REIMS and VERDUN - France 2014 - page 1503

Tourist Information
Verdun's official TI (Office de Tourisme) is east of Verdun's city center (just across
the river—cross at Pont Chausée, on Avenue du Général Mangin; Mon-Sat 9:30-12:30
& 13:30-18:00, Sun 10:00-12:00 & 14:30-17:00; July-Aug Mon-Sat 9:00-19:00, Sun
10:00-12:00 & 14:30-18:00; tel. [phone], www.tourisme-verdun.fr ) . Ask for the
free PassLorraine that will get youdiscounts at more than 160sights inthe region. The TI
also has free Wi-Fi.
Verdun Tourisme (across the street, with the blue roof) is really a travel agency but
offers reasonable visitor information if the real TI is closed, and has a better selection of
English books.
OpenToursoffersopen-roofbustoursofthebattlefieldsightsthatdepartfromtheTI
(tickets sold at TI, see “Getting Around the Verdun Battlefields,” later). The TI can also
arrangeprivateguides,butyou'llneedyourowncar(€130/2hours, promotion@tourisme-
verdun.fr ).
The pleasant park nearby provides a good picnic setting and a more cheerful break
from the heavy sights.
Arrival in Verdun
By Train: Verdun is served by two train stations: the Meuse TGV Station and the Central
Train Station. Three daily TGV trains from Paris' Gare de l'Est serve the Meuse TGV
Station (18 miles from Verdun); a 30-minute shuttle bus connects the TGV Station with
Verdun's central train station (free with ticket to Verdun or a railpass, leaves shortly after
train arrives). This high-speed service puts Verdun within 1.5 hours of Paris (compared
with 3.5 hours by local train—see “Verdun Connections” at the end of this chapter).
Verdun's lonely Central Train Station, also called Verdun SNCF, is 15 minutes by
foot from the TI. Shuttle buses to the TGV station leave from the building marked Mul-
timodal next door. To reach the town center and TI, walk straight out of the station (no
baggage check), cross the parking lot and the roundabout, and keep straight down Avenue
Garibaldi, then follow Centre-Ville signs on Rue St. Paul. Turn left on the first traffic-free
street in the old center and walk past the towers and across the river to the TI.
By Car: DriverscanbypassthetowncenterandheadstraightfortheTIorthebattle-
fields. To find the Office de Tourisme, follow signs to Centre-Ville, then Office de Tour-
isme. To reach the battlefields, follow signs reading Verdun Centre-Ville, then signs to-
ward Longwy, then find signs to Douaumont and Champs de Bataille (battlefields) on
D-112, then D-913. Follow signs to Fort de Douaumont and Ossuaire. The map in this
book is adequate for drivers visiting all the basic sights I describe.