Vimy Ridge National Historic Site & Arras Memorial Park
Just 11 km north of Arras on the D55, the Vimy Ridge Canadian National Historic Site preserves the most intact section of WWI trench system in existence, set within a 100-hectare park of reforested pine and wildflower meadow. The white twin-pylon Canadian National Vimy Memorial, completed in 1936, is one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking monuments on the Western Front.
The Landscape of War
The park's undulating terrain is entirely shaped by the underground war: mine craters up to 20 metres deep pockmark the hillside, and the preserved trenches — both Allied and German, separated in places by just 25 metres of no-man's land — are maintained in chalk and sandbag exactly as they appeared in 1917. Walking between them is viscerally different from reading about the war in a book.
The forest itself is fenced off because unexploded ordnance still lies beneath the surface — a stark reminder that this ground remains dangerous a century on. Stick to the marked paths.
The Memorial & Visitor Centre
Walter Allward's memorial is covered in allegorical figures carved from Croatian limestone; the central figure of 'Canada Bereft' gazing over the Douai plain is one of the most quietly devastating sculptures in Europe. Free guided tours run from the visitor centre (staffed by young Canadian volunteers) and are excellent.
The site is free to enter and open year-round, though the visitor centre has reduced winter hours. Combine with a morning at Arras's Grand'Place and the Boves tunnels for a full and emotionally rich day.
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