Cycling around the Belgian Ypres

During this 35-kilometer cycling tour you will discover the southwest of the Belgian province of West Flanders and the city of Ypres, where there is a lot of history.

Historic Ypres
The cycle route starts on the Grote Markt in Ypres. Ypres is best known for the battles near Ypres during the First World War. A few months after the German invasion of Belgium on August 4, 1914, the front came to a standstill at the small, medieval city. The first battle of Ypres was a fact. Several more horrific events followed, and nearly half a million people were killed in the trenches and no-man's-land surrounding the city between 1914 and 1918. During the four-year war, the city in the heart of the Ypres Salient was literally razed to the ground. The last remaining inhabitants were forced to evacuate in early May 1915. From then on, no one lived in the ghost town of Ypres.

Reconstruction of Ypres
At the beginning of 1919, the first inhabitants returned to the destroyed city and the reconstruction of the original medieval fortified city began. In the 1920s, the more than 150 military cemeteries in and around the city were also built and monuments were built, of which the Menin Gate was the most important. These monuments and cemeteries are a reminder to this day of the most tragic period in the history of Ypres.

Nature reserve Palingbeek
Along the way you cycle through the beautiful Palingbeek nature reserve, which lies between Hollebeke and Voormezele. Ponds and marshes, old and young forest, orchards and flowery grasslands, sunbathing areas or a playground alternate. A wonderful ending before you cycle back to Ypres.