Day 1 | Friday July 14th 2017 | Flight Departure

Meet at Toronto’s Lester B Pearson International airport for your flight to Paris. [Dinner and breakfast will be served onboard]

Day 2 | Saturday July 15th 2017

Upon arrival at 0830am the following morning, you will be met by your driver and tour manager to begin your journey with a visit to the Compiegne Forest and the Compiègne Wagon, the historical train wagon in which the First and Second World War Armistice documents were signed. After the first armistice was signed on Nov.11, 1918, the wagon was eventually moved to a protective place in a French museum. Later, during the Second World War, the wagon was moved by Hitler to Berlin to symbolize Germany’s superiority over France. We then travel to Ypres, (Pronounced “EEP” or "EEP-ER") Belgium, - the City of Peace - with time for an orientation, a Welcome Dinner at the Old Tom, and the optional attendance at the Menin Gate Ceremony at 8pm. Every night since 1918 (other than during WW2), a moving ceremony takes place under the Menin Gate. The local people are proud of this simple but moving tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice of those who fell in defense of their town. [Overnight –Ypres (B, D)]

Day 3 | Sunday July 16th 2017

Today we tour the Ypres Salient Battlefield beginning with a visit to Essex Farm, the place where John McCrae wrote “In Flanders Fields”. We will sing Dale Wood’s composition “In Flanders Fields” here. We then take a visit to the Brooding Soldier at St Juliaan (Otherwise known as Vancouver Corner - the first gas attack/chemical warfare against the Canadians). We visit the Langemark German Cemetery as well as a visit to Hill 62 where we will have the chance to explore the original trenches in the outdoor Museum. We will also see a small area of the original battlefield in the Hooge which was part of the Canadian Front Line. We will finish our day of visitations at the Tyne Cot Cemetery followed by the battlefields at Passchendaele. [Overnight – Ypres (B, D)]

Day 4 | Monday July 17th 2017

This morning, we have a day tour to Bruges, also called “Venice of the North”. Bruges is a gorgeous city with canals, great shopping and an original Michelangelo sculpture. [OR], you can visit The Canada Museum at Adagem (optional). Known as the Canada Museum, it features an impressive collection of authentic World War II paraphernalia, and the associated and amazing Maple-Leaf Miniature Museum which displays a dozen authentic WW II battlefields in 1/35 scale. The museum complex is also host to some beautiful gardens. This evening, after dinner, we will be part of the ceremony: singing and laying a wreath at the Menin Gate Last Post Ceremony at 8pm, led by the Ypres Fire Department. The names on this monument represent all those whose graves have not been identified. This will surely be the most memorable Last Post Ceremony in your life. [Overnight – Ypres (B, D)]

Day 5 | Tuesday July 18th 2017

After breakfast, we will tour Vimy Ridge. It was on Hill 145, on April 1917, that Canada truly became a nation in the eyes of the world. It’s troops combined and stormed Vimy Ridge after other allied forces had failed to do in the previous two years. You will tour the tunnels, trenches and memorial. We will sing at the memorial. Then we will tour onto Albert to give you a perspective on the Somme with a visit at the Musee de Arbris. You will then tour the Somme Battlefield with a visit to the Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval, as well as one of the only surviving intact First World War monuments at the Beaumont Hamel Memorial Park. The park, maintained by Canada, remains as it was during the Battle of the Somme. It is now dedicated to the Newfoundland Regiment who lost so many men on that first day of battle. We will sing two Newfoundland songs there, in their honour. [Overnight – Amiens (B, D)]

Day 6 | Wednesday July 19th 2017

A day to be French!! Enjoy the beautiful city of Amiens, the canal lined by cafes and restaurants, dotted by many attractive pedestrian areas. Amiens is known for the Gothic Amiens Cathedral and the nearby medieval belfry. Shops and cafes line the Quartier St.-Leu’s narrow streets. Floating market gardens (“hortillonnages”) dot the city’s canals. The Musée de Picardie shows art and antiquities spanning centuries. Nearby, the Maison de Jules Verne is a museum where the science fiction author once lived. [Overnight – Amiens (B, D)]

Day 7 | Thursday July 20th 2017
This morning, we continue our tour with a drive to the seaside resort town of Dieppe. We will visit the Green Beach at Pourville as well as the Red & White main landing beaches on the Dieppe seafront. You will explore Blue Beach in Puys to view the gun emplacements on the cliff tops, which were responsible for the terrible Canadian casualties. We will place a wreath and sing at the Dieppe Memorial. After leaving Dieppe, we will travel to Normandy for our check-in. [Overnight – Bayeux (B, D)]

Day 8 | Friday July 21st 2017

We will begin our day with a visit to the Battle of Normandy Museum in Bayeux. This museum, which was recently re-opened, presents us with entirely new displays that offer the visitor a better understanding of the decisive actions taken in the liberation of Western Europe. Your next stop will be Verrieres Ridge to view the area where the Black Watch suffered severe casualties during “Operation Spring”. You will then travel to the Juno Beach Center, dedicated to the 3rd Division landings on D-Day and afterwards, as well as Canada’s full involvement during World War II. Note the large bronze statue that was cast here in Georgetown, where we will sing at the memorial. Before heading back for dinner, you will visit the Canadian Military Cemetery – Beny-sur-Mer. [Overnight – Bayeux (B, D)]

Day 9 | Saturday July 22nd 2017

We will start our morning with a visit to Point du Hoc where you can still view the cratered landscape and the German battery taken by the US Rangers. We will continue on to Omaha Beach (immortalised in the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan) to the American Military Cemetery to discover the appalling difficulties required for landing on Bloody Omaha. After leaving Omaha, you will visit La Chaos, the German offshore battery still relatively intact after 60 years. In the afternoon you will visit the Disembarkation Museum and the Mulberry Harbour in Arromanches before heading back to your hotel. [Overnight – Bayeux. (B, D)]

Day 10 | Monday July 23rd 2017

After breakfast we drive to Paris where we will enjoy a tour of this fascinating City. We will see the famous sites of the Tour Eiffel, Louvre, Champs Elysee and Opera as well as Place de la Concorde before a river cruise on the Seine. This evening we meet for Dinner at the Jardin Notre Dame overlooking the Notre Dame. [Overnight – Paris (B, D)]

Day 11 | Sunday July 24th 2017

A morning walking tour of Montmartre (Paris’ famed artist centre) before we enjoy spending some free time on our own to shop or further explore this afternoon. Tonight, an early Farewell Dinner will be held at a local favourite restaurant before enjoying an evening cruise on the Seine, seeing the Tour Eiffel by night. [Overnight – Paris (B, D)]

Day 12 | Sunday July 25th 2017

This morning after breakfast you will transfer to Charles de Gaulle international airport for your flight home. [(B) Lunch and snacks served onboard]

Tour End.

The Battlefield Tours and our host agency DH Tour can assist you with the arrangement of any custom pre-trip and post-trip travel in Europe.

Please indicate on your registration form your flight requirements, travel insurance and/or your request to add any custom travel extensions to your journey. Our office will contact you directly to arrange and price. Should you have any questions regarding your flight, insurance, or travel extension options, please contact Karen Burwood, our travel agent [(Office Phone) 905-639-9954 | (Toll-Free) 1-888-597-3519 | karen@dhtour.ca ]