Duration: 4 days
Category: Culture & History
This superb 4-day small group tour takes you to the D-Day Normandy landing beaches in France, tracing the events of the D-Day invasion by Allied forces in World War II.
Accompanied by a guide with expert knowledge of the battlefields and landing beaches, you will gain a fascinating insight into the history of D-Day and the liberation of France. With a maximum group size of 16, you are sure to have a personable and memorable experience.
After leaving Lille in your air-conditioned minivan, the first stop is Dunkirk, famous for 'Operation Dynamo', codename for the British evacuation of the port and one of the most celebrated military events in British military history. En route, you will see the site of Le Paradis Massacre, where the Norfolks were executed by the SS, and the barn in Esquelbecq, where the Warwicks met a similar fate. Continue to your overnight accommodation in the picturesque Normandy port of Dieppe.
On Day Two the tour starts by visiting sites connected with the Dieppe landings of 1942, which involved British, Canadian and American units. Your guide will tell the story of 'Operation Jubilee', which aimed to capture and hold an established port to gauge the German response. The tour then continues to the landing sites of no. 3 and no. 4 Commando at Blue and Green Beach, where the Canadian Regiments suffered great losses. After an enriching day you will transfer to Bayeaux and your overnight accomodation.
Day Three of the tour initially covers the British and Canadian landing and dropping zones. Visit the Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches, each of which tells a story of the epic events of 1944. You will see the Mulberry Harbour in Arromanches, Pegasus Bridge, Cafe Gondree (the first house to be liberated), Merville Battery overlooking Sword Beach and many other places of interest including Divisional and Unit Memorials where you can pay respects.
The final day will be focused on the American involvment, visiting Utah and the 'bloody' Omaha Beaches and Coleville Cemetry, place of burial of nearly 10,000 servicemen. Stop at Ste Mere Eglise, where Paratrooper John Steeple famously got caught on the church steeple, and where the Iron Mike Memorial to the US Airborne Forces is housed.
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