Poperinge

Poperinge is a charming town in the southwest corner of the province of West Flanders, close to the French border. The town of 20,000 inhabitants (2018) is mostly known for its World War I heritage sites and captivating beer culture with many hop fields in the surrounding area. In the last years Poperinge also has developed itself as a regional hub for cycling and hiking. The municipality consists besides Poperinge of six other communities: Haringe, Krombeke, Proven, Reningelst, Roesbrugge and Watou.

Understand
During World War I the battleground was only a few kilometres to sometimes just a few hundred metres away from Poperinge. The town was never captured by the Germans, however, and functioned as a posting station for the Allied army forces going to or from the Ypres Salient. English soldiers that recalled the town for its amusement and prostitutes, named the town affectionately as "Pops". The many cemeteries in the region are a somber reminder of the thousands of soldiers that died in the surrounding countryside.



By train
The is located quite centrally in the town.
 * From Lille Flandres station changing at Kortrijk. The train ride from Kortrijk takes 40 minutes.
 * Direct connections from Brussels and Ghent. Poperinge is 2 hours away from Brussels and 1 hr 13 minutes from Ghent.
 * Poperinge is a train ride of 7 minutes away from Ypres.

By bus
The Flemish national bus company, De Lijn, has lines to Poperinge from Ieper, Veurne and Diksmuide. For more information regarding different timetables (unfortunately only available in Dutch): https://www.delijn.be.

By car
When coming from England you will most likely arrive in the ports of Calais or Dunkirk. Followingly take the A16 eastwards, turn off at junction 28 (A25 towards Lille). Get off at Junction 13 and follow the signs for Poperinge / Ypres (Ieper).

When coming from inland Belgium (not the West Flanders province), take the E17 towards Kortrijk. At the Kortrijk-West interjunction take road A19 which leads to Ypres, when reaching Ypres, drive straight ahead.

Get around
Buses of De Lijn may be way of seeing the countryside around Poperinge, but please keep in mind that some buses only run once every few hours, which can make sightseeing quite challenging. The Belbus is a service which needs to be booked at least 2 hours before travelling.

The most convenient way to get around is by car, or when the weather allows so, by bicycle or on foot. Most WWI sights in the area are well signed, but it may be helpful to have a map (on paper or digital) with you.

World War I sites




Do

 * Popfietsroute (Pop cycling route) — 38 km or 55 km, across traces behind the battlefront.
 * Fleternafietsroute (Fleterna cycling route) — 43 km, covers the area between Poperinge and Vleteren.
 * Frontierenfietsroute (Front Line cycling route) — 41 km, looping through the border area northwest of Poperinge on both sides of the Belgian-French border.
 * Hoppelandfietsroute (Hop Country cycling route) — 43 km, through the hop growing area.
 * Dode IJzer Wandelroute (Dode IJzer walking route) — 7.8 km, crossing the border area and the banks of the Dode IJzer river.
 * Galgebossenwandelroute (Galgebossen walking route) — discovering the Galgebossen forests on the border of the villages of Poperinge, Elverdinge and Vlamertinge.
 * Galgebossenwandelroute (Galgebossen walking route) — discovering the Galgebossen forests on the border of the villages of Poperinge, Elverdinge and Vlamertinge.

Drink
The Grote Markt village square is the best place to find a bar to have a drink.

Stay safe
Poperinge is generally very safe. Pickpockets and violence are very rare.

Go next

 * Ypres — another town with impressive World War I history is only 12 km away.
 * Go north to In De Vrede, where they sell Westvleteren (allegedly the best beer in the world!)