L'Ossuaire de Douaumont
L'Ossuaire de Douaumont
L'Ossuaire de Douaumont
4.5
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4.5
817 reviews
Excellent
518
Very good
239
Average
43
Poor
8
Terrible
10
Ernst-Paul
Bennebroek, The Netherlands66 contributions
Aug 2021 • Couples
Wanting to show this sacred place to my girlfriend. To my surprise since recently one has to pay an entrance fee of 6,5 euros to pay respect to the 150.000 unnamed heroes of WW-I. A total disgrace. On top of that a box is standing inside the monument asking for a donation for maintaining the monument. So what is the entrance fee used for? As a military couple and veteran I am appalled by this practise.
Written 9 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jaimeelsabio
Maryland5,095 contributions
Jun 2023 • Couples
I was surprised there was an entrance fee to visit this memorial. There was a 20 minute movie, the ossuary, a chapel, and the tower. There are 200 steps to get to the top of the tower, but there is a great view. Outside is the cemetery itself.
Written 1 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rabbitheart
Leeds, UK27 contributions
Jul 2012 • Couples
There are three main parts to the Verdun memorial which are a short distance apart by car. We started with the memorial museum which was interesting but as we're students we paid a concession; I wouldn't have wanted to pay the full price for it. It does the best that it can with the artefacts, etc but if you were pushed for time I'd miss out the museum and prioritise the ossuary and fort.
We went to the Verdun Ossuary second which I was very impressed with. Although under construction, the inside is striking and there's some excellent photography of people with photographs of their loved ones. When you walk around the outside of the building you can stoop down to look through the little windows and see the bones of the 130,000 unknown soldiers underneath; although shocking it really brings the tragedy home to you.
Finally we visited Fort Douaumont and were presented with an iPod which played videos that direct you around the fort. I was really impressed with this as I think the entry fee was only 4 euros so it was very reasonable and meant you could go at your own pace and really explore, instead of being shown around by a tour guide.
We went to the Verdun Ossuary second which I was very impressed with. Although under construction, the inside is striking and there's some excellent photography of people with photographs of their loved ones. When you walk around the outside of the building you can stoop down to look through the little windows and see the bones of the 130,000 unknown soldiers underneath; although shocking it really brings the tragedy home to you.
Finally we visited Fort Douaumont and were presented with an iPod which played videos that direct you around the fort. I was really impressed with this as I think the entry fee was only 4 euros so it was very reasonable and meant you could go at your own pace and really explore, instead of being shown around by a tour guide.
Written 27 July 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ChampagneDoberman
Wiltshire89 contributions
Visited in August. I would strongly recommend a trip here for anyone with an interest in WW1. Fort Douaumont was built during the late 19th century and was used through out WW1 and WW2.
The previous review describes very well the layout and how the fort has been 'ravaged' by bombardment and shells. Its' position is high up on the Verdun battlefield and still commands a powerful presence.
I would say with no hestitation that this place has the most unsettling and unnerving atmosphere that I have ever encountered. I am not easily spooked and have stopped at other sites that have a creepy character but this fort made me look over my shoulder more than once. It is not at all surprising given its' very violent and bloody history.
The entrance fee is very reasonable at around 6 or 8 euros each and we were given a guide to read in English. A heavy Iron door leads to the fort proper.
The long passages are on 3 levels, 2 of which are subterranean and the rooms and chambers off from these are fascinating. We saw the dormitories still with rusting iron bedsteads, prayer room, kitchen and bakery which still had a rusting relic of an oven. The latrines are there and sinks for washing 'doby'. The building stored huge amounts of ammunition and it also had an infirmary. The fort has a damp atmosphere and stalactites and stalagmites are forming from the dripping water coming from ground level above.
The fort was designed for approx 300 men to live, sleep and work but during the battle of Verdun up to 3,000 were living and working within this impenetrable and strange building.
One of the most impressive relics left from the war is an enormous turreted mechanical gun which is very well preserved.
