| 1 TOUR the battlefields and cemeteries of the Ypres Salient, including Tyne Cot Cemetery, which is about 9km from town. You can take a mini-bus tour or you’ll need a car, plus a route guide from the tourist office (Grote Markt 34, www.ieper.be). |
| 2 PAY tribute to your feline friends at the annual Cat Festival on 13 May, during which a jester tosses toy cats from the Belfry of the Cloth Hall. Every three years there’s also a huge Cats Parade, so mark your calendar for 10 May 2009. |
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| 3 FROLIC at Bellewaerde Park (bellewaerdepark.be) an animal and amusement park just outside town. It boasts more than 300 exotic animals and fun attractions – including the Magic House of Houdini and Flying Carousel – for kids of all ages. |
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| 4 GET A GLIMPSE of the life of 18th-century nobility at the Arthur Merghelynck Hotel-Museum (Merghelynckstraat 2), in a building dating back to 1774. Each room is exquisitely decorated and the coach houses contain the town’s archeological collection. |
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| 5 OBSERVE the Last Post (lastpost.be) at the Menin Gate, every evening at 8pm. The traditional salute to the fallen warrior is performed by buglers in memory of all the soldiers of the British Empire who were killed on the Ypres Salient during World War 1. |
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| 6 GET ACQUAINTED with the works of the town’s most famous artists at the Municipal Museum (Ieperleestraat 31) in the former St John’s almshouse, a 13th-century institution for the poor. Don’t miss the collection of pastels by Ypres-born Louise de Hem. |
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7 BEHOLD the Cloth Hall on Grote Markt. Originally built in the 13th century, it was rebuilt after being destroyed in World War 1.
It houses In Flanders Fields Museum, and has statues of King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, who opened the new Belfry in 1934.
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| 8 VISIT the nearby town of Poperinge, famous for growing the hops that make Belgian beer among the best in the world. A famous local brew is Sixtus, made at St Sixtus Abbey. |
| 9 STEP back in time at In Flanders Fields Museum (Grote Markt 34) where you can follow the wartime ordeals of real people through interactive exhibits. Historical artefacts documentary films, and sound and light effects bring home the horror of the trenches. |
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| 10 STROLL along the ramparts, a lovely 2.6km path that takes you past several of the town’s cultural highlights and ends up at the Menin Gate. |
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