The First World War still holds a fascination for many people – and while it's more common for Brits to visit the memorial sites around the Somme and Ypres – where, after all, the British and Commonwealth forces fought – it's worth heading south to Verdun, France's stronghold. 

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While the front-line seesawed back and forth in the north, from Belgium to the heart of France, it barely moved in the south – where the French and German armies sat and kicked lumps out of each other ferociously until the end of the war. 

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This day trip orbits Verdun, visiting key memorials for the French and the American armies, which arrived to help tip the balance at the end of the war. Plenty of beautiful if sombre monuments, linked by miles of scenic, flowing roads. It's a great day out – and one you're unlikely to forget.