PARIS, FRANCE

Welcome to Paris, the City of Lights! Situated on the River Seine, Paris is the capital of France and one of the most popular destinations in the world. Arrival and private transfer to your hotel. Take some time at leisure to begin exploring this magical city.

PARIS

After breakfast, enjoy your morning at leisure. In the early afternoon, depart from your hotel for your shared small group tour to discover Paris. Drive through Concorde Square, past the Louvre Museum, see the Seine River and its bridges, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the famous Champs-Elysées Avenue, the Eiffel Tower and stop for free time in Montmartre near Sacré-Coeur Basilica. We recommend an optional tour at O-Château Wine Bar near the Louvre for a tasting of six wines from six different regions in France with a very knowledgeable sommelier – fantastic for beginners or wine connoisseurs alike (not included).

PARIS – BAYEUX

After breakfast, transfer to the train station for your train to Bayeux, the first town to be liberated after D-Day in June 1944. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel. Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure to explore the medieval center of Bayeux with cobbled streets, half-timbered houses and its towering cathedral.

BAYEUX

After breakfast, begin your comprehensive small-group tour of the Canadian Landing Beaches including different sectors of Juno Beach from St. Aubin sur mer to Graye sur mer, where the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division landed. As well, visit the Juno Beach Center with the discovery of German underground fortifications, the Canadian Cemetery, the progression of the 9th Brigade on June 7th up to the Abbey d’Ardenne, and the progression of the capture of Carpiquet and Caen. Return to Bayeux.

BAYEUX – PARIS – LILLE – YPRES, BELGIUM

After breakfast, take the train to Paris Gare du Nord station and continue your journey to Lille which lies near the border of Belgium. Upon arrival, take your private transfer to your hotel in Ypres, notable for its place in World War I history. Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure.

FLANDERS BATTLEFIELDS

After breakfast, begin your tour of Ypres. Walking around this pretty Belgian city, it is hard to imagine the incredible highs and lows it has endured. Extreme wealth in the Middle Ages and then, less than one hundred years ago, reduced to rubble during World War I. The Ypres Salient battlefields in Flanders, Belgium, are among the most visited on the entire Old Front Line. Visit the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing, the site of the Christmas Truce of 1914, Passchendaele Ridge, and the many cemeteries, memorials and bunkers that line the Salient. Visit Essex Farm, where Canadian John McRae penned the unforgettable Flanders Fields poem that resounds in the hearts of many each year during Remembrance and Veterans Day ceremonies. Every evening at 8pm since 1928, the Last Post has been sounded under the imposing memorial arches of the Menin Gate. The Last Post is the traditional salute to the fallen and is played in honour of the memory of the soldiers of the then British Empire, who fought and died in Ypres. Return to your hotel.

VIMY & SOMME – ARRAS – PARIS – HOME

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel. Depart towards Vimy. Visit the Vimy Ridge Memorial, the most important and impressive to the nation of Canada. See the immediate surrounding cemeteries along with Cabaret Rouge Cemetery site where the unknown Canadian soldier was exhumed and repatriated to Canada, Neuville St. Vaast German Cemetery and the Notre Dame de Lorette. Continue to the area of Somme to visit cemeteries and memorials synonymous with the Battle of the Somme: Beaumont Hamel, Newfoundland Park, Delville Wood, Lochnagar Crater, La Boiselle, Thiepval Memorial and the Ulster Tower Memorial. Continue to Arras train station to begin your journey back to Paris connect with your homebound flight.