ANZAC DAY TOUR OF THE WESTERN FRONT FRANCE & BELGIUM, 13 DAYS WEDNESDAY, 20 APRIL 2016 SUMMARY Join us to celebrate the Anzac Day Dawn service at Villers Bretonneux in 2016 followed by a tour of the Western Front visiting Memorials and Museums of the Somme. Enjoy a luxury River Cruise on the Danube and Rhine Rivers. Spend 2 nights in Paris and enjoy Rouen visiting Giverny and Les Andelys. Explore the Normandy D-Day Landing beaches and visit Bruges and Brussels and the Battle of Waterloo. Discover Strasbourg, Linz or Salzburg and enjoy a walking tour of Vienna before ending your incredible adventure in Budapest ITINERARY Day 1 Wednesday 20 th April 2016 Paris (D) Welcome to Paris and the start of your tour. After booking into our hotel your time is at rest and this evening you meet with other group members on a scenic and relaxing cruise along the River Seine to discover why Paris is called the City of Light. A welcome dinner is included. Overnight Paris Hotel Day 2 Thursday 21 st April Paris (B) This morning s guided tour of Paris includes: The Eiffel Tower and Trocadéro, the Opera house, Champs-Elysées, Arc de Triomphe, Notre- Dame, Concorde Square, Vendôme Square, the Louvre, the Seine River banks and more. Your afternoon is free to explore further this romantic city, perhaps a visit to the famous 18 th -century Royal Palace of Versailles. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Palace of Versailles was the principal residence of the French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Overnight Paris Hotel Gpt 12122015
Day 3 Friday 22 nd April Paris Bayeux Normandy (B L D) Normandy is a must see when visiting Northern France and this morning you farewell Paris and travel to the beautiful northern French town of Bayeux, home to the famous 11 th century tapestry that depicts the Norman Conquest. After visiting the tapestry you lunch and then commence your tour of the D Day Landing beaches. On June 6 th 1944 the invasion began and 135,000 men and 20,000 vehicles were brought onto the shores of Normandy via five landing beaches along 50 miles of coastline. You visit Ranville Cemetery, Pegasus Bridge, the site of the British Glider and Airborne assaults and Sword Beach. Overnight Bayeux Hotel Day 4 Saturday 23 rd April Bayeux Normandy (B L) Continuing your tour of the landing beaches you visit Juno and Gold Beaches, Arromanches and the Mulberry Harbour. Omaha Beach, where the casualty rates in the early stages of the assault were some 50%, Pointe du Hoc and Utah Beach. Lunch is include and you return to Bayeux late afternoon. Overnight Bayeux Hotel Day 5 Sunday 24 th April Bayeux Péronne Arras (B L) After breakfast you farewell Bayuex and travel north to the beautiful township of Arras, known for its tranquility, stunning architecture and great restaurants. En route you visit the imposing Historical de la Grande Guerre Museum in Péronne and the 2nd Australian Division Memorial at Mont St Quentin. After booking into your hotel in Arras you visit the Carrière Wellington, underground museum. Chalk quarries built in medieval times lie under the township of Arras and in 1916; New Zealand and British tunnellers began linking the quarries to create an underground network where soldiers could be quartered. Eight days prior to the battle of Arras 24,000 soldiers of the British and Commonwealth forces lived in these tunnels. Arras like most townships and villages in Northern France was razed by shellfire during the Great War. A law was passed in 1919 which stated that historic monuments damaged by war should be identically rebuilt. Today one of the highlights of Arras is its old town centre which has been carefully and attractively restored. Day 6 Monday 25 th April
ANZAC DAY Villers-Bretonneux Arras (B) A pre-dawn wakeup call will be arranged with coffee and tea available in the foyer. You then depart for the moving dawn service at the Australian War Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, where you will join other Australians in remembering the 295,000, Australians who served and the more than 46,000, who were killed in action or died of wounds. On the completion of the service you return to your hotel in Arras for breakfast. Your time is then free to catch up on some sleep and rest. This afternoon you travel south to Bullecourt to explore the 1917 battlefields including the Slouch Hat Memorial and the