Shopping In and Around Ieper (Ypres)

In recent years Ieper has become a focal point for many thousands of people on a visit to the First World War battlefields of the Ypres Salient. In addition to the many general and specialist shops catering for the requirements of the local community, there are numerous shops selling books, postcards and souvenirs of the city and its historical heritage.

The Westhoek region in this part of Belgium is, however, not only well-known for its First World War past, but it is a region rich in gastronomic delights, namely its chocolates, cheese and beer. Very few visitors to Ieper leave the city without buying a gift of Belgian chocolates.

Ieper / Ypres Shopping Streets
Books and Souvenirs
Belgian Beer
Belgian Cheese
Belgian Chocolate
Belgian Wine
Bank
Chemist (Apotheke)
Supermarket

Ieper / Ypres Shopping Streets

One of the shopping streets, the Rijselsestraat, which leads to the Grote Markt and the Cloth Hall.

There are three main streets in Ieper which have a variety of shops and boutiques. These are:

Boterstraat
Meensestraat
Rijselstraat

Each of these streets are in the centre of the town and are easily accessible from the Grote Markt (market place).

Books and Souvenirs

Shops and cafés on the south side of the Grote Markt (market place). The Menin Gate Memorial can be seen at the end of the Meensestraat on the far left of the photograph.

The British Grenadier Bookshop

Located on the Meensestraat between the Grote Markt and the Menin Gate Memorial.

Telephone: +32 (0)57 214 657

Email: tours@salienttours.be

Website: www.salienttours.be

Visitor Centre for Ypres and the Westhoek Bookshop

The Visitor Centre in the Cloth Hall sells an excellent range of books, maps, cards and items related to the memory of the Great War of 1914-1918.

Telephone +32 (0)57/ 239 220

Email: toerisme@ieper.be

Websites: www.visitypres.be or www.toerisme-ieper.be or www.ieper.be

Belgian Beer

Leffe beer, one of the many hundreds of beers brewed in Belgium.

Belgium is world-famous for its many varieties of beer. There are over 400 types of Belgian beer. The area west of Ieper and around Poperinge is known for its hopfields. Visitors driving to Ieper from the A25/E42 motorway will follow the N38 to Poperinge crossing the French-Belgian border. In the spring and summer the fields of hops can be seen on both sides of the road.

The Het Sas brewery in Boezinge is believed to date back to the second half of the 17th century. Although records were destroyed by the damage to it in the First World War it is believed to be the oldest brewery in Belgium. One of the famous beers brewed there is Sas Pils.

There are many pubs and cafés in Ieper, some of the most popular with visitors being those in the Grote Markt (market place). For over 90 years Old Soldiers, the early battlefield visitors and pilgrims, and now their families travelling to the Ypres battlefields have gathered in the pubs and pavement cafés on the Grote Markt to chat and reminisce over a beer.

The supermarkets in Ieper will generally stock a selection of local beers.

The Hop Museum in Poperinge may be of interest to individual visitors and groups touring the area. See the contact details and website below:

The Hop Museum, Gasthuisstraat 71, 8970 Poperinge

Telephone: +32(0)57 33 79 22

Fax: +32(0)57 33 58 07

Email: hopmuseum@poperinge.be

Website: www.hopmuseum.be

Belgian Cheese

Passendale Cheese

After the First World War the Passendale cheese was originally produced by the Donck family from 1932. This creamy, semi-soft Passendale cheese will be available from local delicatessen shops and should be available in the supermarkets in Ieper.

Visitors to the Ypres Salient are welcome to visit De Oude Kaasmakerij cheese factory at Passendale to learn about the history of this cheese production and to sample the cheese.

Guided tours of the factory are available and also offered in conjuction with a visit to the WW1 Passchendaele Memorial Museum in Zonnebeke. A special package tour can be arranged through the Oude Kaasmakerij to visit the Oude Kaasmakerij cheese factory, the Hop Museum in Poperinge and the chocolatier Vandale.

A bistro at the cheese factory offers meals and refreshments.

De Oude Kaasmakerij, 's Graventafelstraat 48a, 8980 Passendale

Telephone: +32 (0)51/ 77 70 05

Fax: +32 (0)51/ 48 52 20

Email: info@deoudekaasmakerij.be

Website: www.deoudekaasmakerij.be

Belgian Chocolate

Belgian chocolates, a very popular gift from Ieper.

There are chocolate shops in the Grote Markt (market place) offering a range of chocolate and marzipan gifts to suit all budgets.

Peter de Groote Chocolaterie

Grote Markt 43-51

Telephone: +32 (0)57 21 73 06

Email: info@peterdegroote.be

Website: www.peterdegroote.be

Leonidas, H de Groote Chocolaterie

Grote Markt 7

Telephone: +32 (0)57 20 69 70

Email: info@chocolatesdegroote.be

Website: www.chocolatesdegroote.be

Belgian Wine

Zilver Cruys (Silver Cross) Wine Estate

Wipers wine grown at the Zilvercruys winery at Boesinge.

