Champagne & Northern France - Discover France: Experience the Best of France - page 353

3 FORT DE DOUAUMONT
(adult/child €3/1.50; 10am-6pm) Two kilometres northeast of the Douaumont
Ossuary, this is the strongest of the 38 fortresses built along a 45km front to pro-
tect Verdun.

4 MEUSE-ARGONNE AMERICAN CEMETERY
The largest US military cemetery in Europe is in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,
41km northwest of Verdun.

5 ROMAGNE '14-'18
( 03 29 85 10 14; www.romagne14-18.com ; 2 rue de l'Andon; guided walks €10;
guided walks 9am-noon, museum noon-6pm, closed Wed) This museum dis-
plays Jean-Paul de Vries' private collection of war memorabilia. He also con-
ducts guided walks around the battlefields.

6 LORRAINE AMERICAN CEMETERY
This is the largest US WWII military cemetery in Europe. It's 45km east of Metz,
near St-Avold.

La Grande Mine
Some 100m across and 30m deep, the Lochnagar Crater Memorial (as it's offi-
cially known) was created on the morning of the first day of the First Battle of the
Somme (1 July 1916) by about 25 tonnes of ammonal laid by British sappers in or-
der to create a breach in the German lines.
La Grande Mine is 4km northeast of Albert along D929.

Péronne
The best place to begin a visit to the Somme battlefields - especially if you're inter-
ested in WWI's historical and cultural context - is the outstanding Historial de la
Grande Guerre (Museum of the Great War;

03 22 83 14 18; www.historial.org ;