Explore the historic battlefields and memorials of Verdun

The battlefields around Verdun are so vast that as a visitor it can be difficult to know where to start. The tourist office runs guided tours which are excellent if you have limited time, but want to see the maximum possible.

The battle of Verdun was one of the longest in history. It lasted 302 days, from February 21 to December 18, 1916. During that time, 714,231 people died, and 1,250,000 people were injured. The battle lines at the end were very similar to those at the beginning. At enormous human cost and suffering, the French had repulsed the ferocious German offensive.

Around 260 square miles of the battlefield is now designated as a Red Zone. It is off limits because it is still contaminated by unexploded ordnance and is the burial site of so many soldiers. The ferocity of the fighting meant that people were often blown into smithereens and their remains sank into the mud and disappeared.

Signs ask people not to picnic or play ball games there.

Verdun itself has many commemorative monuments. Le Soldat du Droit is dedicated to André Thome, a politician who volunteered to serve in the French army. The Monument à la 69e Division d'Infanterie is close to the monument to the 40e Division d’Infanterie. There is also a memorial to the 70,000 Muslim soldiers who died fighting for France at Verdun. The Wall of the Israelites at Fleury-devant- Douaumont is dedicated to the Jews who fought and died in World War One.

The Memorial to the 137th Regiment is particularly touching. It marks the spot where an entire regiment perished.

Cemeteries and forts

The battlefield is still covered in strategically placed forts. Some are open to the public but many are not. The Fort de Douaumont is the largest, and can be visited. Note the red lines on the walls, which mark the reinforced sections built to withstand a direct hit. Exploring it gives a chilling idea of what life and death must have looked like within these cold, damp walls. Outside, it is possible to ramble across the top of the fort to the look out posts, and to see the deep ditches which protected the fort.

The beautifully maintained Faubourg-Pavé National Cemetery contains the remains of more than 5,000 soldiers from World War One. It also includes the seven anonymous soldiers who were not chosen to be the Unknown Soldier buried in Paris. From World War Two, more than 600 French soldiers are also buried here.

Underground art

In Verdun itself, the most visited site is the Citadelle Souterraine de Verdun which is a series of fortified underground galleries originally constructed in the 19th century near an underground city dug out in the 17th century. By the end of World War One there were 7kms of galleries. It served as a refuge, command post and supplies store. The ceremony designating the Unknown Soldier who is buried beneath the Arc de Triomphe was held there.

The visit is via a 35-minute ride in individual gondolas on rails, which whisk you around the galleries. You wear an augmented reality headset, and the real- life stories of four soldiers are told through various scenes in the boulangerie, the medical bays, the ammunition stores, the kitchens, the officers' mess, the bunkhouses, the mill, the telecoms centre (telephones and telegraphs). Up to 10,000 troops lived here during World War One, and the bread ovens produced 28,000 rations a day. There are smaller exhibits on the way in and on the way out, completing the experience. It is cold in the tunnels, and as you might expect, there is a lengthy queue for the gondolas. Be prepared to wait at least half an hour.