2025 Northwest Europe
Canadian Battlefield Tour
LIBERATION OF HOLLAND 80th ANNIVERSARY
SPECIAL EDITION TOUR
SPECIAL EDITION TOUR
2025 Northwest Europe Canadian Battlefield TourLiberation of Holland 80th Anniversary Special Edition TourAt a glance
April 21 to May 7, 2025 • France, Belgium, Holland • 17 days Overnight destinations Paris • Bayeux • Dieppe • Amiens • Arras • Ieper • Vlissingen • Apeldoorn • Groningen • Groesbeek • Delft • Amsterdam Highlights Juno Beach • Pegasus Bridge • Dieppe • the Somme and Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Park • Dieppe • Vimy Ridge • Passchendaele • Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate, Ypres • Arnhem • May 4 Commemoration at Holten Canadian War Cemetery • Liberation Day in Amsterdam • scroll down to see complete details |
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A Canadian story ...The Liberation of Holland was brought about primarily by the Canadians, a monumental struggle of service and sacrifice in the pursuit of democracy & freedom. Canadians signed up from across our country, joining forces to sail across the Atlantic to liberate a people they did not know.
As many Dutch people of that generation will say, "thank God they came." |
The only royal born in Canada, sort of ...The Dutch royal family found refuge in Canada during the war, where in January 1943 Princess Margriet was born. The Canadian government temporarily declared her room extraterritorial so that she would be born exclusively with Dutch citizenship, thereby preserving her place in the royal line of succession according to Dutch law.
Meanwhile, overseas, more than 7600 Canadians would fall in the 9-month battle to bring freedom people, many of whom in the western provinces were facing starvation. The Dutch people have never forgotten - each spring they send 20,000 tulips to Ottawa, a heartfelt gesture signalling an unbroken friendship which endures through the generations. |
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Special events in 2025 ...Commemoration and celebration events for 2025 will be included in the itinerary where possible, as they are announced. Expected events include the usual gatherings at Groesbeek and Holten Canadian War Cemeteries, and in the City of Apeldoorn.
It will be an experience of admiration and respect like no other - a truly emotional journey. |
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Follow in their footsteps ...You will be part of a typically all-Canadian group, mostly couples. Read what past travelers have said about our trips. It's time to renew your romance in Europe, beginning in Paris and concluding in beautiful Amsterdam.
Join us for an unforgettable, life-changing journey to follow in the footsteps of the great Canadian liberators. |
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Sunday April 20
For many of our Canadian travelers it is departure day, for the overnight transatlantic flight to France. Some travelers may choose to leave for Europe sooner to extend the start of the trip - let us know if we can quote you on pre-tour accommodations. Guests who have other travels already in progress, or guests from other points of origin including the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere, will meet the start of the tour on Day 1 in Paris. |
Seats for the optional group flight are typically booked on Air Canada or KLM/Air France.
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Day 1
Monday April 21 In the mid-afternoon all clients can check into the group hotel. In the meantime, luggage is stored in the hotel baggage lock-up. Today you are free to explore Paris, the City of Light. In the evening we gather in the heart of Paris for our Welcome Dinner, to share a glass of wine and set the stage for our special journey. Overnight Paris - hotel tba. [D] |
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Day 2
Tuesday April 22 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 3
Wednesday April 23 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 4
Thursday April 24 Day Four 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. In the afternoon we depart the D-Day beachhead, stopping for a visit at Abbey Ardenne 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 5
Friday April 25 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 6
Saturday April 26 Day Six 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 tour at Beaumont-Hamel - it is here that the Royal 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 7
Sunday April 27 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 8
Monday April 28 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 9
Tuesday April 29 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 tour the Breskens Pocket with visits to monuments along the Leopold Canal, Eede, Hickman's Bridge and Hoofdplaat. Each tells a part of the story of the fierce fighting that took place in this region of south Holland in the fall of 1944, as the liberation of Holland began. We'll also visit an original Bailey Bridge, still in use and right where the Canadian engineers built it in '44. Overnight Middelburg / Vlissingen - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 10
Wednesday April 30 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 northeastly toward the German border in the fall of '44. Overnight Apeldoorn - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 11
Thursday May 1 We visit monuments today in little villages in the north, in the Delfzijl Pocket, which commemorate some of the final battles for the liberation of Holland. These are places not often visited by Canadian tours. We also visit some imposing German bunkers along the coast. Overnight Groningen - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 12
Friday May 2 We journey south again, stopping along the way at the national monument at Camp Westerbork. This was one of several transit camps, through which thousands of Dutch citizens of the Jewish community were sent to the notorious camps in Germany and Poland. Most never returned. It was liberated by the Canadians on April 12, 1945. Overnight Groesbeek - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 13
Saturday May 3 Under the shadow of the iconic John Frost Bridge in Arnhem we discuss the famous Operation Market Garden, the unsuccessful allied effort of September 1944 to bring about an early end to the war. 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 Groesbeek - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 14
Sunday May 4 Our day begins with a 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 where possible. In the afternoon we journey to the coast and the enchanting town of Delft, famous for its blue pottery and quaint canals. In the evening we observe Remembrance Day in the Netherlands, with the entire nation pausing at 8pm for two minutes of silence. Overnight Delft - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 15
Monday May 5 Today is Liberation Day! We take some fee time in the morning to explore the charm of Delft. In the mid-day we gather for our Farewell Lunch, to raise a glass to all those who have served and to also celebrate new friendships. It's then onward to Amsterdam for two nights in one of Europe's great capital cities. Overnight Amsterdam - hotel tba. [B,L] Day 16 Tuesday May 6 Enjoy a full free day at your leisure in Amsterdam. Your day might include a visit to the Rijksmuseum or the Van Gogh Museum, or perhaps the Anne Frank House. The flower market is a great place for souvenirs, and the Leidseplein and the Rembrandtplein are great places for food and people-watching! Overnight Amsterdam - hotel tba. [B] |
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Day 17
Wednesday May 7 This morning is departure day for those Canadians returning home on the optional group flight - buffet or box breakfast is included, depending on departure time from the hotel. Some travelers may choose to remain in Europe longer to extend the end of the trip - let us know if we can quote you on post-tour accommodations. Others guests will depart for home or continue their travels on other routes. [B] |
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