Northern France Normandy D-Day

Northern France & Normandy D-Day Landings

DAY 1 ARRIVE PARIS, FRANCE:  Upon arrival at Paris airport you are welcomed to France by your local tour guide and transferred to your hotel where you are assisted with check-in procedures.
Hotel Name: Hotel Le Meurice.

DAY 2 PARIS: Spend a full day (8hrs) with your guide and private vehicle in Paris. Begin with a walk around the Champs-Elysées where your guide regales you with stories of daily life during the Occupation and explore subjects such as the invasion of France, the Resistance, the D-Day invasion and, of course, the Liberation itself. Paris witnessed the deportation of thousands of Jews during WWII and the Shoah Memorial, in the Marais district (Jewish quarter), is dedicated to the memory of over 200,000 French citizens that were sent to Nazi concentration camps.
Complete your tour with a visit of Les Invalides which houses the Army museum. Created in 1905, the complex comprises a museum and two churches housing some 500,000 classified objects over 8,000 m². As such this is the most important museum of military history in France and one of the leading collections in the world. The permanent collections are displayed chronologically from Antiquity to the end of the Second World War.
Hotel Name: Hotel Le Meurice . (B)

DAY 3 PARIS – PORT-EN-BESSIN: Transfer to Port-En-Bessin with your private guide this morning, stopping by the medieval city of Rouen to visit the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral and see the giant Renaissance clock, Gros Horloge. In June 1944, the entire city was in flames, heavily bombarded and left in ruins.
Hotel Name: Chateau La Cheneviere. (B)

DAY 4 NORMANDY – OPERATION OVERLORD: Begin your exploration of some of the momentous events that took place on D-Day June 1944, with a visit of Arromanches, one of the command centers of the whole Operation. Remains of the famous Mulberry harbors still float incongruously in the sea, part of the ½ million tons of concrete that was floated across the Channel at a speed of 4mph to supply a roadway from the supply ships to the shore. The memorial museum contains fascinating scale models and film footage of this great expedition as well as a 360° circular cinema showing more dramatic footage in the film, ‘The Price of Freedom’.
Continue to Juno Beach a Canadian beach where the Canadian troops fought fierce opposition before pushing inland to link up with British troops. Also visit Sword Beach; the most easterly of the D-Day landing beaches and strategically important due to its proximity to Caen. Take time to reflect at the memorial at the famous Pegasus bridge where the first liberators to arrive in Normandy crash-landed by glider under the cover of dark and secured this vitally-important bridgehead. A replica of the gliders used can be found here. Return to your hotel at the end of the afternoon.
Hotel Name: Chateau La Cheneviere. (B)

DAY 5 D-DAY LANDING BEACHES: The numerous monuments and memorials in the Normandy coastal area bear witness to the fierce fighting that took place here during and after the D-Day Landings of World War II. Join your driver guide on a full-day tour of the American Sector to visit some of the most important sites of this pivotal point in the war. Your day begins inland at the strategically-important Sainte-Mère-Église, where the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions parachuted in to help the village become one of the first in France to be liberated. Join the famous coastline at Pointe du Hoc, which the US Rangers scaled, demonstrating a triumph of planning, training and execution by elite and well-led troops.
Further eastwards along the coast is the sector known as Omaha Beach, also captured by invading American forces. Examine several sites here from both the German and US perspective and hear about Operation Aquatint, a failed 1942 British Commando raid on the area. Your day ends with a poignant visit to the US Military Cemetery and Interpretation Center at Colleville-sur-Mer, the final resting place of over 9,300 US soldiers located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach.
Hotel Name: Chateau La Cheneviere. (B)

DAY 6 MONT ST MICHEL: Venture to one of France’s most recognizable landmarks today: Mont St Michel, a village perched on a tidal island located in the mouth of the River Couesnon. Surrounded by water and sand flats, the granite outcrop is crowned by an abbey that took more than 500 years to construct. Legend has it that Archangel Michael appeared to the Bishop of Avranches in 708, inspiring him to build it here. Explore the steep, narrow, cobblestone streets and climb over 350 steps to reach the abbey, whose spire is more than 500 feet high, and as a whole is an outstanding architectural achievement. You may also like to explore the charming village of Mont St Michel with its narrow passageways, historic houses and little shops. Before returning to your hotel, dependent on time, you may visit another town in the area, such as St-Lô, Bayeux, Avranches or Villedieu-Les-Poêles.
(Please note that access to the Mont St Michel may require you to walk 900 meters/ 985 yards from the car park to the shuttle service, and the walking on the island is strenuous and requires a good level of fitness).
Hotel Name: Chateau La Cheneviere. (B)

DAY 7 TRANSFER TO PARIS: Meet your English-speaking driver-guide and private vehicle for your transfer to Paris this morning. Stop by in Giverny along the way to see the beautiful house and gardens that inspired Monet. The house is still decorated in the original color schemes Monet admired and in the gardens, the famous Japanese bridge and water lily pond create an iconic picture. Upon arrival in Paris, the remainder of the day is at leisure.
Hotel Name: Hotel Le Meurice. (B)

DAY 8 DEPART PARIS: Transfer to the airport for your homebound flight. (B)

Customize to Suit

The above suggested itinerary can be customized to suit; more or less meals, different cities and/or sightseeing based on your clients’ interests.  You name it, our expert group specialist professionals will put it together for you. Please call 1-855-220-6450, or simply complete the group request form, and we’ll get back to you with your proposal.

Inclusions

• Private airport transfers on Day 1 and Day 8
• Twin-bedded rooms in the 5-Star hotels listed or similar; hotel taxes, service charges and baggage handling
• 7 breakfast
• Services of English-speaking local travel experts
• Transfers by luxury, air-conditioned mini-coach
• Sightseeing, special features and scenic highlights as indicated in the itinerary, including admission charges
• Portfolio of travel documents
• 24-hour emergency customer service while in France

Private Departures