Australian Battlefields Tour from Lille

Nine hours across four Australian WWI cemeteries and two museum stops, ending under the Menin Gate at the Last Post ceremony.

A 9-hour private battlefield tour from Lille through Flanders and Fromelles, led by a guide in English, French or Dutch, visiting five key sites of Australian World War I sacrifice: Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery, VC Corner, Hill 60, Tyne Cot Cemetery in Passchendaele, and the Menin Gate Memorial. Includes round-trip hotel pickup, an air-conditioned minivan, lunch and bottled water. A minimum of two people per booking is required.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time at each

1. Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery30m
2. Hill 6045m
3. Memorial Museum Passchendaele 19171h · entry included
4. Tyne Cot Cemetery30m
5. Menin Gate Memorial1h

Explore WWI battlefields and memorials

• Visit museum on soldier remains
• Stand in Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery
• View German position towards No Man's Land
• Visit Australia's exclusive cemetery in France
• Drive through city, see historic pub
• Stand on June 1917 battle site
• Visit Hill 60 memorial and crater
• Visit Polygon Wood Memorial
• Explore Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917
• Stand in Tyne Cot Cemetery
• Visit Ypres square and free time
• Attend Last Post at Menin Gate

The experience

You leave your Lille hotel in the morning and spend the day moving through the battlefields where Australian troops fought in 1917. The tour opens at Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery in Fromelles, where 250 Australian soldiers were found and exhumed after decades in unmarked graves. You stand in the cemetery where they now rest. From there you move to VC Corner, France's only exclusively Australian WWI cemetery, then to Hill 60, where you see the memorial to the 1st Australian Tunneling Company and the Caterpillar Mine Crater. The guide walks you through the ground itself: standing on the German line looking toward No Man's Land, standing on the battlefield where the June 1917 attack was launched.

The afternoon takes you deeper into Passchendaele. You spend time in the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, which the operator describes as the best WWI museum in the region, then move to Tyne Cot Cemetery, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's largest cemetery, where you stand among thousands of headstones. You also visit Polygon Wood Memorial, where the 5th Australian Division is remembered and where the ANZAC Day Dawn Service is held each year. The tour ends in Ypres, where you have free time to walk the square and see the Cloth Hall and Cathedral before standing under the Menin Gate to attend the Last Post ceremony: a daily tribute that plays at the memorial every evening.

Your guide speaks English, French or Dutch and travels with you throughout the day in an air-conditioned minivan. Lunch and bottled water are provided. The full day runs 12 hours from pickup to return, though the tour itself is structured around nine hours of stops and movement. Alcoholic drinks are available to purchase during the day.

What’s included

• Private transportation in an air-conditioned minivan.
• hotel pickup and drop-off from your Lille accommodation.
• a live guide in English, French or Dutch.
• lunch.
• bottled water.
• entry to the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day except TuesdayDeparts at 09:00

Book up to12h before

AgesAdult (7 and older) · Under 7: can't be included in the booking

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, French and Dutch

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 15 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 6 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcome

Operated by Ploegsteert Sector Battlefield Experience

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you're traveling as a couple or small group and want a private vehicle and guide for the full day. The fixed itinerary moves through all the major Australian sites in one journey, ending with the Menin Gate ceremony, so the whole arc of the story fits inside a single departure from Lille.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, French and Dutch.

What is the Menin Gate Last Post ceremony, and do I attend it on this tour?

The Last Post is a daily bugle ceremony held at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres each evening to honor the fallen. Yes, the tour ends with time for you to stand under the gate and attend the ceremony before returning to your hotel.

Can I visit Tyne Cot Cemetery on this tour, and how large is it?

Tyne Cot Cemetery is included as a main stop. It is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's largest cemetery, with thousands of headstones marking the resting places of soldiers from multiple nations, including many Australians.

What does the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 show?

The museum explains the Battle of Passchendaele and documents how the remains of fallen soldiers were discovered and exhumed. You spend time there as part of the afternoon itinerary to understand the history of the sites you visit.

Does this tour include lunch, and what about drinks?

Yes, lunch is included in the tour price. Bottled water is also provided throughout the day. Alcoholic drinks are available to purchase if you wish.

What is VC Corner Cemetery, and why is it significant for Australians?

VC Corner Cemetery is France's only exclusively Australian World War I cemetery. It honors the thousands of Australian soldiers who died in the Flanders campaign, and the tour includes a stop there to pay respects.

How does the tour move between sites, and is there time to walk the battlefields?

You travel by air-conditioned minivan between the five main stops. At each site (Hill 60, Polygon Wood, the cemeteries and the museum). You get out to stand on the ground, see the memorials and walk through the spaces where the battles took place.