Menin Gate Memorial – Ypres Ramparts (Fortifications) loop from Ypres
Menin Gate Memorial – Ypres Ramparts (Fortifications) loop from Ypres
4.5
(126)
1,126
hikers
Menin Gate Memorial – Ypres Ramparts (Fortifications) loop from Ypres
02:07
8.37km
10m
Hiking
Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.
Last updated: August 6, 2026
Waypoints
Start point
Parking
Get Directions
355 m
Ypres Ramparts and Moats
Highlight • Historical Site
Tip by
2.50 km
Menin Gate Memorial
Highlight • Monument
Today you are standing in front of one of the greatest and most moving memorials of the First World War in the form of a Roman triumphal arch. During the inauguration ceremony in July 1927, the Somerset Light Infantry horns played the tattoo for the first time, and since 1928 it has been played every evening at 8 p.m., regardless of the crowd or the weather.
The vast white Portland stone walls of the Menin Gate contain inscriptions with the names of nearly 55,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers who fell on the battlefield and have no burial place; son, father, brother. Indeed, the walls of the Menin Gate were not large enough: 34,957 other names of the last lost are written on the walls of Tyne Cot Cemetery east of Ypres.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
2.90 km
Hoornwerk Pedestrian Bridge
Highlight • Bridge
Translated by Google •
Tip by
3.00 km
Ypres Ramparts (Fortifications)
Highlight • Historical Site
Translated by Google •
Tip by
3.77 km
Rijselpoort (Lille Gate)
Highlight • Historical Site
The Lille Gate, formerly called the Mesen Gate, dates from the Burgundian period (14th century) and is finished with Burgundian towers. The gate has been renovated several times. In the 17th century, Vauban had the tower lowered and the main wall widened. After destruction in the First World War, the gate was rebuilt.
The Rijselpoort separates the Majoorgracht from the Kasteelgracht, and is therefore a combination of a water and land gate. The entrance to the vaulted hall is on the left of the Lille Gate. To the right of the gate we find the lock room with the lock doors of the streams and settlement waters.
The Ieperlee enters the city through this gate. The Ieperlee has a bed of approximately 2.5 meters deep and is not the feeding stream for the settlement canals.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
3.90 km
Ramparts Cemetery, Lille Gate
Highlight • Historical Site
What you will surely notice, no matter what size they are: You will always find (artificial) poppies in the cemeteries. What's it all about? On May 3, 1915, in Ypres, a Canadian officer wrote down the first words of a now famous poem: “In Flanders fields the poppies blow”.
John McCrae's poem isn't the only connection between the poppy and war. Poppies grow on rubble and in places where the ground has been moved frequently. The battlefields of Flanders are one big heap of war-torn soil, ripped apart by thousands of shells. This allowed the seeds to germinate. The profusion of red poppies on the battlefields of Flanders - often the only fleck of color in a sad landscape of ruins, mud and bomb craters - has to do with war.
With its deep red color like the copious blood spilled by soldiers and a black heart like a gunshot wound, the poppy became a symbol of commemoration of the First World War.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
5.75 km
The Meat House
Highlight • Historical Site
The ground floor is early Gothic and was built around 1275. The late Gothic upper floor dates from 1530 and has two stepped gables. It previously housed the City Museum, the youth services on the first floor, and the JOC youth center in the basement.
Source: Wikipedia
Translated by Google •
Tip by
5.97 km
Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle), Ypres
Highlight • Historical Site
Built into the mighty building is the belfry - you can also find it in numerous cities in Flanders as an expression of civic pride and self-confidence.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
8.37 km
End point
Parking
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
5.51 km
1.20 km
801 m
605 m
225 m
Surfaces
3.85 km
1.81 km
1.78 km
444 m
264 m
186 m
Sign up to see more specific route details
Sign up for free
Elevation
Sign up to see more specific route details
Sign up for free
Weather
Powered by Foreca
Thursday 27 August
21°C
16°C
-- %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: -- km/h
to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route
Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.
Comments
Showing Translation
Today is a holiday in Ypres: “public days on the main square/art crafts/theater/music/museum”
The Menen Gate memorial is under construction, a few tables explain the site.. it is always a pleasure to tour the fortifications through its park or go around it by road..
Showing Translation
Showing Translation
de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ypern
really worth reading!
Showing Translation
Want to know more?
Sign up for a free komoot account to join the conversation.
Sign up for free