Holten Canadian War Cemetery.
2025 Northwest Europe Canadian Battlefield Tour
Highlights
Juno Beach | Pegasus Bridge | Omaha Beach | Beaumont-Hamel | Dieppe | Vimy Ridge | Passchendaele | Arnhem | May 4th Commemoration at Holten War Cemetery | 80th Anniversary Remembrance & Liberation Events | Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate, Ypres | Battles of The Scheldt, Breskens, Market-Garden, Veritable & more | scroll down to see complete details |
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ITINERARY
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Day 1
Tuesday April 22 Departure from Canada for our overnight transatlantic flight to Paris, except for those who may choose to leave for Europe sooner to extend their trip. Travelers on the optional group flight will enjoy gathering at a premium departure lounge prior to boarding. |
Optional group flight seats are typically reserved through KLM / Air France or Air Canada.
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Day 2
Wednesday April 23 Upon arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport we will proceed to downtown Paris to drop baggage at the hotel. You are then free to explore this amazing city. In the early evening we meet for our Welcome Dinner in the heart of Paris, to share a glass of wine and set the stage for our special journey. Overnight Paris - hotel tba. [D] |
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Day 3
Thursday April 24 This morning we depart for the Normandy coast where we will consider pre-D-Day, looking at the 'Atlantic Wall' defenses facing the Allies in the coming invasion. We visit Pegasus Bridge and the Memorial Pegasus Museum where you will learn the story of the pre-dawn paratrooper landings in the region by the British 6th Airborne and the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. Free time is given to make a must-see visit to the first house liberated on D-Day, the Café Gondrée, a special place filled with history and charm. We then pause to enjoy lunch with wine at a local brasserie (advanced menu selection). Our final stop is Longues-sur-Mer, a German coastal artillery position of four large naval guns which posed a serious threat to Allied ships off-shore and the landing beaches themselves. We then make our way to the medieval town of Bayeux for the first of three nights' stay, winding down in the hotel where we gather to chat about the day and raise a toast. Overnight Bayeux - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 4
Friday April 25 This morning we honour the 81st Anniversary of D-Day by walking the sands of Juno Beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, with story telling and much reflection. A visit inside the Juno Beach Centre is included, along with a tour of the German command bunker. We then walk along the shores to hear personal stories of the men who landed here. For lunch we invite our guests to walk with us across the canal into Courseulles to explore the local restaurants. We then move east, standing on Juno at Bernières-sur-Mer to observe the famous Canada House and the nearby defenses, along with an invitation to visit inside the historic home. Next we stop at the Juno sector near St-Aubin-sur-Mer, where a 50-mm German anti-tank gun still sits ominously in its casemate. In the afternoon we visit the hallowed grounds of Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, the burial place of 2,044 Canadians who fell in the early hours of D-Day and the subsequent liberation of Normandy. Overnight Bayeux - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 5
Saturday April 26 Day Five takes us to points west where we first explore the British landing zone code named Gold Beach. This area was selected as one of two sites to construct the man-made Mulberry Harbour where ships could off-load the massive supplies needed for the invasion force. The view from the cliffs above reveals remnants of the harbour just off-shore. We then walk down into Arromanches, a lovely coastal tourist village, for some free time to wander. Next up is the famous American landing sector code named Omaha Beach, depicted by the opening twenty minutes of the Steven Spielberg film Saving Private Ryan. Here the Americans suffered heavy losses, as illustrated by some time of reflection at the Colleville-sur-Mer American War Cemetery which serenely overlooks the Normandy shore below. We then take a break for lunch with wine at a local restaurant just up the coast - situated on the hill with a view looking directly onto Omaha Beach and the amazing National Guard monument. In the afternoon we depart the D-Day beachhead, stopping for a visit at Abbaye Ardennes near Caen, an important Canadian pilgrimage, before saying goodbye to Lower Normandy and continuing our journey northeast along the coast. Overnight Dieppe - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 6
