Poperinge is a charming, welcoming little town. It is within a few minutes drive of Ypres and all sites of the Ypres salient, the Messines Ridge, Ploegsteert Wood and the Flemish Hills. Easily reached from UK, it is for many the first town they reach on crossing the border into Belgium. Don’t neglect Pop as you go through to Ypres for it has its own Great War sites of first-class importance as well as some excellent accommodation and restaurants.
The magnificent town hall in Poperinge, a popular town behind Ypres, both now and during the Great War.
Basics
Poperinge is in Belgium. Note that this is not a French speaking area, although many people understand and use French, it is primarily Flemish speaking. Most people in the area speak English well, many fluently. The currency in use is the Euro. Credit cards are widely accepted.
Getting to Poperinge
By car from UK: Poperinge is an easy 90 km (just over 1 hour) drive from Calais.
By car from airport: Pop is 160 km (just over 1 hour 40 mins) drive from Brussels.
By rail: Poperinge has a railway station with trains direct from Brussels (via Ypres).
See my guide On the way to Wipers! A battlefield tour before you get there
What is there to see?
Poperinge is more to be remembered as a place behind the lines than as a battlefield. It does however have a number of sites of tremendous interest to Great War battlefield tourists:
- Talbot House (Toc H or Everyman’s Club) (Gasthuisstraat, town centre)Website
- L’Esperance and La Poupee (officers and soldiers haunts) (Grote Markt, town centre)
- Town hall cells (Grote Markt)
- Former Skindles (officers club) (Gasthuisstraat)
- Old and New Military Cemeteries (within short walk of town centre)
- Switch Road (built by army as a town bypass) (within short walk of town centre)
- Railway station (leave train departures) (within short walk of town centre)
- Many cemeteries, memorials and other sites within the area
Tourist essentials
1. The main tourist office is situated in the Town Hall on the main square (Grote Markt) (town centre)
2. Monday is closing day: most shops and facilities are closed, at least for the morning.
3. Eating and drinking: there are many restaurants, bars and cafes in town, most grouped around the central square.
4. Banks and ATMs (cash machines): on Grote Markt.
5. Parking: main car park is on Grote Markt and there is plenty of on-street parking.
6. Supermarkets: several, plus smaller general stores, bakeries, etc in the town centre.
Accommodation
When booking any accommodation, buyer beware. The Long, Long Trail can not be held responsible for the availability, price or performance of any of the accommodation listed here. Obviously.
There is a wide selection of accommodation in the town and surrounding villages. Note, however, that accommodation can be rather full for 11 November and for the town’s Hop Festival. Book early.
Chris Baker says
“My favourite accomodation in Pop is Bea’s B&B, which is run by the former owners of the Palace Hotel. Small (in terms of number of rooms), quiet and on the edge of town but wonderful. The Palace used to be great but I have not stayed since it changed hands. I have also stayed at Belfort and de Kring and both were very good; I have also heard good reports of the Amfora. As far as other B&Bs go my favourite is ‘t Brouwershuis in Watou. It is further away from Pop and Ypres but is a very nice village and the B&B is next door to a brewery!”
Hotels
| Amfora Address: Grote Markt 36, 8970 Poperinge Tel: 32 57 33 88 66 Website URL: www.amfora.be Hotel and restaurant. Situated in Poperinge town centre |
| Het Belfort Address: Grote Markt 36, 8970 Poperinge Tel: 32 57 33 88 88 Website URL: www.hotelbelfort.be Hotel and restaurant. Situated in Poperinge town centre |
| Gasthof de Kring Address: Burgemeester Bertenplein 7, 8970 Poperinge Tel: 32 57 33 38 61 Website URL: www.dekring.be Hotel and restaurant. Situated in Poperinge town centre. |
| Manoir Ogygia Address: Veurnestraat 108, 8970 Poperinge Tel: 32 57 33 88 38 Website URL: www.ogygia.be/ Hotel and restaurant. Situated in Poperinge town centre. Beauty and wellness treatments. |
| Palace Address: Ieperstraat 34, 8970 Poperinge Tel: 32 57 33 30 93 Website URL: www.hotelpalace.be Hotel. Situated in Poperinge town centre. |
| Recour Address: Guido Gezellestraat 7, 8970 Poperinge Tel: 32 57 20 15 41 Website URL: www.pegasusrecour.be Luxury hotel and restaurant. Situated in Poperinge town centre. |
B&B / Guest houses
| Bea’s B&B Address: 214 Casselstraat, 8970 Poperinge Phone: 32 57 36 08 93 Website URL: www.beasbb.be Guy and Bea Osteaux-Beernaert On western outskirts of Poperinge |
| ‘t Brouwershuis B&B Address: 23A Trappistenweg, 8978 Watou Phone: 32 57 38 88 04 Website URL: www.brouwershuis.com Sabrina Bierlaen In the village of Watou |
| Camalou B&B Address: 351 Dikkebusseweg, 8908 Ieper Phone: 32 57 20 43 42 Email: info@camalou.com Website URL: www.camalou.com Annette Linthout In the village of Dikkebus |
| Cherry Blossom B&B Address: Grote Branderstraat, Vlamertinge Phone: 32 57 30 15 55 Email: liz@cherryblossom.be Website URL: www.cherryblossom.be Jon and Liz Millward In the hamlet of Brandhoek near Vlamertinge |
| Predikherenhof B&B Address: 25 Elverdingseweg, 8970 Poperinge Phone: 32 57 42 33 66 Website URL: www.predikherenhof.be Email: predikherenhof@telenet.be On the outskirts of Pop |
Camping
Camping Ypra
Address: Pingelaarstraat 2, 8956 Kemmel-Heuvelland
Phone: 32 57 44 46 31
Fax: 32 57 44 48 81
E-mail: camping.ypra@skynet.be
Jan and Ann Vitse Heddebauw
For more information
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