"Waterloo bicentenary: your guide to visiting the..." Topic

… battlefield .

"Contemporary Waterloo looks like a Lancashire town. Well, it does if you are standing in the main street. There's a lot of brick, many signs and little you would identify as urban planning. This is promising. It is also a disguise. In truth, the place is rolling in it. Ten miles south of Brussels, Waterloo is a spot where rich people working in the Belgian capital congregate. Plus it has wealth of its own. MasterCard's European HQ stands near the Ikea divisional base, itself alongside many other very important offices. "Waterloo is a good name on a business address," said a town councillor. Unless you are French.

Posh houses, hotels and restaurants jostle for space. (I sought an Indian restaurant, eager to claim, in the wake of Napoleon, that I'd met my vindaloo. No luck.) Key local sports are field hockey and rugby union. Belgium's leading musical academy is on the fringes of town. Porsches abound. This, in short, is a prosperous place – and it's about to get more so, with the biggest event in the vicinity since the world-changing battle that made its name.

The event is, of course, the bicentenary of that same battle. Unless you have been beyond the Earth's atmosphere in recent months, you will know that the anniversary is due this year, from June 18-21. The entire French-speaking Walloon Brabant region is expecting an economic boost. Had Napoleon foreseen this, he would perhaps have tried harder…"
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Oh!. This brings me so good memories! (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

That is very thought provoking and thanks for posting;

My thoughts;

Le Caillou is a great visit, but take everything there with a pinch of salt. The Prussians burnt it and all its contents, so the "relics" you see……..

Tragically LHS, one of the most important sites, remains in private hands and is closed to visitors. What would any of us not pay to walk through the barns, the stables and farmhouse…however reconstructed?

Le Cambronne is no loss, as the harridan who ran the place was a horror…until she realised you spoke French and were not intimidated by her. The Wellington Pub, across the road, sold a magnificent selection of beers and a sunny Sunday with the wife and two 19 year old lads totally wiped out our exploring intentions. Now to be demolished.

The "Compleat (sic) Waterloo Experience", with AVAs and hands on for the kids, may well bring in new clientele. Bon.

You need to walk it on a day when there is not another soul and the sky is threatening. Hgmt, certainly, is place for absolute silence.

I would not take a free ticket for June 18th 1815. Fortunately I do however have four tickets for West Ham vs Newcastle, last game of the season, however. Potential for a riot there!

Yes… good memories!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand