Ypres is unusual in that it has retained extensive sections of its Vaubanesque city fortifications. These sturdy brick-faced walls line the town’s southeastern moat and are topped by pleasant gardens. The tourist office’s free Ramparts Route leaflet introduces a dozen of its historic fortifications, but most visitors simply stroll casually from the Menin Gate to the medieval Rijselpoort (Lille Gate), just beyond which the Ramparts Cemetery is one of Ypres most attractive military graveyards.
