Located in western Belgium, in the province of West Flanders, Ypres is a dignified place with a weighty history, and will appeal most to those looking to deepen their understanding of the tragedies of World War I. Most of its sights are spread between its lovely centre - full of charming chocolate shops and local brew houses - and its scenic, though sombre, countryside, which active travellers will find makes a great cycling circuit. Key sights include the Menin Gate Memorial, the Flanders Fields Museum and the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, all of which feature moving memorials to the hundreds of thousands of lives lost near Ypres during the closing stages of the Great War. Meanwhile, sights such as the reconstructed Lakenhalle (Cloth Hall) and Leperse Vestingen (the city’s ancient fortifications) link the city with antiquity.