Day 1 - Thursday, May 01: Departure from Toronto
Evening departure from Toronto to Paris with Air Canada. Dinner and a light breakfast will be served on board.
Day 2 - Friday, May 02: Paris to Caen
Morning arrival at Paris CDG Airport. Transfer by private coach to the historic city of Caen in Normandy, the hub of the province’s area that witnessed the Allied landings on D-Day and the subsequent “Battle of Normandy” of the summer of 1944. Accommodation in the Hotel Holiday Express on the outskirts of the city, and dinner in a nearby restaurant.
Day 3 - Saturday, May 03: Normandy 1
First of two full days of sightseeing in Normandy. Among the highlights will be Juno Beach (the Canadian sector of the Landing Beaches) with the excellent Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer; the Canadian War Cemetery of Bény-sur-Mer; Arromanches with the remains of the great artificial ‘Mulberry’ harbour; Ardenne Abbey, where Canadian POWs were executed by SS troops; the picturesque town of Bayeux, with its famous "Tapestry,” a medieval embroidered “comic strip” showing the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy. Also free time to explore Caen, the city of William the Conqueror, which suffered much damage during the fighting but was carefully rebuilt after the war.
Day 4 - Sunday, May 04: Normandy 2
Continuing from previous day.
Day 5 - Monday, May 05: The Somme and Beaumont-Hamel
After breakfast, departure for Dieppe, the Normandy seaport where Canadian troops came ashore in a 1942 raid that caused heavy losses but was justified as a general rehearsal for the 1944 Normandy landings. On to the Somme Battlefield of World War I, scene of General Haig’s “Big Push”, a great British offensive launched on July 1, 1916. Visits to the massive British Memorial of Thiepval as well as the Newfoundland Caribou Monument and small museum at Beaumont-Hamel. Dinner and overnight in the Holiday Inn Express in the picturesque town of Arras.
Day 6 - Tuesday, May 06: Vimy,
Morning visit to nearby Vimy for a comprehensive tour of the stunning Canadian Memorial and Battlefield Park. Afterwards we explore other nearby monuments and cemeteries associated with the heavy fighting in this area, including the French and British cemeteries at La Targette, the hill of Notre Dame de Lorette, and Neuville-St Vaast German war cemetery. Return to Arras in late afternoon and rest of the day at leisure to explore the picturesque old town on your own.
Day 7 - Wednesday, May 07: Flanders, Passchendaele, Bruges
Departing from Arras after breakfast, we soon cross into Belgium and tour Flanders Fields, the quintessential ‘killing fields’ of WW I, stretching from the French border to the North Sea, recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The major sights here are the town of Ieper (aka Ypres) with its Menin Gate Memorial, the impressive British war memorial; Essex Farm Cemetery, where John McRae composed his famous poem; the Canadian monument known as “the Brooding Soldier”; the village of Passchendaele, in whose muddy fields Canadian troops fought an epic battle in 1917; and Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth War Cemetery in the world. Late afternoon arrival in beautiful Bruges, one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe. The town was liberated by a Canadian Army unit from Manitoba, and we enter the city, as they did, via a bridge now known as the Manitoba Dragoons Bridge. Dinner and overnight in the centrally-located first-class Hotel LeBoisDeBruges.
Day 8 - Thursday, May 08: Bruges
This morning, leisurely walking tour of Bruges. Highlights include the Belfry, symbol of the city; the Church of Our Lady; the Gothic Town Hall; medieval St. John’s Hospital; the Lake of Love; the romantic Beguinage; and a boat tour on the scenic canals that crisscross the town! Remainder of the day at leisure. This evening, optional dinner of Flemish culinary specialties and performance by musicians specializing in medieval music!