Digger Memorial. The commemorative plaque on the Digger Memorial reads. Sacred to the memory of the 10,000 members of the Australian Imperial Force who were killed or wounded in the two battles of Bullecourt, April-May 1917, and to the Australian dead and their comrades-in-arms who lie here forever in the soil of France. Lest we forget. Your day concludes with a visit to the Jean and Denise Letaille Memorial Museum. (Entrance to the museum will depend on crowd numbers) The official Anzac Day Dawn Service commences at 5.30 am. A pre-service program will commence at 4.50 am and all visitors are asked to be seated no later than 5.15 am. Day 7 Tuesday 26 th April Arras (B L) Today you travel south to the 1916 Somme battlefields and the New Foundland Memorial, one of the few sites where the ground remains largely untouched since the First World War ended, the imposing Thiepval Memorial, where the names of more than 72,000 British men missing from the Somme fighting are recorded and the Lochnagar Mine Crater which was blown on the first day of the Battle of the Somme (the crater whilst eroded is still 91 metres in diameter and 21 metres deep) and the Australian Somme Battlefields, or aptly named killing fields of 1916, Pozières and Mouquet Farm, nick named Moo Cow Farm by the Australians. In 45 days the AIF lost a staggering 23,000 men, including 6,800 killed or missing in the fighting at Pozières, around the Windmill and northwards along the ridge towards Mouquet Farm. After visiting the battle sites including the 1 st Australian Division Memorial, you lunch at Le Tommy s Cafe. This afternoon you visit Albert and the Somme 1916 underground Museum, which provides an insight in to how the soldiers lived in the trenches. Our day concludes with a visit to Amiens and the Cathédrale Notre-Dame d Amiens. Day 8 Wednesday 27 th April Arras (B L) This morning you return to Villers Bretonneux and the Adelaide Cemetery, where Australia s Unknown Soldier lay for 75 years before being returned to Australia in 1993, the Franco-Australian Museum. (At the time of writing the Museum is being moved from the Victoria School)and the Australian War Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, This magnificent structure carries the names of 11,000 Australian diggers who
lost their lives and have no known grave. The Memorial is located on a hill and the Tower provides views of the 1918 Australian battlefields. After lunch you visit the Australian Corps Memorial in Le Hamel, the 3 rd Division Memorial in Sailly-le-Sec and depending on weather the Fourth Australian Division Memorial at Bellenglise. (At the time of writing the road to the 4 th Division Memorial is not suitable for coaches) Day 9 Thursday 28 th April Arras Vimy Ridge Fromelles Ypres (B L) Today you farewell Arras and travel north to the gothic township of Ypres, scene of 4 great battles and some of the heaviest fighting of the Great War. En route you visit the majestic Canadian National Memorial on Vimy Ridge and the Fromelles Battlefields. The battle of Fromelles in July 1916 was Australia s and the 5 th Division first major battle on the Western Front and resulted in over 5,500 Australian casualties, with 2,000 killed in action or died of wounds and 400 captured. It has been described as the worst 24 hours in Australia s entire history. You visit the new Cemetery and Museum at Pheasant Wood, VC Corner Australian Cemetery and the Australian Memorial Park, better known as Cobbers which was dedicated on the German front line. After booking into your hotel in Ypres, your evening is free to visit the town square of this beautifully rebuilt medieval town. Day 10 Friday 29 th April Ypres (B L) The Ypres Salient was a battlefield feature that projected into enemy territory curved around Ypres, which was at its centre. The Salient was fiercely fought over from October 1914 until near the end of the war in November 1918.This morning you visit Messines, where the infantry assault on the 7 th June 1917, was preceded by the explosion of 19 huge mines along the German front line, Toronto Avenue Cemetery, which is the only all-australian cemetery in Belgium, Island of Ireland Peace Park, the cratered landscape of Hill 60, Hooge Crater Cemetery and Menin Road. After lunch in Ypres you visit the Flanders Field Museum, with its collection of relics and scenes of the Salient battles, St George s Chapel, St Martin s Cathedral and the ancient Ramparts and Cemetery. This evening you attend the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate, where 54,000 missing British and Commonwealth soldiers are recorded. Two members of the group will be selected to lay a Wreath on behalf of the group. Day 11 Saturday 30 th April Ypres (B L)
