Posted on 09/14/2016 9:34:56 AM PDT by TexasM1A
I am starting to plan a trip to Normandy and to the battlefields of The Somme. I was wondering if anyone on here has had any experience with any of the many tour companies that in and around Ypres/Paris etc.etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Scott.
I went with Leger tours to Normedy when in the UK in 2005. They are based out of the UK so I was the only American on the tour. They were great.
IF it weren't for the damn Mooselimbs, I'd love to do a bicycle tour. Lots of petty crime in Calais, Caen, and cities over 10k. (Priest beheaded recently in NOrmandy)
Just go yourself, its so easy. No tour busses, no fixed schedules. Its so easy, with on-line flights, hotels, AirBNB, etc...
When you get there, call people like this - they will give you great tours, at your own pace and schedule
Ypres / Leper:
www.ypres-fbt.com = Flanders Battlefield Tour
Genevra Charsley & Jacques Ryckebosch
Boeschepestraat 29 ,B-8970 Poperinge
Belgium : 0032 (0) 57360460
Email: info@ypres-fbt.com
Van Tour .. unforgettable.
My daughter and I toured (in order) Paris, Monte St Michel (south Normandy peninsula, on the other coast), then Normandy and the beachheads (1944), then a long drive across north France to the Dunkirk museum in the old coastal forts, the Crecy museum and battlefield (1345-46 campaign) and Agincourt museum (1415) campaignand battlefield (you can do both on the same day - they are about 1-1/2 drive apart, , the Somme (1916) - Ypres-Pasendale (1916-1917), Verdun (1915-1917), then up over towards Belgium and Waterloo (1815), then the Battle of the Bulge (1944-1945).
Sevel of the museums have been recently redone because of their 100 year, 200 year, and 600 year celebrations) and the more recent 50 year dedications.
Do you need a tour?
We did not use one, and enjoyed the time driving between sites. Just get a hotel with a/c at each city so you get a good night’s sleep each night. Driving is easy on the large and small French and Belgium roads.
The little bitty 1-lane hedgerows lanes in Normandy? Go slow - like they had to in jeeps.
you really need two-three days for the Somme battles and their larger museums. Crecy and Agincourt are much smaller - about 2-3 hours each coverts the battle and the sites. There is a WWII V-2 launch site museum right at Crecy too - small, but very interesting.
Dunkirk - 1/2 day at least.
Same with Waterloo - at least 1/2 day, may more to see all the films and interactive exhibits.
Oh yeah, for WWI, read “A World Undone” a week before.
Great book.
We visited the Normandy Beaches in ‘08 and stayed in Bayeux. It’s easy to get personalized guided tours which were great and not too expensive. It was one of the few areas I’ve been in France where they really welcomed Americans. If you can, drive a little further west and visit Mont Saint-Michel. Definitely worth the side trip.
We did an Avalon river cruise to Normandy 2 years ago. Best trip of our lives. River cruise only had 120 passengers, fabulous food, great people and a very relaxed atmosphere. Would highly recommend.
Ambrose is deceased but the museum still offers the tours.
Related to your interest, I was pinged to Dan Carlin’s “Hardcore History” for a pretty extensive narrative of WWI, “Blueprint for Armageddon” which is an absolutely excellent verbal history of WWI, usually a topic rather more obscure than WW2. Heartily recommend it.
His son isn't. He is the one that started and still does the tours.
oh, sorry, I see now....
That tour is on my bucket list.
My great grandfather was in the Canadian regiment at Ypres. Not a good place to be.
That tour is on my bucket list.
My great grandfather was in the Canadian regiment at Ypres. Not a good place to be.
My dream (2-3 years from now) is to head back to Germany for two months during the summer. Make that four years from now, when the Passion Play resumes in Oberammergau.
I'll rent an apartment near Traben-Trarbach, the town I lived in during my tour in Germany. Weekends will be for winefests and local excursions. Monday is always the best night for winefests: the tourists are gone, and the locals let down their hair.
Tues-Fri will be for trips outside the area: Amsterdam, Munich, Hamburg are a four hour drive away on the autobahn. I will also devote a few travels to Italy.
Sure, it will be expensive, but my youngest son will be freshly out of HS, and my grandson will be 10.
Back in the 90’s my wife and I were in Paris and took a day trip to Normandy. I didn’t use a tour because none of them went to Utah beach. My grandfather was in the 4th inf division 8th inf regiment and I wanted to see where he landed. Took the train to Caen, and rented a car. I only had a day so it was very rushed. Omaha beach and the cemetery are must sees. Also point du hoc is not to be missed. They had a nice museum at Utah beach as well as several monuments. I wish I had more time. WWII has always interested me so I was my own tour guide. I could have easily spent three or four days there. I may get a chance to go back, my son is looking at attending UT and may major in Plan II, they have a Normandy semester that culminates in a trip to Normandy over the summer.
Do it! my older brother, having just left a job, his son gone off to college, and having some extra money saved, decided he was going to Germany. His wife couldn't leave work, so told him to have fun and go himself. He didn't speak German, and never travelled outside the USA (except to Mexican tourist resorts). He was nervous, but booked AirBNB in Berlin and other cities, and figured out the train schedule when there. He got so adventurous, he found his way to the tiny town in the former East Germany where some of our ancestors came from. Didn't find much about the family, but even met some nice people in a local pub who invited him for dinner the next evening. It was all a great success.
That works in Europe. Wouldn't necessarily try it in some other countries....
I had a relative (My uncles’ uncle) that was a member of the 376th Heavy Bombardment Group, 515th squadron AKA the LIBERANDOS.
He flew in “The Tobacco Rhoda” as a navigator and they were shot down during a raid on Ploesti.
Bump for my husband - this is on his bucket list. He has interviewed many WWII vets - (an aside - I have all these taped interviews and scanned pictures - probably 30 vets or more ). He so wants to go to Normandy but I think he needs to do sooner rather than later.
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