Attractions and Places To See around Vleteren - Top 20

you should definitely go in there, if only for a cup of coffee. The place is an info about the plan map which only gives interesting facts

the place is worth looking around, the tower is an awkward thing and disturbing in the nature experience.

The Cloth Hall in Ypres is one of the largest Gothic-style civil buildings in Europe. Built between 1230 and 1304, it served as a covered market place for cloth, an important trade product in the Middle Ages. The 70-metre high belfry, which was built from 1250 onwards, emphasises the power and wealth of the city of Ypres at that time. During the First World War, the Cloth Hall was completely destroyed, but it was later meticulously rebuilt and completed in 1967. Today it houses the In Flanders Fields Museum and the Ypres Museum.

There are a total of four lookout towers in the Blankaart. This one here is the highest: 10m. It overlooks the reed marshes and the wet hay fields. The inspiration for the design of the viewpoints comes from the reed marshes. Just as the bittern blends with its tall figure into the reeds, the towers blend into the open space of the Blankaart, while at the same time they are beacons in the landscape. The rising walls with sloping elements, openings and green plexiglass refer to the reed collars in which birds can hide and which still have a certain transparency. Source: https://pers.vlm.be/nieuwe-uitkijktorens-in-natuurgebied-de-blankaart

The Blankaart is freely accessible from sunrise to sunset. The visitor centre (currently still in the castle, but will 'soon' move to a new building closer to the car park) is open at least every week from Wednesday to Sunday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

The castle's coach house has been the workshop or studio for Natuurpunt volunteers who are involved in nature management on the Blankaart for years. Natuurpunt was able to purchase that site in 2011. Natuurpunt volunteers provide permanent staff in the visitors' centre in the castle. They provide reception, provide information to visitors and run a small cafeteria. This year, work will start on a new studio and a new reception in the visitors' domain. Because it also became apparent that restoring the studio was not feasible, we decided with Natuurpunt to demolish the studio and build something new there with a dual function: studio and reception. After all, the accessibility of the current visitors' centre is literally insufficiently accessible: you have to overcome quite a few (fairly high) stairs. The new building in a wooden frame is very close to the car park, will only be on the ground floor and visitors will be guided from the car park past the reception. Source: https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20231005_95097412

The Cloth Hall (Flemish: Lakenhalle van Ieper) is a large, Gothic building complex located in the center of the Flemish city of Ypres. The complex originally dates back to the 13th century. The foundation stone is said to have been laid around 1200 by the Count of Flanders, and its construction lasted until 1304. The hall served as a transshipment and storage area for textiles (cloth hall). Part of the ensemble is a 70-meter-high belfry with a carillon that plays every half hour. On November 4, 1914, the German general Berthold von Deimling had the famous medieval Cloth Hall reduced to rubble and ashes without any military reason and against the express orders of his commander-in-chief, Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria. The Cloth Hall was reconstructed as faithfully as possible to the original from the 1920s to 1967. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The building is made largely of sandstone from the Arras region. The upper floor and corner turrets of the belfry, as well as the corner turrets of the hall, are mainly built of the yellow brick typical of West Flanders. In contrast to many buildings of the Brick Gothic style in Flanders, the brick here is drowned out by the lavish stone decoration.

Nice square with many restaurants and cafes.