The Zilver Cruys (Silver Cross) Wine Estate covers 8.75 acres with 12,000 vines. It is one of the most northern commercial vineyards in Europe, situated about 10 minutes' drive north of Ypres. The estate was established in 2008 and takes its name from the aluminium Cross of Reconciliation located nearby. This cross is a memorial to French troops who were gassed in this sector of the Western Front by the German trial of chlorine gas on 22 April 1915.

Original farm buildings on the estate are believed to date back to the 1600s. The old farm was destroyed during 1914-1918 and the current buildings date from the period of reconstruction from 1921.

Filip Decroix, vineyard owner and wine maker, has close family connections to the First World War. His grandfather Henri Corneillie was a highly decorated soldier in the Belgian Army serving with the 2nd Chasseurs à Pied (also known as the Green Devils).

The Silver Cross Wines

Wipers Time: Liqueur of grapes and pears (since 2010).
Wipers Selection Brut: Sparkling wine (monocépage Chardonnay) winner of an award in the Low Countries' wine competition.
Wipers Poppy Wine: a truly unique product, this is a sparkling wine with added poppy blossom extracts.
Wipers Chardonnay: dry white wine aged on oak casks.
Wipers Grey: Pinot Gris, fresh and fruity
Wipers Tradition Brut: (2016), you can’t get more closer to Champagne than this.
From 2017: Pinot Noir red wine.

Visiting the Vineyard

Visitors to the Ypres Salient are welcome to visit the wine estate for a guided tour of the vineyards and the wine cellar, enjoy a wine tasting and buy some unique Flemish wine. The wine tasting includes a still white wine and the Silver Cross famous liqueur called “Wipers Times”.

Visits are made by appointment. Individuals in a party of less than 10 can either join another group or can be charged as a private visit at the group rate for 10 persons. Coach groups are welcome. Contact Filip by email or telephone to make your reservation.

Zilver Cruys ( Silver Cross) Winery, Diksmuidseweg 530, 8904 Boezinge

Telephone: +32 484 296 333

Email: info@zilvercruys.be

Website: www.zilvercruys.be

Bank

One of the shopping streets, the Boterstraat, accessible from the western side of the Grote Markt.

Dexia

A branch of Dexia Bank is in the centre of the town on the Meensestraat between the Grote Markt and the Menin Gate Memorial.

Dexia, Meensestraat 29, 8900 Ieper

ING

A branch of ING Bank is in the centre of the town on the Boterstraat, not far from the Cloth Hall.

ING Bank, Boterstraat 2, 8900 Ieper

Telephone: (0)57 22 90 10

Opening hours: Monday - Thursday: 09.00-12.30 and 14.00-16.30; Friday: 09.00-17.00; Saturday: 09.00-12.00

Chemist (Apotheke)

A chemist shop (Pharmacie or Apotheke) is clearly signed with a large green cross on the shop front.

The following two chemists are located in the centre of the town on or near the Grote Markt.

Apotheken De Volksmacht

Apotheken De Volksmacht, Grote Markt 3, 8900 Ieper

Telephone: +32 057/ 20 00 23

Apotheek Julie Debaere

Apotheek Julie Debaere, Diksmuidsestraat 18, 8900 Ieper

Telephone: +32 057/ 20 05 43

Out of Hours Chemist

An emergency number for the location of an out of hours chemist is provided by the Wachtdienst (emergency services) in Ieper: 057 229 999.

Alternatively visit the website at www.apotheek.be. Enter the postcode for the location you are in, e.g. 8900 for Ieper, and click on “zoeken apothekers van wacht”. Click on the town/village you require as appopriate and the map will show the locations of the out of hours chemists in your vicinity. In some cases you will be required to ring the telephone number given above to get the exact location of the chemist shop.

Supermarket

Jules Coomansstraat at the western side of the Cloth Hall and Grote Markt. The GB supermarket is located on the left side just after the cafés.

Delhaize

A large Delhaize supermarket with petrol station is located on the main road N8 Marshalkhaiglaan in the north-west part of the city.

Opening times: 08.30 - 20.00 hours; Fridays 08.30 - 21.00 hours

Eurospar

The shop is located at Meenseweg 30A, east of the Menin Gate and on the road known during the First World War as “the Menin Road”.

Opening times: 07.30 - 19.00 hours; Sundays 07.30 - 12.00 hours.

GB

There is a small GB supermarket in the centre of town located on Jules Coomansstraat in the south-west corner of the Vandenpeerboomplein square behind the Cloth Hall.

Lidl

The Lidl supermarket is located on a small commercial centre estate south of the Lille Gate (Rijselsepoort). Access to the commercial centre is via the westbound carriageway of the Oudstrijderslaan dual carriageway (Ieper southern ring road).

Opening times: Saturday - Thursday: 09.00 - 18.30 hours; Friday: 09.00 - 19.00 hours. Closed Sundays and public holidays.