Founders D-Day 80th Small Group Tour: Tour Information

Explore by scrolling through the cities we will be visiting, and zoom in to get familiar with where we will be visiting on this tour.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
 

• Visit the Vimy Ridge Memorial

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• Celebrate 80 years of remembrance in the D-Day commemorative ceremonies.
   

• Explore the battle of Normandy from Omaha to Juno.
   

• Visit the Lochnagar Crater, among one of the largest craters on the battlefields of the Western Front. 

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• Witness the breathtaking Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate led by the dedicated Ypres Fire Department & World Community honouring those who fought in the Great War​

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• Continue in our fathers footsteps through to the liberation of Holland.

Day 1  Wednesday, June 5th    |    Arrival in France to Normandy 

Upon your arrival at Charles De Gaulle International Airport this morning, you will be welcomed by our tour guide and driver where we will begin our journey to the French province of Normandy. We begin with a visit to Pegasus Bridge where the 6th British Airborne landed, captured and liberated the first house in Europe, the Café Gondree.  We will finish our day in the Normandy region with visits to see the Canadian Memorial Garden in the Abbaye des Ardenne and Verrieres Ridge, where the Black Watch suffered severe casualties in “Operation Spring”. We will then make our way to La Cantelelrie for some rest and relaxation before our “Welcome Dinner” with an opportunity to get to know our fellow travelling companions. [Overnight – https://www.lacantellerie.com/ (D)]

Day 2  Thursday, June 6th    |     D-Day  Ceremony
Today marks 80 years since the D-Day invasion began in the opening of the Battle of Normandy. Our entire day today will be left open in anticipation of the ceremonial events to be hosted by Veteran Affairs Canada and French Authorities. All Commemorative Events are TBD at this time - Travellers will be notified of all updates related to today’s itinerary. Seating at today’s events is not guaranteed to all -- if you have difficulty with mobility please let us know ahead of time. This evening after the commemorations are through, we will enjoy our dinner. [Overnight – Juno Beach (B, D)].

Day 3  Friday, June 7th     |      The Canadian Story at Normandy 

Today we continue on our private orientation of the D-Day Normandy invasion. Our day will begin with a solemn morning visit to the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian Military Cemetery. We continue to the ‘Juno’ sector of the Normandy beaches, to see the Queens’ Own Rifles House, the first house liberated by Canadian forces when they stormed the beaches on June 6th, 1944, before heading over to the Juno Beach Centre, dedicated to the 3rd Division landings, as well as Canada’s full involvement during World War II. After lunch, we will visit the Mulberry Harbour in Arromanches before continuing on to La Chaos, the German offshore battery, which today still sits relatively intact, 75 years later. We continue further still, to Omaha Beach to discover the appalling difficulties required for the Americans landing on Bloody Omaha. We will finish our day with a visit to Pointe du Hoc where the cratered landscape of the German battery, taken by the US Rangers in 1944, can be observed. After leaving Omaha, we head back to Courseulles to enjoy our dinner and overnight. [Overnight – Juno Beach  (B, D)]

Day 4  Saturday, June 8th     |      Dieppe  

Saying our farewells to our hosts at La Cantellerie, we tour over Pont de Normandie to the French coast and the seaside resort town of Dieppe. We will first explore the Blue Beach at Puys, where we can view the gun emplacements on the cliff tops, which, on Aug 19, 1942, were responsible for such terrible Canadian casualties. We will then visit the Dieppe Canadian Cemetery before travelling to the Green Beach at Pourville. We will also view the main landing beaches of Red and White on the Dieppe seafront. Later, we will continue our journey to Arras for our hotel check-in, dinner with a surprise on the Grand Place, and overnight. [Overnight - Arras (B, D)]

