Understand
[edit]
Curial town in the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive of WWII on the western front. The American forces of the 101 Airborne held this critical crossroad which held up the Germans. The 101 did this against overwhelming odds. Famous phase "Nuts" was the American reply to the Germans when asked to surrender.
Bastogne today marks the end of the Liberty Road (French: La voie de la Liberté) that marks the path of liberating Allied forces. The road starts in Normandy.
- 1 Tourist Centre, Place Mc Auliffe 60, ☏ +32 61 26 76 11, [email protected].
Get in
[edit]By bus
[edit]Bus transportation into Bastogne is from the nearby town of Libramont. There is no train station in Bastogne. It is possible to take a train to nearby Libramont and take bus number #6 to Bastogne. Bus transport in Bastogne, just as in the other parts of Wallonia, is operated by TEC.
By car
[edit]The town is located near to the E25 highway that links Liège and Arlon. Exit 54 is the one of Bastogne.
Get around
[edit]
See
[edit]- 1 Bastogne War Museum, Colline du Mardasson 5, 6600 Bastogne, ☏ +32 61 210 220, [email protected]. Daily except Monday, 9:30—18.30 or 19.00. The Bastogne War Museum covers WWII, from its origins up to autumn 1944, and then focuses on the Battle of the Bulge. Key events of the war and the combatants' ordeal are reproduced. Free parking. €14, discounts for seniors/children.
- 2 Bastogne Barracks, Route de la Roche 40, ☏ +32 61 24 21 24. These were the barracks of the 2nd Ardennes Chasseurs Regiment then a German headquarters between 1940 and 1944 before becoming the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division. The site has been managed by the Belgian army since 1945. The visits are obligatorily guided and guides visitors through the underground headquarters, the permanent exhibition of tanks and other military vehicles, one inside and one outside, as well as the equipment restoration center. €10.
- 3 101st Airborne Museum, Avenue de la Gare 11, ☏ +32 61 50 12 00. W–Su 10:00–17:00. Built in 1936, the building served, firstly, for the officers of the 2nd Ardennes Chasseurs regiment. During the German occupation of Bastogne, it was used for the non-commissioned officers of the Wehrmacht as the building faced their headquarters. After the war, it served as a hospital for the Belgian Red Cross. Inaugurated in 2012, the museum retells the history of the Battle of Bastogne. In the cellar there is a simulation of a bombing raid.
- 4 Battle of the Bulge Monument (Mardasson Memorial), Rue de Clervaux. Formerly known as the Mardasson Memorial, this monument honors the memory of the American soldiers wounded or killed during the Battle of the Bulge. Construction started in 1946 and was finished in 1950.
- 5 Gate of Trier (Porte de Trèves), Place de la Porte de Trèves. This 14th century structure used to be one of several defense towers that surrounded the town.
- 6 Church of Saint-Pierre. Gothic church of which the oldest parts date back to the 9th century. It is the oldest and most important church of Bastogne.
Do
[edit]Buy
[edit]Eat
[edit]- 1 Wagon Léo, Place Mc Auliffe 52, ☏ +32 61 211441, [email protected]. The oldest still active restaurant in Bastogne. It served its first customers in 1946.
- 2 L'Adresse, Marvie 86, ☏ +32 61 688681, [email protected].
Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]- 1 Giorgi, Rue de Marche 6, ☏ +32 61 21 62 22, [email protected]. A hotel-restaurant combination. Has double, triple and quadruple rooms. From €86.
- 2 Hotel Melba, Avenue Mathieu 49, ☏ +32 61 21 77 78.
Connect
[edit]- 2 Post Office, Place du Général Patton 9.
Go next
[edit]- Wiltz and Clervaux — two Luxembourgish towns on the other side of the border.
- Arlon — the regional capital and one of the oldest cities in the country.