Sunday April 27 We begin the day with a morning stroll along the main beach of Dieppe to consider Operation Jubilee - the plans, the execution and the after-math of the August 1942 raid that went horribly wrong. The raid entailed three Canadian attack zones and we next move northeast to the beach at Puys, arguably Canada's darkest hour of WW2, followed by a visit to Pourville to the southwest and Merritt's Bridge. We conclude the visit of the battlefields with a view of Dieppe from the coastal cliffs above, then head back into the center of town to pause for lunch - allowing time to explore the many restaurants which line the inner harbour. Our final stop is the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery, tucked away up the hill and beyond the edge of town which beckons Canadians to visit. Listen here to CBC's Robert Bowman and his broadcast from Dieppe the day after the raid. We then depart the coast and resume our journey into northern France as we move inland and back in time to World War 1. Overnight Amiens - hotel tba. [B] |
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Day 7
Monday April 28 Day Seven is steeped in history as we wind our way into the French countryside to consider the Battle of the Somme, one of the largest, bloodiest and most destructive battles of World War One. You will be intrigued with a guided tour at Beaumont-Hamel - it is here that the Newfoundland Regiment was nearly wiped out in the first few hours of the attack. This proudly Canadian battleground is one of the best preserved sites in all of the western front. Our lunch stop is in the midst of the Somme battlefield region, at a local high restaurant hidden from view offering an outstanding menu, with wine. Next is a visit to see the impressive Thiepval Memorial, the largest Commonwealth War Graves monument in the world and on which are inscribed the names of over 72,000 soldiers who fell during the Battle of the Somme and have no known grave (including one very special name). The day includes a visit to the Lochnagar Crater and additional points of interest in the region. Overnight Arras - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 8
Tuesday April 29 Each Canadian ought to visit Vimy Ridge once in their lifetime and today is your day. We will take a guided tour of the underground tunnels which reveal how soldiers lived and prepared for battle beneath the earth. We also walk the above-ground trenches for a first-hand feel of trench warfare. Ample time is then given to be at, on and around the Vimy Monument, arguably the most impressive of all the war monuments in Europe. A short distance down the ridge takes us into Souchez for quick stops at points of interest, along with a delicious lunch with wine at a well-known establishment filled with charm. The tour then pays tribute to the Battle of Hill 70, often called "The Forgotten Victory," where a new monument was finally erected in 2017. We then say au revoir to France and drive north across the border into Belgium, to the enchanting small town of Ieper (Ypres) in the province of West Flanders. At 8pm the Last Post Ceremony will take place at the Menin Gate, as it has every evening since 1928. Overnight Ieper - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 9
Wednesday April 30 Ieper (Ypres) was the center of fierce, prolonged, bloody fighting in World War I and the remnants of this are all around. We pass Hellfire Corner on our way to the monument at Hill 62 (Sanctuary Wood). Our morning includes The Brooding Soldier at St. Julien, a favourite monument for many, which commemorates the Canadians who suffered the first gas attacks of the Great War in 1915. We will visit Essex Farm ... it is here, in the province of West Flanders, that Canadian LCol John McCrae penned his famous poem In Flanders Fields. We also visit the monument to the Battle of Passchendaele at Crest Farm, and nearby Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in the world. We return to Ieper for free time in the afternoon. The Last Post Ceremony takes place again at 8pm and selected travelers will be invited to lay a wreath on behalf of the tour group. Overnight Ieper - hotel tba. [B] |
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Day 10
Thursday May 1 Today we begin our focus on the liberation of the Netherlands (known abroad as Holland or The Lowlands). This is the first of two days looking at the Battle of the Scheldt, a costly battle for Canada and a crucial success story for the allied war effort. We visit monuments at the Leopold Canal and also at Eede, as well as visits to Hickman's Bridge and the Hoofdplaat monument. Each visit tells a part of the story of the Canadians and the fierce fighting that took place in this region of south Holland in the fall of 1944, as the liberation of Holland began. Overnight Middelburg - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 11
Friday May 2 We continue our journey through the Scheldt region today, with a visit to the Walcheren monument to hear about the battle for the causeway. We also make a visit to Woensdrecht where we are joined by one of Holland's top WWII historians. He grew up here, and was just a young boy when the fighting raged in the streets. He will share the vivid stories of Canadian sacrifice in the fight to free the Dutch people in his little village. We then visit Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery to pay our respects. After lunch we stop for a visit at the Kapelsche Veer monument, following in the direction taken by the Canadians as they gradually moved eastward toward the German border in the fall of '44. Overnight Arnhem - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 12
