Visiting Vimy Ridge Memorial in Northern France

If you’re touring the battlefields of France and Belgium, visiting Vimy Ridge near Arras should be high on your list of places to see. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is not only one of the largest First World War national memorials in Europe, but a site where you’ll get a deep and profound insight into the realities of trench warfare. 

What is the Canadian National Vimy Memorial?

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial rises 27 metres high 

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a monumental stone memorial remembering the 11,000 Canadian soldiers who perished in unknown graves during the First World War. It is on the site of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, where 3,598 Canadian soldiers died in April 1917. Sculpted in white limestone by Walter Seymour Allward, the memorial depicts two pylons, representing Canada and France, and numerous allegorical figures, including ‘Mother Canada’, weeping for her dead. Around the base of the monument are inscribed the names of the fallen.

The monument is at the highest point of the Vimy Ridge escarpment that was seen as critical for the Allies to recapture. The battle itself was a success, and is regarded with pride by the Canadian nation. But the losses still make these the darkest days in Canadian military history. 

Where is the Vimy Ridge Memorial?

The Vimy Ridge memorial is the centrepiece of a 250 acre commemorative park, covering much of the battlefield and the Canadian and German trenches. Vimy Ridge is about 5 miles north-east of Arras, in a region that saw some of the most intense fighting on the Western Front between 1914 and 1918. It is around an hour’s drive from the Somme battlefields, so is an ideal stop on any tour of battlefields in northern France. 

What to expect at the Vimy Ridge Memorial

The reconstructed trench lines at Vimy Ridge are incredibly close to each other

There is so much more to explore on this site than just the monument, as deeply poignant as it is.

Vimy Ridge Visitor Education Centre

Opened in 2017 on the 100th anniversary of the battle, the Vimy Ridge Visitor Education Centre provides a wealth of information about the background to the battle, how the Canadian forces led it and why it was so important, not only to the Allied war effort but to the Canadian identity. A permanent exhibition, ‘We Will Remember’, tells the story of Canada’s involvement in the First World War, with first hand accounts of what servicemen experienced and the impact the war had on Canadians at home and at the front.  

Walk in the trenches and tunnels

The site is managed by the Canadian government, and it has done a remarkable job in reconstructing the zig zig pattern of trenches in which the Allied and German forces faced each other. What you see are their exact locations, and staggeringly, at Vimy Ridge there is little more than 30 metres between them. You can walk in the trenches and peer through the observation posts. Both sides built extensive networks of tunnels between trench lines, and guided tours of these are available, conducted by Canadian students who work at the visitor education centre.  

See where the shells landed 

One of the most striking things about the whole site are the depressions and craters that pockmark the landscape. Though now grassed over and wooded in places, what you see are the effects of interminable shelling and mine explosions during the war. The red ‘danger’ signs cordon off what would have been No Man’s Land. It is a powerful reminder that this is a graveyard, and an area where unexploded ordnance is still present. 

Practical information for your visit to Vimy Ridge

The now peaceful landscape around Vimy Ridge still bears the scars of battle 

Driving to Vimy Ridge from Calais

It is a journey of around 1 hour 15 minutes to the Vimy Ridge Memorial from the LeShuttle terminal at Calais. The distance is 69 miles. If driving by the fastest route, you’ll pay tolls of just under €10. 

Opening hours and admission

The monument is a freely accessible site at all times. The Visitor Education Centre is open from 10am to 6pm from 1 May to 31 October, and 9am to 5pm from 1 November to 30 April. It is free to enter. 

Other notable sites nearby 

For anyone interested in military history, or with a family connection to the First World War, then this part of northern France is full of commemorative sites, museums, war cemeteries and former battlefields. They include the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, the Museum of the Great War at Péronne and the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.

Plan your visit to the Vimy Ridge Memorial with LeShuttle

If you’re thinking of visiting sites like Vimy Ridge, it makes sense to travel with LeShuttle. It’s just a 35-minute crossing from Folkestone to Calais, and the many battlefield sites and memorials in the Hauts-de-France region are all within easy driving distance.