LANGUAGE & CULTURE PROGRAMMES
JUNE 2011 IN PARIS : IMPROVING YOUR FRENCH & YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF FRENCH CULTURE with Brian McKay
BATTLES AND BATTLEFIELDS OF TWO WORLD WARS IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM
We recommend April - October as the best time for visiting these sites
COST EXAMPLES GIVEN AT THE END OF ATTACHED PROGRAMME DOCUMENT
Whether you undertake this tour out of purely historical interest or as a Journey of Remembrance, it is impossible to remain indifferent to the monstrous, grotesque, horrifying accounts of these two wars, the battles waged in France and Belgium, nor to the moving memorials and fascinating museums which punctuate the journey often, nowadays, through attractive and gentle countryside. As you drive along the pleasant roads of the Argonne Forest, a little notice on the side of the road reads : "A whole battalion was wiped out here". That says it all!
Of interest to :
Anyone interested in visiting the sites of major battles in France (and Belgium) during two World Wars
THIS TOUR STARTS AND FINISHES IN PARIS.
Days 1 & 2 in Paris. On your first day, assuming a long-distance flight and an early morning arrival, the essential thing is to keep awake until the evening in order to adjust to European time as quickly as possible! Lunch in Montmartre, and a coach and walking tour around Paris which will, as well as showing you many of the sights, evoke the Occupation & Liberation of Paris and take in the Arc de Triomphe. On the second day, visits to the Army Museum, the Invalides, as well as the Liberation and Resistance Musuems. Various options for the afternoon
Day 3 sees the beginning of the coach excursion :first to the Armistice Railway Carriage at Compiègne, then through the Argonne Forest, and into Verdun.
Day 4 offers an all-day in-depth discovery of Verdun where more human lives where destroyed than in any other battles of the First World War.
Day 5 takes you on an all-day exploration of the Maginot Line, arriving in the evening at Reims, champagne capital of the world, for a cellar-visit and tasting!
Days 6 & 7 are concentrated in the Somme region, first to Peronne, then to Villers-Bretonneux (of supreme importance to Australia), before settling in Amiens. The second day explores that "sunlit picture of hell", the great battles and battlefields of the Somme, where more than a hundred thousand British, Australian, New Zealand, South African, Canadian soldiers fell.
Day 8 is a rest day for everyone (obligatory for your coach driver!)
Day 9 takes us to two other great battle sites in northern France, Vimy to visit the Canadian Memorial then to Notre-Dame de Lorette, one of the most moving and harrowing sites in remembrance of the thousands of French soldiers who died in this battle. Then to Arras and an exploration of the celebrated underground tunnels.
Day 10 : Ypres and Flanders Fields : an all-day discovery tour, ending with the Last Post Ceremony inaugurated in 1929
Day 11 : travelling across the north of France, from Arras to Caen via the historic city of Rouen (lunch and time to explore!)
Days 12 & 13 are given over entirely to the Normandy Landing (from Pagasus Bridge to the Pointe du Hoc, via Sword, Juna, Gold and Omaha Beaches). A moment of diversion to see the Bayeux Tapestry, and of reflection to visit the Caen Peace Memorial.
Day 14 : either return to Paris for departure, or following one or more of the suggestions for further activities offered at the end of the Basic Programme
EXAMPLES OF COSTS FOR GROUPS GIVEN AT THE END OF THE ATTACHED FULL BASIC ITINERARY AND PROGRAMME DOCUMENT
YOU CAN ARRANGE YOUR TOUR DIRECTLY WITH US, OR YOU CAN ASK YOUR USUAL TRAVEL AGENTS TO CONTACT US ON YOUR BEHALF AND WE WILL FINALISE PLANS AND COSTS WITH THEM.
Please don't forget!!
Anyone contemplating putting a programme together for a group of potentially interested persons should send an email outling your ideas to Annie & David Bancroft so that they can discuss things in detail with you :
