Tour of Ypres and Bruges Christmas Markets
No of nights: | 3 or 4 nights |
Key sites: | Menin Gate |
Transport: | Car, minibus/coach & ferry |
Dates: | 2024 |
Cost: | £465pp via Dover/Calais or |
It is hard to imagine a more mesmerizing Christmas setting than the historic centre of Bruges.
Every winter the city’s old town is transformed into a magical winter wonderland with sparkling lights and decorated Christmas trees, against a backdrop of gingerbread-like houses.
This 4/5-day tour will take you in with its convivial atmosphere combined with Belgian’s many culinary delights, including chocolate, and much more, not forgetting the Christmas market in Ypres. This all results in an incredible Christmas experience.
With a maximum of 8 guests, you will have a truly personalised trip, getting the most from your own personal guide and meeting others that are looking for a new Christmas experience.
Your Guide
Hello, I am Andy Oliver, your guide.
I am now retired from 22 years in the military service which took me around the world and the battlefields of the Western Front and Far East.
I have studied, toured, and guided on the Western Front battlefields for the last few years since retiring from the Armed Forces. I have built up an extensive knowledge of the Great War and I look forward to sharing it with you.
Tour Highlights
Essex Farm Cemetery
Tyne Cot Cemetery
Menin Gate
Sights of Bruges
Bray Dunes at Dunkirk
Tour Itinerary
Day 1 - Meet and greet and travel to Ypres or overnight ferry
- Pick up from a convenient location for you – we make our way to Ypres via Dover and Calais
- Check into the Novotel in Ypres for a one-night stay
- In the evening we attend the moving Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate
- We finish off the evening visiting the Captain Cook restaurant, (meal included in overall cost)
- Or meet up at convenient location for you at Hull train station or P&O Ferry terminal at King George Docks in Hull
- Check into the P&O Ferries, Hull for the overnight ferry to Rotterdam
Day 2 - Ypres & Passchendaele & Ypres Christmas Market
- After a good breakfast we make our way to the Battlefields of Flanders, visiting Essex Farm Dressing Station and cemetery. This is where the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ was written by Col. John McCrae. We also see the grave of Valentine Strudwick, just 15 years old when he was killed. We then visit Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest British Cemetery in the world, followed by a visit to Sanctuary Wood (Hill 62) to take in the preserved trenches
- We then make our way to the Christmas market in Ypres, with its Swiss style chalets and ice rink. This ensures a typical Christmas atmosphere in the Grote Market square of Ypres
- We take our leave of Ypres and head for the sights of Bruges
- At the end of the day, we check into the Radisson Blu hotel for a two-night stay
- You have the evening to yourselves to take in what the wonderful sights Bruges has to offer at night-time
Day 3 - Bruges Christmas Market
- After a good breakfast we take a walk-through Bruges to see the medieval city
- In Bruges, the winter festival is known as Winter Glow and Christmas markets in Bruges are part of this festival experience
- The Christmas market is a small market with a decorated Christmas tree in Market Square, the main square in Bruges city centre
- Rows of Christmas stalls line the square where you can find international food and Christmas gifts
- As we wander through the hundreds of market stalls weaving throughout the city centre, the sounds of Christmas carols and the scent of holiday treats fills the air, making it hard to ever head home
- As you walk around the city, you’ll see the incredible light installations that are a feature of Bruges at Christmas and one of the highlights of Winter Glow
- This visit to the wonderful Christmas market in Bruges is a must-see, must-do experience
Day 4 - Dunkirk and drop off or overnight ferry
- After a good breakfast we make our way back towards home, but before we leave the region we visit the town of Dunkirk, and the beaches at Bray Dunes for an understanding of the evacuation of Dunkirk
- Ferry from Calais to Dover, then drive home and drop off at a convenient location for you
- Or we make our way back to Rotterdam for the overnight ferry back to Hull
- Then returning home on Day 5
Price Includes
4 days, 3 nights or 5 days, 4 nights
- Services of a full-time guide
- Pick up & drop off from a convenient location
- All transportation and return ferry crossings or return overnight ferry crossing
- Plus either 2 or 3 nights in a 3* or 4* hotel (based on 2 sharing)
- Welcome drink on arrival at the hotel
Cost:
£465pp via Dover/Calais or
£525pp via Hull/Rotterdam
(Single supplement +£175)
Booking
To make a booking, contact me at 07947 362 747.
If these dates do not work for you or you would prefer to take a private tour, just get in touch with myself so I can make the arrangements for you.