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Calais ¦Dunkerque¦ Cassel¦ St Omer¦ Le Touquet¦ Lille¦ Arras¦ Boulogne¦ Abbeville ¦ Douai ¦ Montreuil ¦ Ieper¦ Lens¦ Cambrai
"The highest point on Vimy Ridge, Hill 164 was captured after 3 days of heavy fighting"
Vimy Ridge
A ruggedly beautiful park commanding the heights to the North of Arras. The ridge is wooded, each tree a native of Canada and representing the sacrifice of a Canadian soldier. Thousands of shell holes and mine craters testify to the intensity of the fighting that took place here. Fenced off areas and warnings of unexploded munitions bear witness to the destructive power of a war that ceased 80 years ago but still claims victims today.
France ceded Vimy Ridge to Canada after the war, following the success of the attack on April 9, 1917. The battle was well planned and rehearsed on a mock up of the battlefield following expensive lessons learnt on the Somme the previous year. Canada had a lead role in the battle with all of the Canadian Divisions participating. The highest point on Vimy Ridge, Hill 164 was captured after 3 days of heavy fighting.
Throughout the day, Canadian students take parties on tours of the maze of preserved tunnels. The tunnels are a combination of attack tunnels, sap tunnels, living quarters and Dressing Stations and have numerous relics from the War on display within.
Preserved Commonwealth and German trenches complete the visit to the battle site.
The Canadian War Memorial, located on the highest part of Vimy Ridge was designed by a Canadian architect. It was constructed on a reinforced concrete base using marble imported from the Adriatic. Its two shafts represent the Gates of Immortality. The view from the memorial over the coalfields of the Pas de Calais highlights the strategic importance of Vimy Ridge to its occupiers.
Tourist
InformationTourist Information Office
OFFICE DE TOURISME
Hôtel de Ville
Place des Héros
62 ARRAS
Tel +33(0)3 21 51 26 95
Fax +33(0)3 21 71 07 34
Email : arras.tourisme@wanadoo.fr
Web Links
Simon Godley's Vimy Ridge Page>
Virtual Memorial Vimy Ridge>
Where
to stayBudget hotel accommodation.
The links in this section lead away from the Eurapart site to the Hotel Chain sites. The sites have hotel addresses, location maps and in many instances booking facilities.
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Campanile Hotel - 1 Hotel
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Moderne
 Tunnels
at Vimy RidgeThe tour of preseved tunnels with Canadian Student Guides is a definite 'Don't Miss' |
© Eurapart 1997 - 2004 Evolution 5 (11 Mar 04)