Mémorial canadien de Vimy
Twenty minutes north of Lens on the D55, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial stands on the ridge that Canadian Corps troops captured in April 1917 at enormous cost. The preserved battlefield — still cratered and tunnelled — is one of the most emotionally affecting sites in all of northern France, and it sees a fraction of the visitors that flock to Normandy.
The Monument and the Tunnels
Walter Allward's twin-towered white limestone monument is carved with the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers missing in France and commands an unobstructed view across the Douai plain — the same view the German defenders held before April 1917. The scale and the silence hit you simultaneously.
Free guided tunnel tours run from April to November, taking small groups through the preserved chalk tunnels and dugouts where soldiers sheltered before the assault. Guides are young Canadians on cultural exchange and their knowledge is exceptional — book your time slot at the visitor centre on arrival.
The Preserved Battlefield
The ground around the memorial is still closed to visitors on foot because of unexploded ordnance, but the preserved trench system and the enormous mine craters are accessible on the marked path. The landscape is eerie and beautiful — grass-covered craters the size of swimming pools, preserved sandbag lines now calcified into chalk.
Come in May when the grass is bright green and the hawthorn is in bloom; the contrast between the pastoral beauty and the scale of the craters is something you will not easily forget.
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