The fort took a heavy toll during the battle when it was recaptured by the Germans. Whilst they held it a terrible explosion within the fort killed around 700 soldiers. There was an attempt to bury them but as more bodies were being found they decided it was simpler to seal the dead up behind a wall. This wall is known as 'The German Cemetery' and is a marker to a mass tomb. The horror of what these soldiers endured cannot be imagined and the entire place feels sad, gloomy and oppressive.
Along another corridor a small sign marks the spot where a smaller explosion took place killing many French soldiers.
Walking around the fort was an experience. I would recommend wearing sensible foot-wear as the floors are uneven, damp and sometimes steep. When exiting it was a relief to be back in the day-light and fresh-air.
We also walked over the top of the fort where we could see the exterior of the mechanical gun turret and took time to look at the view and surroundings.
The area of Verdun is very interesting and moving. A visit here was a way to pay our respects for ALL those lost and who gave their freedom.
The previous review describes very well the layout and how the fort has been 'ravaged' by bombardment and shells. Its' position is high up on the Verdun battlefield and still commands a powerful presence.
I would say with no hestitation that this place has the most unsettling and unnerving atmosphere that I have ever encountered. I am not easily spooked and have stopped at other sites that have a creepy character but this fort made me look over my shoulder more than once. It is not at all surprising given its' very violent and bloody history.
The entrance fee is very reasonable at around 6 or 8 euros each and we were given a guide to read in English. A heavy Iron door leads to the fort proper.
The long passages are on 3 levels, 2 of which are subterranean and the rooms and chambers off from these are fascinating. We saw the dormitories still with rusting iron bedsteads, prayer room, kitchen and bakery which still had a rusting relic of an oven. The latrines are there and sinks for washing 'doby'. The building stored huge amounts of ammunition and it also had an infirmary. The fort has a damp atmosphere and stalactites and stalagmites are forming from the dripping water coming from ground level above.
The fort was designed for approx 300 men to live, sleep and work but during the battle of Verdun up to 3,000 were living and working within this impenetrable and strange building.
One of the most impressive relics left from the war is an enormous turreted mechanical gun which is very well preserved.
The fort took a heavy toll during the battle when it was recaptured by the Germans. Whilst they held it a terrible explosion within the fort killed around 700 soldiers. There was an attempt to bury them but as more bodies were being found they decided it was simpler to seal the dead up behind a wall. This wall is known as 'The German Cemetery' and is a marker to a mass tomb. The horror of what these soldiers endured cannot be imagined and the entire place feels sad, gloomy and oppressive.
Along another corridor a small sign marks the spot where a smaller explosion took place killing many French soldiers.
Walking around the fort was an experience. I would recommend wearing sensible foot-wear as the floors are uneven, damp and sometimes steep. When exiting it was a relief to be back in the day-light and fresh-air.
We also walked over the top of the fort where we could see the exterior of the mechanical gun turret and took time to look at the view and surroundings.
The area of Verdun is very interesting and moving. A visit here was a way to pay our respects for ALL those lost and who gave their freedom.
Written 1 October 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Agforguy
Creston, Canada68 contributions
Apr 2013 • Solo
When your eye scans the row after row of crosses then you read the names of those without know graves, you can only feel great sorrow. Not only for those individuals, but especially for the mothers who borne them.
Written 3 May 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andy B
Herriman, UT540 contributions
Jun 2012 • Family
This place is hallowed ground. The most loss of life per square yard, of any battle in the history of mankind. Until one has gazed on the bones of tens of thousands of boys, and men in the Crypt, it is easy to dismiss this as just another war site. An estimated one million plus unexploded shells are buried still around the battle field. ***The areas open to tourists are completely safe! STAY ON MARKED PATHS! DO NOT LOOK FOR ARTIFACTS! Go if only to understand the waste of life, a war can be.
