Rotary Remembrance Tour Itinerary
Day 1 – Sunday November 1 – Group Meets in Paris
- Travellers with flight arrivals into CDG this morning will need to make their way to Terminal 2F, as this is the only terminal that allows coaches to do pickups. Any arriving guests from other terminals will need to make their way to Terminal 2F.
- Your local Tour Manager, David, will meet flight arrival guests at Terminal 2F near Exits 2, 3, 4 and 5, and then call for the coach once he has everyone.
- 11:00am – meet your coach and driver from Verhenne/Keolis that will remain with you for the duration of the trip.
- Your Group Leader, Neil, will be at the pre-stay hotel – Mercure Paris CDG Airport and Convention Hotel – with the other guests and will wait for David’s call to say they are on their way to the hotel.
- A motorcoach safety briefing, including the use of seat belts when available, will be completed prior to departure.
- Travel to Ieper (approx. 3.5 hrs plus a stop to purchase lunch).
- Please be sure to have your passport easily accessible today in the event you are asked to present it as you cross the border into Belgium.
- 3:30pm – check in at the Novotel Ieper Centrum for a 3-night stay.
- 4:30pm – visit Talbot House and Museum, which was a safe haven during the First World War without distinction of rank or status.
- 5:30pm – return to the hotel with time to freshen up and rest.
- 7:00pm – group dinner at the hotel or a nearby restaurant.
Day 2 – Monday, November 2 IEPER
- 8:00am – breakfast included at the hotel
- 9:30am – this morning visit the In Flanders Fields Museum – You are given a poppy bracelet to move around the interactive museum where you learn the history of the First World War in Ypres
- 11:30am – time to purchase lunch in the Grot Market
- 1:00pm – board the coach and make a stop east of Ypres at the site of the Passchendaele Canadian Memorial (Crest Farm). The memorial marks the place where the men of the Canadian Corps, commanded by General Arthur Currie, finally took possession of the high ground at Crest Farm after ferocious fighting in the Second Battle of Passchendaele between October 26th and November 10, 1917.
- Continue to Tyne Cot Cemetery, which is the burial site of nearly 12,000 casualties of conflict in the Salient, more than 8,000 of which are unknown soldiers
- Stop at St. Julien Canadian Memorial at Vancouver Corner commemorating the Canadian 1st Division in action on April 22 to 24, 1915
- Continue to the Essex Farm Commonwealth War Cemetery at Boezinge for a stop to visit the John McCrae Memorial and bunker – John McCrae was a native of Guelph, Ontario, who served as a medical officer with the Canadian Army during World War I. In 1915, he composed the famous poem “In Flanders Fields” during a break in the fighting near Ypres.
- Return to the hotel
- Purchase dinner at a restaurant of your choice
- 7:15pm – meet Group Leader in the Grot Markt to proceed to the Ceremony
- 8:00pm – take part in the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate – a member of your group will be selected to lay a wreath
- The Last Post Ceremony has become part of the daily life in Ieper (Ypres), and the local people are proud of this simple but moving tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice of those who fell in defense of their town during the Great War
- At the conclusion of the ceremony, group members will have free time to spend the remainder of the evening as they wish before returning to the hotel on foot.
Day 3 – Tuesday, November 3 IEPER & BRUGES
- breakfast included at the hotel
- board the coach and depart for a day trip to Bruges also known as the “Venice of the North” which was liberated by the Manitoba Dragoons on September 12th, 1944
- on arrival meet your guide for a walking tour
- the remainder of the day is for independent exploring
- purchase dinner at a restaurant of your choice
- travelers will meet their Group leader at 7pm to return to the coach
- arrive back at the hotel
Day 4 – Wednesday, November 4 to DIEPPE, FRANCE
- 7:30am – breakfast included at the hotel followed by check out
- 9:00am – depart for The Canadian National Memorial Park at Vimy Ridge, where the Canadian Corps accomplished a great victory using innovative combat techniques over a strategically important and well-defended sector
- 10:30am – student-led guided tours of the battlefield trenches depart from the Education Centre every 30 minutes. Note: Tunnels are closed at this time of year
- 12:30pm – board the coach and travel to Auchonvillers
- 1:30pm – group lunch at Ocean Villas
- 3:00pm – continue to the Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial
- Enjoy an independent walking tour of one of the best-preserved WWI battlefields in Europe, where on July 1st, 1916, The Royal Newfoundland Regiment was decimated only minutes after being ordered out of their trenches to “go over the top.” This was only one of the battles that contributed to the loss of a full generation of Newfoundlanders on the Western Front in World War I. (Student docents are located at various locations to answer your questions.)
