WW1 Western Front trip. What to see...?

[TerryField]

We are planning a couple of weeks around the WW1 sites, approximately between Dunkirk, Ypres and Arras, but do not know much about the area in detail.

Can anyone point me in the right direction, so to speak, so that we pick up as many as possible of the relevant bits? I am thinking museums, trench installations, battle sites, cemeteries etc.

I would also be grateful for any info on available cycle paths, quiet roads etc. I know some of Eurovelo 4 goes through the North of the area, but are there any North - South routes similar to the voie vertes?

Many thanks

[PH]

There are so many guides it'd be hard to answer your question without writing another!   
I've never done a specific trip for that purpose, though I have toured through the area a few times.  There's that much to see it can become overwhelming, passing cemetery after cemetery impacted me more than a visit to any of them, though I did stop a few times.  The only must do I'd recommend would be the evening trumpet call at the Menin Gate in Ypres. Other than that, you're not going to see it all, so either use a guide to pick what's of most interest to you, or pick a cycling route and stop off at whatever that passes.
Cycling in the area is great, plenty of paths and tracks, mostly well signposted, plenty of reasonable campsites.
Have a good trip.

[rafiki]

Have a good trip. We did a tour over 20 years ago with our motorcycling club. I'm afraid I can't remember much of the route detail. There is lots of information in the area and in guide books. We were led by a club member who was a bit of an authority on the subject. I remember being very touched by the sites and it was a very moving few days which began and ended in Ypres at the Menin Gate and the museum there.

[John Saxby]

A further suggestion:  If your route takes you towards Brussels, the field of Waterloo (due south of Brussels, some 50 kms or so) is well worth a visit. Superb museum, with chilling numbers of both men and horses, and dramatic 360º artwork.

The field itself remains intact, with the fortified farmstead and the sunken road.