Written 20 November 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Richard J
London, UK1,725 contributions
Aug 2012 • Couples
We visited the whole Douaumont area. Starting at the Museum of Verdun, which gives an excellent overview of the battle, together with artifacts. There are explanations in English. There is also a powerful film presentation in French which really needs no translation. The village of Douaumont consists of a number of posts along the road, denoting where each houses once stood. The tree's and the grass has grown back but the ground below remains totally cratered, not a part untouched. There is a short 800 metre walk to Fort Douaumont or you can drive there.You can tour inside the fort for a small fee or walk over the pitted roof among the protruding gun cupola's. the view from the top reveals why the fort's position was apparently so vital to both sides. The nearby ' ossuaire' requires no explanation. Verdun has a unique place in French History and much of what has happened in the last 96 years to France can be traced back to this relatively small spot.
Written 2 September 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Luxtraveller66
Comber, UK543 contributions
Jul 2012 • Couples
Yes, the building and cemetery are being renovated in preparation for the 100 year anniversary of the Verdun battles, but this place is MUST see (along with the nearby destroyed village of Fleury-devant Douaument, the excellent museum at the town of the same town, and Fort Douaimont); and that means paying the 5 Euro pp to watch the 20 minute filmat the Ossuary.(It is in French, but you get ear-phones in the main foreign languages to accomany the film). All these places together and the stories they tell will leave you with a full and comprehensive overview of what took place here all those years ago.
The short film we watched at the Ossuary is probably one of the most balanced, moving films I have watched in a long time that really sets the scene for what occurred here in the Verdun area.
The inside of the Ossuary also contains a very moving set of photos of people who served during the battles, as they are now and also alongside the role they played all those years ago - this memorial and it's content is something that will stay with me forever.
Yes, the openness of being able to see the unidentified bones of those who died during the battles is perhaps too visual for some, but this is the reality of what those people died for; so in my view, all politicians and senior members of the armed forces around the world should come here visit this place to remind us all that these people lives were not lost in vain. War is an awful thing, but in my view, this place portrays the history very well, so do take time to include a visit to the Ossuary in your tour of the Verdun Battlefields. You will not regret it.
The short film we watched at the Ossuary is probably one of the most balanced, moving films I have watched in a long time that really sets the scene for what occurred here in the Verdun area.
The inside of the Ossuary also contains a very moving set of photos of people who served during the battles, as they are now and also alongside the role they played all those years ago - this memorial and it's content is something that will stay with me forever.
Yes, the openness of being able to see the unidentified bones of those who died during the battles is perhaps too visual for some, but this is the reality of what those people died for; so in my view, all politicians and senior members of the armed forces around the world should come here visit this place to remind us all that these people lives were not lost in vain. War is an awful thing, but in my view, this place portrays the history very well, so do take time to include a visit to the Ossuary in your tour of the Verdun Battlefields. You will not regret it.
Written 4 July 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dusty Ranger
Payson, AZ67 contributions
Apr 2012 • Friends
It is a cemetery of almost epic conception. Bones of maybe 130.000 unidentifiable people. How do you deal with loss of that proportion? This is the best try they could come up with in 1923.
Written 4 May 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rick B
Henderson, NV5 contributions
May 2011 • Solo
One of the most unnerving places I've ever been. Fort Douamont is a must visit for anyone interested in was history.
Written 11 April 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What are the hours October 4-8, 2021?
Written 24 September 2021
Hi,
For adults, it's 6€ per person, and for children from 8 to 16, it's 3€.
We have a website if you need any further information (you can search for "verdun douaumont" on Google)
Have a nice day!
Bénédicte
Written 29 January 2020
Hi, is the opening hours of 2pm to 5pm all year round. Looking at visiting w.c 6rh April 2020. Thanks
Written 18 January 2020
Hi, no, our opening times are changing all year long, but we regulary modify it on google
In April, the openning hours are :
From Monday to Friday : 9am to 6 pm
and during the week-end : 10am to 6 pm .
Have a nice week,
Bénédicte
Written 20 January 2020
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