The area is also covered by the ordinary IGN Serie Bleue maps 3212O, which covers an area slightly further east than the special map. This is sheet 3112ET, Forets de Verdun et du Mort-Homme. In terms of maps there is an excellent 1:25,000 special map published by IGN which covers the major part of the Verdun battlefields. Another book, Fort Douaumont again by Christina Holstein and published by Pen & Sword covers Douaumont in detail, but also has a suggested itinerary for the northern part of the battlefield, including the fascinating Camp Marguerre. This is Walking in the Footsteps of the Fallen, and it contains a number of walking routes to visit areas within the forests around Verdun, where the remains of trenches, pillboxes, and the scars of the fighting are still visible.

If you only have one day then this would be a good option.Ī recent publication (2019) by Christina Holstein is an excellent addition for a longer visit to the Verdun area. This, as is the norm with their guides, is in the form of a car trip around the battlefields, visiting many sites of interest. In terms of guidebooks, the Holts cover Verdun in their Battlefield Guide to the Western Front South. Two good accounts of the battles are Alistair Horne’s The Price of Glory and Ian Ousby’s The Road to Verdun. There are fewer books (in English) dealing with Verdun than the Somme or Flanders – as you might expect. Choice of restaurants and where to eat are more limited here however, unless you wish to drive. On the south-east outskirts, about a mile and a half from the town centre, are the medium priced ibis hotel and the low-cost Formule One, for the latter rooms are not en-suite. Some central hotels offer parking, free or paid. However, parking in the centre of Verdun can be a problem when staying in the town centre. For example, in the centre of the town is the upmarket Les Jardins du Mess, which also has a good restaurant, and there are places to eat out in the town centre.

Verdun itself has several hotels to choose from, plus other types of accommodation. The A4 Motorway runs to the south of Verdun, and you can exit to the west and then drive on the Voie Sacrée towards the town itself.

In both cases, you can make the vast majority of the trip on motorways, although you will pay about €30-35 in tolls.