Saturday May 3 We spend the morning looking at the famous Operation Market Garden, the allied effort of September 1944 to bring about an early end to the war with a preemptive strike across the Rhine River into Germany. We visit the airborne Drop Zone 'Y' where the paratroops jumped into Holland, and follow their route to John Frost Bridge, the famous location of the fighting. We also make a stop in the countryside at the Driel Monument, which honours the Canadian Engineers and their small but critical role in Market Garden. After lunch we pay a visit to Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, one of the largest Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries in Holland and the resting place of a recipient of the Victoria Cross. Here are buried many of the young men who fell in the Rhineland battles as the Allies moved across the border into Germany in the final months of the war. A Veterans Affairs Canada ceremony is anticipated (tbc). Overnight Arnhem - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 13
Sunday May 4 Our day begins with a particularly special and poignant event, the annual Remembrance Service at Holten Canadian War Cemetery in the forest just outside of town. We see how the local school children are made central to the event, which usually features pipes & drums, members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 005 Europe, dignitaries, and most especially, Canadian veterans. We then pause for a farewell lunch in the forest nearby, to enjoy a typical Dutch lunch and to raise a glass in honour of all those who have served. In the afternoon we journey to the north to the city of Groningen, where we pause for the evening to observe remembrance day at 8pm across the Netherlands. Overnight Groningen - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 14
Monday May 5 We visit some of our final battlefields today, with a drive to the lovely coast near Delfzijl to discuss some of the very last battles for the liberation of Holland while visiting seldom-visited Canadian monuments in small villages. May 5th is Liberation Day in the Netherlands! We will attend liberation festivities in the region as may be organized by the local citizens - the schedule will be kept flexible to include events to be announced. We gather in the evening for our farewell dinner, to look back upon the amazing places we've seen and to reflect on the many sacrifices of two world wars. Overnight Groningen - hotel tba. [B,L,D] |
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Day 15
Tuesday May 6 We depart early and enjoy our final road trip together - to Amsterdam, where the day is yours to explore at your leisure. Consider taking a cruise of the canals (on the UNESCO World Heritage list), or perhaps a visit to the world famous Rijksmuseum and its amazing collection of paintings by the Dutch masters including Rembrandt. Overnight Amsterdam - hotel tba. [B] |
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Day 16
Wednesday May 7 Morning departure via Schiphol Airport for those returning home, while others may extend their stay. Buffet or box breakfast depending on departure time from the hotel. |
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Join us for an unforgettable, life-changing journey through France, Belgium and Holland, and don't miss the very special 80th Anniversary events in Holland.
Note: Minor changes to the itinerary are possible prior to the winter of 2024. Clients should keep in mind that minor variances are always possible during the actual tour based on the need to adapt to circumstances we encounter during our travels.
Note: Minor changes to the itinerary are possible prior to the winter of 2024. Clients should keep in mind that minor variances are always possible during the actual tour based on the need to adapt to circumstances we encounter during our travels.
Yes, this tour is still a few years away.
But due to the pandemic of 2020 and the cancellation of the 75th anniversary events, the next big anniversary year of 2025 is shaping up to be a high-demand tour year. The special events of this quinquennial anniversary will be even more poignant and meaningful.
Register today and place your name(s) on the waiting list. When this tour eventually opens for booking you will be contacted in priority sequence with an offer to book your seats. Space will be limited!
But due to the pandemic of 2020 and the cancellation of the 75th anniversary events, the next big anniversary year of 2025 is shaping up to be a high-demand tour year. The special events of this quinquennial anniversary will be even more poignant and meaningful.
Register today and place your name(s) on the waiting list. When this tour eventually opens for booking you will be contacted in priority sequence with an offer to book your seats. Space will be limited!
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Holten Canadian War Cemetery.
Join us in remembering the fallen.
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