History Tour to France—In-Depth at the Normandy Beaches

Your 24-hour Tour Director will meet you at the airport and remain with your group until your final airport departure. You’ll have a private coach and driver while touring for the next six days, which will take you straight from the airport to Benouville in the Normandy region.

France’s Normandy region comprises 360 miles of coastline, lush farmland, and bustling market towns. Despite its natural beauty and gastronomic delights, the area is primarily known for its history—from William the Conqueror to WWII. It was perhaps this rich heritage, along with the verdant surroundings, that inspired the Impressionist movement, begun here in the 19th century.

Visit the Airborne Museum at Pegasus Bridge. Inaugurated on June 4, 2000, the Memorial Pegasus is dedicated to the men of 6th Airborne Division and their role in the Battle of Normandy from June to September of 1944.

Explore the Grand Bunker Museum of the Atlantic Wall, a 52-foot-tall concrete tower in Ouistreham. In the museum, you can see many photos and documents covering the construction of the Atlantic Wall, nearby gun batteries, beach defenses, the everyday life of the German soldiers stationed in the tower, and its capture by the Allies.

Visit the German Battery at Longues-sur-Mer.

This evening, your group will continue to Bayeux.

Your base for the next four nights will be in the Bayeux area. While here, you’ll enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

Bayeux was the first town to be liberated after the Normandy invasion and escaped the war with little damage, allowing its charming streets to be preserved. A walk through town reveals a wealth of buildings dating from the 15th through the 19th centuries and streets lined with cafes and shops.

Enjoy dinner together either in a local restaurant or at the hotel.

"We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience." - John Dewey Every evening of the program, we’ll set time aside to update your Reflection Journal and share thoughts and impressions that have come up during the day.

Visit Angouville-au-Plain, home to the famous church used by two U.S. Army medics to provide aide to both American and German wounded during the Battle of Normandy. You can still see bloodstains on the pews!

Continue to Sainte-Mère-Église, a quaint town that possesses a rich history, dating from the 12th century, but today is known primarily for its role in the WWII Normandy landings. Located near both Utah and Omaha beaches and directly on the route for any German counterattack, the town was one of the first to be liberated by the Allies.

Tour the Airborne Museum, which is dedicated to the American parachutists of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions who dropped into Sainte-Mère-Église during the D-Day invasion.

View the Airborne Trooper Statue, located next to the Bridge in La Fière where from June 6-9 of 1944 members of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment and 325th Glider Regiment held the bridge against repeated German attacks. The monument is a replica of the "Iron Mike" statue located at Fort Bragg in the U.S., which was sculpted by Leah Hiebert in 1960-1961 and modeled on Sgt. Major Runyon.

Continue to Utah Beach, where you’ll view the VII Corps Memorial, the U.S. Navy Memorial, and the 1st Engineer Special Brigade Monument.

Visit the Utah Beach Museum, housed in an old German bunker. Your group will get an intimate look at how the D-Day landing took place by seeing a short film and the personal items the soldiers carried.

View the LeClerc Monument and bunker for WN 10, the site of the intended Utah Beach landing.

Visit the Batterie d'Azeville to observe the unique camouflage and the effect of the duel with the USS Nevada.

Explore Pointe du Hoc, a nearly 100-meter-high cliff with perpendicular sides jutting out into the Channel, which the U.S. 2nd Rangers were assigned to take and hold during the D-Day landings. Pointe du Hoc now features a memorial and museum dedicated to the battle. Many of the original fortifications remain in place and the site is still speckled with numerous bomb craters.

This evening, you’ll return to Bayeux.

Enjoy dinner as a group either in a local restaurant or at the hotel.

This morning, your group will head to Arromanches in Mulberry Harbor, the site of Port Winston’s remains, which was erected by the Allies to provide logistical support during WWII. Your group should be there at low tide, so the remains will be visible.

Travel by bus through Gold Beach, stopping briefly atop the hill overlooking Arromanches for another view of the artificial harbor, then drive to Juno Beach, the Canadian Sector.

Drive to Courseulles, stop at Cross of Lorraine, where DeGaulle, Winston Churchill, and George VI came ashore (separately, of course).