Day 9 - Friday, May 09: Belgian-Dutch Border Area
Departure from Bruges after breakfast. We explore the area along the Belgian-Dutch border where the Canadian Army fought the crucial “Battle of the Scheldt” in the Fall of 1944, visiting sites such as the Moerbrugge and Moerkerke battlefields along the Leopold Canal and the Canadian War Cemetery in the village of Adegem. On to the great seaport of Antwerp, which became available for use by the Allies as a result of the Canadian victory in the Battle of the Scheldt, and into Holland for dinner and overnight in the first-class Fletcher Parkhotel Val Monte near Nijmegen, a town situated near the German border. The Canadian army spent the winter of 1944 in this area, fighting numerous battles in the area, and started the spring 1945 offensive that led to the liberation of Holland.
Day 10 - Saturday, May 10: Arnhem and Nijmegen
Today we first visit the town of Arnhem, situated on the banks of the mighty Rhine River, associated with Operation Market Garden of September 1944, featured in the famous movie “A Bridge Too Far”. On to the town of Wageningen for a visit to Hotel De Wereld, in which the German army occupying Holland capitulated to the Canadians on May 5, 1945. During a gourmet lunch in this historic hotel, in the room where the German capitulation took place, you will hear all about this proud moment in Canada’s military history! Returning to the Nijmegen area in the afternoon, we visit Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery and the adjoining museum. Evening at leisure.
Day 11 - Sunday, May 11: Liege, Ardennes Forest, Bastogne
Departure after breakfast. We cross into Germany and briefly explore the Reichswald Forest, an area that witnessed heavy fighting in the spring of 1945 as the Allies moved to cross the Rhine and Canadian troops swung back into Holland to complete the country’s liberation. Then we motor southward, cross back into Belgium near the city of Liège, and enter the vast, beautiful, and now peaceful Ardennes Forest, scene of the famous Battle of the Bulge of the winter of 1944-45. Visit to the American Mardasson Memorial and Museum at Bastogne, and late afternoon arrival at our hotel in Luxembourg, quaint capital of the homonymous Grand Duchy. Dinner and overnight in the superior three-star Hotel Park Plaza.
Day 12 - Monday, May 12: Luxembourg, Metz and Verdun
Morning sightseeing in Luxembourg, with the very picturesque fortified old town and the American War Cemetery, featuring the tomb of General Patton. Crossing the nearby border into France, we visit the Hackenberg fortress of the famous Maginot Line, a memorable experience! In the afternoon we motor via Metz to Verdun for a short visit to that town, the focal point of a murderous battle in 1916, then continue to the city of Reims in the Champagne Country for dinner and overnight.
Day 13 - Tuesday, May 13: Reims
Our local sightseeing program in Reims will include visits to the "War Room", the former school where, on May 7, 1945, General Eisenhower accepted a German surrender that went into effect the following day, when a second capitulation took place in Marshal Zhukov’s HQ in Berlin. Also visits to the city’s famous Gothic Cathedral, rebuilt after its destruction in WW I, and to a Champagne firm (including a tasting, of course), to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of WW II! No group dinner this evening, but it will be possible to enjoy an optional gourmet dinner in one of the city’s many fine restaurants.
Day 14 - Wednesday, May 14: Rethondes (German Surrender Site)
Departure from Reims after breakfast. We motor across WW I battlefields to Rethondes, a hamlet in the Forest of Compiègne, where the Germans surrendered on November 11, 1918 in the railway carriage that served as the HQ of Allied Commander in Chief, Marshal Foch; it is also here that the French capitulated on June 22, 1940. On to Mons in Belgium, a city liberated by Canadian troops on November 11, 1918, only hours after the signing of the armistice in Rethondes, and visit to the grave of the last Canadian soldier killed in the Great War, merely minutes before the guns fell silent at 11 AM! Overnight in the 4-star B&B Hotel Mons Center and “au revoir”-dinner in a typical restaurant.
Day 15 - Thursday, May 15: Return flight to Toronto
After breakfast, transfer to Brussels Airport in time for the departure of our Air Canada return flight to Toronto, via Montreal.
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