- 4:15pm – continue to Dieppe (approx. 2 hrs)
- 6:30pm – on arrival, check in at the Mercure Dieppe for a 2-night stay
- 8:00pm – group dinner at the hotel
Day 5 – Thursday, November 5 DIEPPE
- breakfast included at the hotel
- today will be spent visiting the Landing Beaches guided by your group leader and tour manager
- group lunch stop will be made
- On August 19, 1942, the disastrous Operation Jubilee took place here, resulting in more than 3,000 Canadian casualties, 916 of them fatalities in a single morning of fighting. This operation continues to be one of the most controversial in Canadian military history as it was a suicide mission carrying an unacceptable loss of life. But those who defend the attack point out that it proved that when a major invasion finally took place, it could not be on a fortified port. Others argue that the valuable intelligence gathered in the raid was worth the cost.
- tour the main Landing Beaches (Red and White) where the main thrust of the attack took place on August 19th, and Green Beach at Pourville, where Lieut-Col Charles Merritt of the South Saskatchewans won the Victoria Cross.
- Blue Beach at Puys, was the most difficult of all, and where the Royal Canadian Regiment suffered grievous casualties.
- visit the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery located on the outskirts of Dieppe, in the town of Hautot-Sur-Mer. This cemetery is unique in that its headstones have been placed back-to-back in long double rows, a reflection of a typical German cemetery design. This design remained as the cemetery was established in August 1942, while Dieppe remained in German hands until September 1st, 1944, when it was liberated by the Royal Regiment of Canada.
- Canadian fatalities at Dieppe were 916 men; there were 1,946 captured and held as prisoners of war
- return to the hotel and purchase dinner at a restaurant of your choice
Day 6 – Friday, November 6 to BAYEUX
- breakfast included at the hotel followed by check out
- board the coach and depart for Bayeux (approx. 3 hrs)
- on arrival there is time to purchase lunch
- meet your local guide for a walking tour of Bayeux
- check in at the Hotel Churchill (or the Grand Hotel du Luxembourg) for a 6-night stay
- time to freshen up before dinner
- group dinner at the hotel or a nearby restaurant
Day 7 – Saturday, November 7 BAYEUX
- buffet breakfast included at the hotel
- board your coach and depart Bayeux for Courseulles-sur-Mer site of the Juno Beach Centre – Canada’s Second World War Museum and Cultural Centre which pays homage to the 45,000 Canadians who lost their lives during the War, 5,500 of which were killed during the Battle of Normandy (359 on D-Day alone)
- enjoy a guided tour of the beach & bunkers with a Canadian student guide
- board the coach and transfer to Courseulles-sur-Mer to purchase lunch
- board the coach and continue your journey
- arrive in Bernieres-sur-Mer at Canada House (formerly Queen’s Own Rifles House) which is one of the most iconic buildings in Canadian military history. It was one of the first houses liberated by Canadian soldiers on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and has since become a familiar historic landmark, standing in the backdrop of the many black-and-white photographs showing troops landing on the sands of this village in Normandy. Around the house, more than 100 Canadian soldiers were killed or wounded in the first minutes of the invasion (tentative to operating schedule)
- stop at Beny-Sur-Mer to visit the Canadian War Cemetery
- a stop will be made at Abbaye d’Ardennes – Canadian War Memorial where 20 Canadians were executed
- estimated arrival back at the hotel; dinner and the evening at leisure
Day 8 – Sunday, November 8 BAYEUX
- buffet breakfast included at the hotel
- board the coach and depart for a day of touring
- visit the D-Day Beaches including Sword Beach, St. Aubin and the Gold Beach guided by your group leader and tour manager
- continue to Arromanches
- visit Arromanches 360 where the 100 days of the Battle of Normandy are projected on 9 screens