Day 5  Sunday, June 9th.     |        Somme
Our day will be spent exploring the Somme - with a visit to Musee 1916 in Albert underneath the Basiica.then a making visits to the Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval, as well the preserved battlefield memorial park at Beaumont Hamel - dedicated to the Royal Newfoundland and Labrador Regiment who lost so many men on that first day of battle. We do have a picnic lunch at Thiepval before we will continue on to view the Lochnagar Crater, among one of the largest craters on the battlefields of the Western Front. We then head back to Arras, with time to explore and enjoy dinner on your own. [Overnight – Arras (B)]

Day 6  Monday, June 10th,       |         Vimy + Hill 70
Today we take a tour to Vimy Ridge Memorial Park. It was on Hill 145, in April 1917, that Canada truly became a nation in the eyes of the world. Its troops combined and stormed Vimy Ridge after all other allied forces had failed to do so. We will tour the tunnels, trenches and memorial, as well as the brand new interpretation centre, which opened in Spring 2017 for the 100th Anniversary. Enjoy a locally prepared picnic lunch before we visit the Ring Of Remembrance and the Necropolis at Notre Dame de Lorette (resting place of over 43,000 French casualties). In the afternoon, we continue to see the new Canadian Memorial at Hill 70, where we will visit the brand new, and state of the art museum in Loos-en-Gohelle, which opened in the Summer of 2017 for the 100th Anniversary. Here we will be discussing the Battle of Hill 70 - sometimes dubbed as “Canada’s Forgotten Battle”. When our explorations of the battlefields are through, we continue on to Ypres, Belgium.

[Overnight – Ieper (B, D)]

Day 7  Tuesday, June 11th    |     In Flanders Fields
Today we will take the full day to explore the Ypres Salient Battlefields. We begin our introduction with a visit to Essex Farm, the place where John McCrae wrote the famous poem “In Flanders Fields”. We then head north to visit the Tyne Cot Commonwealth Cemetery - the largest Commonwealth Cemetery, of any conflict, in the world. We will also discuss the Battle of Passchendaele, with visits to the Crest Farm Memorial, in Passendale. We continue further to explore the German Cemetery of Langemark, and the 'Brooding Soldier' at St Julien, to commemorate the first gas attacks against the 1st Canadian Corps in 1915. Lastly, we take a visit to the Hooghe Crater, and Hill 62 - a small area of the original battlefield and part of the Canadian Front Line. We finish our orientations today in the medieval city of Ypres, also known as the 'City of Peace' with an early group meal in the heart of Ypres’ Grote Markt. Tonight, at 8PM, we will witness the iconic and historic Last Post Ceremony, at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, led by the Ieper Fire Department & the Last Post Association. This daily act of homage is among the most memorable acts of remembrance that we will witness on our tour. After the ceremony is through, we will head back to our hotel to prepare for tomorrow’s departure. [Overnight – Ieper (B, D)]

Day 8 Wednesday, June 12th     |      Departure to Holland 

Enjoy breakfast, before we say our farewells to Belgium, and begin our tour to Nijmegen, in the Netherlands, for the opportunity to visit the Canadian Military Cemetery at Groesbeek. We continue to Arnhem, where the Airborne Division suffered heavy casualties during Operation Market Garden. Also known as the “Bridge Too Far”, this area is where the Canadian Second division liberated Holland from stubborn German occupation in 1944/45. Tonight, we will enjoy dinner together before our overnight. [Overnight – Van der Valk Nijmegen-Lent) (B, D)]

Day 9   Thursday, June 13th       |       The Liberation 

We begin our tour this morning with a visit to the Hartenstein Hotel, then the command centre for Operation Garden, now the Museum to the Airborne. This afternoon we will explore Apeldoorn, as well as the Holten Canadian Military Cemetery, the second largest WWII military cemetery in the world. Tonight, we will enjoy our farewell dinner at a local favourite restaurant. [Overnight –  Van der Valk Nijmegen-Lent) (B, D)]

Day 10 - | June 14, 2024 | Flight Departure

This morning after breakfast we transfer to Amsterdam's Schiphol International Airport for our group flight departure home, [or take a personal travel extension to Amsterdam]. [(B) Lunch and snacks served onboard]