Step back in time and visit the iconic beaches and battlefields of Northern France where the American forces fought during WWII.
In the Footsteps of the Western Front WWII
8 DAYS / 6 NIGHTS
YOUR ITINERARY
Day 1: Depart
- Fly overnight to Paris.
Day 2: Paris
- Upon arrival in Paris meet your Imagine Tour Manager who will greet you at the airport and remain with you throughout your stay.
- Transfer by private motor coach to your hotel and drop off your bags.
- This afternoon, stroll down the most famous avenue of the capital, the Champs-Elysées.
- Climb to the top of the Arc de Triompheto admire the view.
- See the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
- Have a delicious Parisian dinner at a local restaurant.
- Overnight accommodation in Paris.
Day 3: Caen
- After breakfast at the hotel, board your private motor coach to Caen.
- Upon arrival in the provincial capital of Normandy, check into your hotel.
- Take a guided walking tour of the city. Caen suffered bombings and German occupation during the war and was partly destroyed. Your tour guide will be glad to show you how charming and interesting the main city of the “Operation Overlord” warfare looks like today.
- After lunch, board your private motorcoach and head to one of the first D-Day operation sites, Pegasus Bridge, located just 20 minutes north of Caen. Early in the morning on June 6th, 1944, airborne troops stormed the position from gliders and held on until the linkup with ground forces from Sword Beach was made.
- Take a walk along Sword Beach and learn about the tactical battle that took place along its shore.
- Dinner and overnight accommodation in Caen.
Day 4: Sainte Mère Eglise - Utah Beach - Point du Hoc - Omaha Beach
- After breakfast at the hotel, board your private motor coach and head to Saint-Mère-Eglise, the first city officially liberated by the American paratroopers. On the night of June 5th, 1944, a ruse was set up by the French civilians in Saint-Mère-Eglise: while a part of the city was on fire and keeping the Germans busy, the American paratroopers were parachuted into the city center.
- Later, head to Utah Beach. The 4th Infantry Division of the US Army fought on this beach for the D-Day when General Roosevelt said, “We will start the war from right here!”
- Head to Omaha Beach and discover the real story of “Bloody Omaha,” where one third of the Allies who died on “The Longest Day” gave their lives on this beach.
- The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is located on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 of soldiers, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations.
- Dinner and night accommodation in Caen.
Day 5: Bayeux - Arromanches les Bains - Dieppe
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Head to Bayeux for a guided visit. Bayeux was the first important city to be liberated from the Germans.
- Lunch at a local restaurant.
- Head to Arromanches-les-Bains, a strategic location where the Allies built two prefabricated harbours in order to facilitate the rapid offloading of cargo onto the beaches.
- Visit Arromanches 360, a circular cinema showing archive images from around the world, and explore “the Longest Day” through the lens of others.
- Dinner and night accommodation in Dieppe.
Day 6: Dieppe - Calais
- After breakfast at the hotel, you will take a guided visit of Dieppe, the first place where the Allies tried to take back France. The “Memorial du 19 août 1942” in Dieppe shows how 50 US rangers were supporting No. 4 Commando in Operation Jubilee on Orange Beach. It had been the biggest fail to open a Western front in Europe before D-Day.
- Have lunch at a local seaside restaurant.
- During the afternoon, visit the Castle of Dieppe founded in 1188.
- Board your private motor coach and drive to Calais.
- Dinner and night accommodation in Calais.
Day 7: Calais - Dunkerque
- After breakfast at the hotel, explore the remains of the The Atlantic Wall in Calais.
- Visit the Atlantic Wall Museum near Calais and discover how the German troops were prepared for a Northern invasion. Learn about the battle that took place in the city where the British, Belgian and French forces showed resistance before surrendering in 1940.
- Have lunch in Dunkerque. While the Allies wanted to save their soldiers in Dunkerque, the last free bastion of the zone, too many soldiers for not enough boats made this safety (rescue?) operation a stampede.
- Afterwards, board your private motor coach and head to Compiègne for the final stop on your Western front tour.
- Farewell dinner and night accommodation in Compiègne.
Day 8: Compiègne - Paris - Depart
- After breakfast, visit the “Glade of the Armistice” where the Armistice that ended World War I in 1918 took place as well as the armistice that officialized the French stampede in 1940.
- Visit the Château de Compiègne, the royal palace and gardens built for Louis the 15th in 1788 and later restored by Napolean.
- Lunch at a local restaurant.
- After an incredible adventure through time, say a fond “Au Revoir” to your Imagine Tour Manager and transfer to the airport for your return flight home.