At Bernieres, near Juno Beach, you’ll stop at the Canada House and observe where Canadian troops had a hard time dealing with the sea wall. You’ll also stop at the house that served as the first reporter’s headquarters and see an unusual sculpture.

On Sword Beach, you’ll find the statue of the 'Mad Piper,' Bill Millen, and encounter some unusual fortifications. Your group will also stop briefly to see the statue of Field Marshall Montgomery in nearby Colleville Montgomery.

Enjoy a picnic lunch at Strongpoint Hillman.

Strongpoint Hillman was the headquarters of Colonel Ludwig Krug, commander of the 736th Infantry Regiment, the German defenders of the Sword Beach area.

At Perrier-sur-le Dan, Marie Louise Osmont's house is now a private residence, but your group can observe the area described in her diary.

On D+1, Canadian troops penetrated as far as Authie before being checked by elements of the 12th SS, Hitler Jugend Division. Nearby is the Abbaye d'Ardenne, Headquarters of Kurt Meyer, commander of the 25th SS Panzergrenadiers, who committed atrocities in this garden.

Your group will end the day with a visit to the Ranville British Military Cemetery, before returning to Bayeux for dinner.

Enjoy dinner together either in a local restaurant or at the hotel.

Walk along the Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach, driving past segments of Mulberry Roadway to Vierville to visit the National Guard Monument. This is the beach that is dramatized in the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan and where the Bedford Boys landed.

Travel east along Omaha Beach, stopping where General Norman Cota landed and led men up the bluffs and pausing briefly at the marker for the site of Temporary Cemetery No. 1.

At Les Moulins, view the official French monument by Anne-Laure Banon, entitled “Les Braves.”

Visit the La Cambe Military Cemetery where over 21,000 German military personnel from World War II are buried.

Visit the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux, home to one of the most famous tapestries in the world. The tapestry is embroidery on a band of linen, 231 feet long and 20 inches wide, depicting 58 scenes in eight colors and telling the story of the English conquest by William, Duke of Normandy.

Enjoy dinner as a group either in a local restaurant or at the hotel.

Today, you’ll go directly to the Normandy American Cemetery. Spend some time in the visitor center, which is a museum honoring the soldiers buried there, then proceed to the memorial, American Youth Rising from the Waves, to lay a wreath and present your eulogies to the fallen Hometown Heroes.

Experience the solemn serenity of the Normandy American Cemetery. Overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel, the memorial grounds contain the graves of 9,387 soldiers, each marked by a white marble cross or Star of David. Spend time at the Visitors Centre, which highlights the personal stories of the men and women who contributed to the Allied operations.

After some time to reflect on your experience and the fallen Hometown Heroes, your group will have a picnic lunch at 1st Division Monument, at strongpoint WN 62, overlooking the Easy Red Sector of Omaha Beach.

After lunch, you’ll travel to Paris. For the next two evenings, you’ll enjoy the convenience of a centrally located Paris hotel, where daily breakfast will be included.

Paris is one of the most iconic cities in the world, filled with culture, history, monuments, and museums. Known as the City of Light, Paris is many things to different people. No writer has ever been able to truly capture the city in words, and only the experience of being there can begin to express its grandness and magic.

Enjoy dinner together either in a local restaurant.

Enjoy a bus tour of Paris' World War II sites including: Palais de Chaillot (Trocadero); Place des Etats Unis; French Police (French Gestapo) HQ, 93 rue Luriston; Gestapo HQ: 84 Avenue Foch, Arc de Triomphe; Down Champs Elysees to Place de La Concorde and Hotel du Talleyrand (2 Rue Saint-Florentin, 75001 Paris); Hotel Meurice (228 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris); Jean Moulin meeting to form unified resistance at 48 rue du Four; and Helene Berr's flat (5 avenue Elisee Reclus).

Visit Paris’ major sites, such as Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Hotel Des Invalides, and Napoleon's Tomb.

Enjoy a group meal this evening in a local restaurant.

This evening, you’ll make the final entries in your Reflection Journal and share some of the most significant observations and perspectives that have taken shape throughout your WWII History Tour. We’ll also discuss how these experiences may be most relevant for us all as we return home.

Your rewarding and enjoyable D-Day and the Liberation of Europe Tour comes to an end as your Tour Director accompanies your group to the airport on your final day.