- enjoy packed lunch
- board the coach and depart for Rots
- late afternoon stop at Ferme Billy for a tour and Calvados tasting
- board the coach and return to Bayeux
- dinner and the remainder of the evening at leisure
Day 9 – Monday, November 9 BAYEUX
- buffet breakfast included at the hotel
- board coach and depart for tour of American Sector
- Long Guns at Longue Sur Mer - visit the Longues-Sur-Mer battery, four 150 mm guns of twenty kilometers range equipped this battery, a fire control casemate, hardly completed on June 6, 1944 was installed at the cliff edge
- short transfer to our next stop
- visit the Omaha Beach Normandy American cemetery and the viewing platform at Omaha Beach that overlooks the sector where the 1st Division landed on D-Day- there are paths that take you onto the beach
- enjoy packed lunch
- board your coach and transfer to Pointe du Hoc to view the Monument dedicated to the American 2nd Ranger Battalion, who scaled these cliffs on D-Day to seize German artillery which was aimed at the US forces landing at Utah and Omaha Beaches
- return to hotel with free time
- purchase dinner at a restaurant of your choice
Day 10 – Tuesday, November 10 BAYEUX
- breakfast included at the hotel
- today is a free day for exploring as you wish in Bayeux or take the train to Caen for a self-guided visit (any costs or admissions at own expense)
- Optional day trip to Mont St. Michel with the coach (Abbey admission not included – approx. $28.00 per person / Access is 2.5km uphill walk from coach park or use free shuttle service) **tide times will affect access to the abbey
Day 11 – Wednesday, November 11 BAYEUX
- breakfast included at the hotel (pick up your packed lunch before departing the hotel)
- travel to Courseulles-sur-Mer
- attend the morning Remembrance Ceremony
- enjoy packed lunch is provided today
- attend the afternoon Canadian Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre followed by a cocktail reception
- board the coach and return to Bayeux
- group dinner in Bayeux
Day 12 – Thursday, November 12 to PARIS
- breakfast included at the hotel followed by check out
- board the coach and depart for Versailles (approx. 3.25 hrs)
- arrive in Versailles for free time to purchase lunch in the village
- afternoon guided tour of the former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV, the Palace of Versailles with time to visit the gardens
- board the coach and continue to Paris (approx. 1.5 hrs with extra time for traffic)
- on arrival check in at the Novotel Paris Centre Bercy for a 3-night stay
- group dinner at the hotel or a nearby restaurant
Day 13 – Friday, November 13 PARIS (no coach after city tour)
- breakfast included at the hotel
- meet your guide and begin a guided coach tour of Paris
- **touring coach to depart group after guided tour – say goodbye to your driver!
- the afternoon is free to explore as you wish – a 2-day metro pass is provided for getting around Zones 1 – 3
- you may wish to consider the following suggestions: stroll along the Champs Elysées, climb the Arc de Triomphe, visit Notre Dame Cathedral, visit the Eiffel Tower
- purchase dinner at a restaurant of your choice
Day 14 – Saturday, November 14 PARIS (no coach)
- breakfast included at the hotel
- today is free for independent sightseeing. You may wish to consider the following suggestions: visit Montmartre, cruise the Seine River on the Bateaux Parisiens, visit the Louvre or the Musée d’Orsay
- Your Tour Manager, David and Group Leader, Neil will be available to assist travellers with their plans for the day
- gather as a group at the hotel and walk to dinner
- group farewell dinner
- after dinner return to the hotel and say goodbye to your touring driver
Day 15 – Sunday, November 15 HOME or Beyond…
- breakfast included at the hotel followed by check out
- last goodbye’s to your fellow travellers
- if a large # of travellers are returning on the suggested flights; a group transfer to the airport can be arranged (rate to be advised)
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