze of small rooms on the 2nd floor held information about the other allies, in the main the Belgians and their part in the war. The other interesting part to this is that they have recreated underground bunkers in the cellars which was interesting. The museum is set in a park with a lake, which would have been nice if it hadn't have been raining during our visit. Car parking is free & entrance is 5 Euro per person. Toilets are available but are a bit public, by that I mean, men & women can hear each other going!

By far the best museum for WWI. We visited The Flanders Field Museum as well as other trenches and…read morethis museum was WAY better. We had our 4 young children (ages 4-10) with us and everyone enjoyed the museum. It is so comprehensive, interactive and fabulous. I feel if you're only seeing one museum that this is the one to see. Unfortunately we went to the Flanders Field Museum after and were so disappointed after this museum. Must see!

Sadly on this visit the museum is closed for renovation but will reopen in June 2012. Just have to…read morecome again 19/7/2010 A truly fantastic museum, on entry you are given the identity of a soldier from the war & follow his trail in the war. Sadly many do not see the end. Ypres is a beautiful town with the Market place & cloth hall at it's heart. I would certainly recommend a trip to here.

The 'In Flanders Fields' museum was the highlight of my trip to Belgium. The whole town of Ypres is…read morewonderful, but the Mennin Gate and the In Flanders Fields museum are particularly thought-provoking and powerful. The museum itself is one of the best museums I've ever visited. I'm not even that interested in wars and all things like that, but I found it to be well-laid out and powerful. The museum is sitauted inside the old cloth building, which has been rebuilt to show the amount of damage - so there are bullet holes throughout. Inside, the museum isn't very big but it's well organised. Visitors are given a card containing the name of someone who was in WWI and throughout the museum there are boxes in which people can check up on how their characters are doing. The museum is designed to invoke a reaction. Throughout, it uses a powerful mixture of noise, films, images and words to convey the emotions of the time there are letters from soldiers saying sad things like I blew off a soldiers head today, got a bit of blood on my shirt which was a pain. It's saddening. Periodically, there are gunshots and bomb blasts overhead, for added effect. At the end of the trail in the museum there's a giftshop. They seem to have a Poppy theme throughout it, and lots of items displaying the poppies and the famous 'In Flanders Fields' poem.