2021 Northwest Europe
Canadian Battlefield Tour
SPRING EDITION
Liberation of Holland 75+1
SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY TOUR
Liberation of Holland 75+1
SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY TOUR
2021 Northwest Europe Canadian Battlefield Tour
Liberation of Holland 75+1
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Day 1
Thursday April 22 Departure from Canada for our overnight transatlantic flight to Paris, except for those who may choose to leave for Paris sooner to extend their trip. Travelers on the optional group flight will enjoy gathering at a premium departure lounge prior to boarding. |
The optional group flight is typically arranged with
KLM/Air France or Air Canada. |
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Day 2
Friday 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 late afternoon 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 - Novotel Tour Eiffel. [D] |
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Day 3
Saturday 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 - Novotel. [B,L] |
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Day 4
Sunday April 25 This morning we honour the 77th 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 - Novotel. [B,L] |
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Day 5
Monday 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 - Mercure la Présidence. [B,L] |
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Day 6
Tuesday 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 - Holiday Inn Express. [B] |
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Day 7
Wednesday 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 - Holiday Inn Express. [B,L] |
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Day 8
Thursday 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
Friday 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
Saturday 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 Vlissingen or Middelburg - hotel tba. [B,L] |
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Day 11
Sunday May 2 We continue our journey through the Scheldt region today, with a visit to the Walcheren monument and also a visit to Woensdrecht where a local expert will share the vivid stories of Canadian sacrifice in the fighting to free the Dutch people in this small community. We will 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 - Best Western Haarhuis. [B,L] |
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Day 12
Monday 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 - Best Western Haarhuis. [B,L] |
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Day 13
Tuesday 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 - Apollo Hotel. [B,L] |
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Day 14
Wednesday 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 think of all the amazing places we've seen and to reflect on the many sacrifices of two world wars. Overnight Groningen - Apollo Hotel. [B,L,D] |
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Day 15
Thursday 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 the Dutch masters including Rembrandt. Overnight Amsterdam - Apollo Tribute Portfolio. [B] |
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Day 16
Friday May 7 Morning departure via Schiphol Airport for those returning home, while others may extend their stay with the optional 2-day extention (see below) or extend with their own plans. Buffet or box breakfast depending on departure time from the hotel. |
Return flights as scheduled.
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Day 16
Friday May 7 Today is an opportunity for a second full day at leisure in Amsterdam and a chance to visit even more amazing highlights of this cosmopolitan capital city. Remember the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, and many more cultural gems. Optionally, you can choose to join a day excursion to three fantastic tourist sites in the region: the Zaanse Schans and its world famous windmills, Volendam and its lovely harbour, and the charming small streets and shops of historic Haarlem. These are all must-see locations in Holland that will leave you with lasting memories of this beautiful country. Overnight Amsterdam - Apollo Tribute Portfolio. [B] |
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Day 17
Saturday May 8 We board the coach early and make our way east to the lovely town of Apeldoorn, to attend the Liberation Festival on the grounds of the Palace Het Loo. The festival is scheduled to include pipe & drum bands, live music on the stage, an exciting display of WWII restored army trucks amidst a reenactment camp, a special tattoo concert in the evening, and much more! Overnight Apeldoorn - hotel tba. [B] |
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Day 18
Sunday May 9 Morning departure from Apeldoorn to Schiphol Airport for those returning home, while others may extend their stay at their option. Buffet or box breakfast depending on departure time from the hotel. |
Return flights as scheduled.
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Reg. No. 2780622
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