D-Day 80 Tour: Normandy to Holland 2024

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 last dinner in Normandy together. (B, D)

Accommodation: Caen/Ouistreham/Rouen/Falaise or similar 

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 Center, dedicated to the 3rd Division landings, as well as Canada’s full involvement during World War II. After lunch, we visit the Mulberry Harbors 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 our hotel to enjoy our dinner and overnight. (B, D)

Accommodation: Caen/Ouistreham/Rouen/Falaise or similar 

Saying our farewells to the Somme region, we shift our focus from the First World War to the Second, heading for the French coast to 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 Amiens for our hotel check-in, dinner, and overnight. (B, D)

Accommodation: Amiens/Arras or similar 

Our day will be spent exploring the Somme – 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. After enjoying a locally made picnic lunch at the Old Blighty Cafe 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 the gothic city of Amiens, with time to explore and enjoy dinner on your own. (B)

Accommodation: Amiens/Arras or similar 

Today we take a tour to Vimy Ridge Memorial Park. It was on Hill 145, on 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 en-route. 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. (B, D)

Accommodation: Kortrijk/Ypres Area or similar 

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. (B, D)

Accommodation: Kortrijk/Ypres Area or similar 

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. (B, D)

Accommodation: Van der Valk Nijmegen-Lent or similar – Nijmegen

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. (B,D)

Accommodation: Van der Valk Nijmegen-Lent or similar – Nijmegen

This morning after breakfast we transfer to Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport for your flight home… unless extending your stay. Ask us about extensions in Amsterdam, Paris or Brussels. (B)