Belgium must-see ideas

[Bordador]

Hello travel mumsnetters...

I'm taking my daughter on a 3 day trip to Belgium. She is very interested in 21st history so we are going to visit Ypres museum and some of the battlefields, and the Menin gate for the last post.

Does anyone have any other ideas for where to see trenches in situ?

Or any other ideas for visits in the area? Not necessarily First World War related ...

Thank you in advance

Ghent is really cool, especially the alleyways with the graffiti. Castle, outdoor pianos, great cafés. And of course the triptych in the cathedral, if art is her thing.

Bruges is the biscuit-tin-pretty one, utterly beautiful. Canal trip essential.

Brussels is great - the grand’ place is stunning, there are cool museums and amazing architecture, and it’s pretty walkable. We did a self-led tour of the best chocolate shops, buying one chocolate in each just to sample them. The teens loved that.

It’s one of my favourite places to go.

We did a guided tour in Ypres that included Tyne Cot cemetery and quite a few trenches and memorials. The guide was amazing and had an iPad so you could see then and now. Standing looking up the hill to Passchendaele was very sobering - all the people (and animals) that died fighting over what is not much more than a couple of fields. I second Ghent or Bruges (the latter is much nearer to Ypres. When are you travelling? The Belgian coast is lovely in places, but maybe not in February. Ostend has the Atlantic Wall museum and Fort Napoleon.

We also visited Sanctuary Wood - which has some trenches and a little museum. And Essex Farm....

You can visit trenches at Passchendaele. There's also a comprehensive museum on site. I'd echo previous suggestions for other things to do. There's a thread from last summer, "Things to do in Belgium" which could be of help.

The Passchendale museum is excellent- very interactive and lots of trenches etc. the museum in the middle of Ypres is also good. The Menin Gate Last Post ceremony at 8PM every night is a must. Ypres is so beautiful and so much to do and see around there. As others have said Sanctuary Wood is nearby and you need to go to Tyne Cot too. We have been with our two teenagers twice and they love it there. Going again this year hopefully.