Visiting Waterloo Battlefield 200+ years later

On 18 June 2015, a field near the city of Waterloo in Belgium filled with men dressed in historical costumes. They were there to reenact the Battle of Waterloo, on the battlefield where it happened that day exactly 200 years ago.

It was during the Battle of Waterloo that British troops along with a multinational army led by the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army under the command of Bülcher defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and his French army. You can read more about this battle on Wikipedia. What I wanted to find out for you is whether it's worth it visiting Waterloo today.
 

Visiting Waterloo: the Waterloo Battlefield and other sites

There are some smaller historical monuments related to the battle scattered in the Waterloo region in the Braine-l Alleud region of Belgium. However, the three main sites to explore are:

• Wellington's Headquarters
• Lion's Mound Hamlet
• Napoleon's Headquarters

The Duke of Wellington's Headquarters

This is where the Duke of Wellington from Great Britain spent the night before and after the Battle of Waterloo on the 17 & 18 June 1815. You can still see the room where he slept and the desk where he wrote his report of victory on the battlefield.

When buying your ticket, you get an audio guide that tells you all about the battle in chronological order and follows the layout of the rooms. 

The museum is housed in a rather old building not far from the battlefield which is much bigger than you'd expect at first glance. A lot of original items are on display, as well as detailed maps of the movements during the battle that summer day in 1815.

The Lion's Mound Hamlet

The Waterloo lion was inaugurated in 1826 on the spot on the battlefield where William II of the Netherlands (The Prince of Orange) was wounded and knocked off his horse. It's a 41-meter monument made from the earth of the Waterloo battlefield, with a cast-iron lion statue, the lion of Waterloo, weighing 28 tons on top of it.

You can climb the 226 steps up Lion's Mound to get a great view over the former battlefield where over 250, 000 men fought in 1815. If it's not foggy, that is…

For someone with a fear of heights, 41 meters is pretty high, but I hadn't really thought of that until I'd already started climbing Lion's Mound. Even when I felt that famous fear creeping up on me, I didn't return. I was in Waterloo and climbing the Lion's Mound is just something you need to do.

I rushed up the stairs, eyes fixed on the steps, and definitely not taking any photos or filming. When I arrived at the top I was exhausted. I'd completely lost my breath and my legs were shaking. Partly because I practically ran up the steps, but partly, also because I'd been so afraid while going up.

Luckily you can sit on top of the mound as there are a couple of “steps” around the lion. So that's what I did. After a while, I dared to look behind me and up, but I couldn't even see the lion from there as it's too high up.

I tried getting a view shots of the view (from the steps I was sitting on, no way that I was going to stand by the railing!) but it was too foggy that day to properly see very far.
 

The Battle of Waterloo Movies

After I was safely down, it was time for some movies. You need a special ticket to watch these unless you have the Pass 1815. The first movie is modern and a well-made summary of the events that had lead to the Battle of Waterloo and what happened on the Waterloo battlefield itself.

The second movie took place in another, more run-down room and consisted of fragments from the older movie “Waterloo” (1970), which tells the story of the Battle of Waterloo.
 

Waterloo Battlefield Panorama

The last thing to do at the Waterloo battle site is the Panorama, a round building that shows a 110m round, 12m high, 360° fresco of the battle. It was painted in 1912 to celebrate the centenary of the battle and restored in 2008.
 

Napoleon's Headquarters

2.5 miles/4km south of the Waterloo Battlefield is the small farmhouse -Le Caillou- where Napoleon, his military commander Marshal Ney and the French troops spent the night before they were beaten by the British and Prussian troops in battle on the 18th June 1815.

The collection of the French Emperor's personal items is the most extensive in Belgium and includes a map of the Waterloo battlefield site, a painting of him in exile, various drawings and letters, a bust, both English and French weaponry, medals and much more from both sides of the Waterloo Battle. Surely reason enough to visit?!
 

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I received a Pass 1815 from the Tourism Office of Waterloo to be able to write about the sites of the battle. Partnerships like this allow me to travel more and gather new content for this blog. They will never affect my opinion of the places I visit.