After breakfast you continue your tour of the Flanders Battlefields and visit the 5th Australian Division Memorial at Polygon Wood, Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth Cemetery in the world, where two Australian VC winners, Capt. Jeffries and Sgt McGee are laid to rest, Broodseine and the Passchendaele Memorial Museum, which tells the story of one of the bloodiest battles of the Great War, the third battle of Ypres. The Museum keeps the memory of the battle alive through images, films, artefacts and an underground tunnel. You complete the day with a visit to Langemark Cemetery, the only German Cemetery in the Salient. Day 12 Sunday 1 st May Bruges (B) This morning s travels through the Flemish countryside takes us to the historic capital of West Flanders, the charming and preserved medieval town of Bruges, in northern Belgium. Recognized as one of Europe s most charming cities, with its canals, picturesque cobbled streets lined with lace boutiques, tempting chocolate shops and cosy cafes. Today your time is at leisure and on our return to Ypres you visit Essex Farm, where the poem In Flanders Fields was written. Day 13 Monday 2 nd May Ypres Waterloo Brussels (B L D) This morning you farewell Ypres and travel north to Brussels, one of Europe s premier cities which dates back to the 10 th century. En route you visit the Battlefield of Waterloo. The French under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Allied armies commanded by the Duke of Wellington and General Blucher from Prussia, fought on the 18 th June 1815, one of the most decisive battles in the history of Europe. In one day a total of 48,500 men fell or were severely wounded. You walk the battlefield, with the option of climbing the Lion Mound, before visiting the 1912 panoramic painting of the battle and the newly constructed museum, which incorporates a picture theatre. Brussels is only a short drive away and after booking into our hotel your time is at leisure to explore Belgium s capital. This evening there is a farewell dinner which concludes your tour. Overnight Brussels Those visiting Brussels for the first time might like to stay another day and enjoy a sightseeing tour of this classic European city with its small town charm and cosmopolitan attractions. Among the most famous is the Grand Place and Europe s most beautiful medieval square lined with guild houses. Originally built in the 13 th century, the square is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Just a short walk from the Grand Place is the Mannekin Pis, a small bronze statue of a little boy relieving himself. The infamous statue is a great example of Belgium s quirky sense of humour and is often given costumes to mark various occasions, anniversaries or events. The open top hop on hop off buses, have a narrated tour which covers the major sites in an approximate 90 minute circle. There are 13 stops and the buses arrive every 30 minutes allowing you to spend as much or as little time as you like at any of the places of interest.
NB: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (B, L, D) PRICE From $5,300 INCLUSIONS Tour Includes: Accommodation as indicated in the itinerary Transport with private A/C vehicles Entrance fees Sightseeing with our Historian and local guides Meals as indicated in itinerary River Cruise and excursions as per your itinerary Budapest transfer, port charges and cruise ship staff tipping included Battle Tours information kit, including maps, travel information and history of the country. Not Included: International flights (we can provided) Travel Insurance (we can provide) Meals not shown on the itinerary Drinks Laundry Phone calls Optional visits and Personal expenses Gratuities and tipping to local guides Please note: Itinerary and inclusions are subject to change Prices include port charges, gratuities and sundries Disruptions to cruising and itinerary may occur *Complimentary beverages do not include French Champagne, premium spirits and selected wines these are available at an additional cost A Dinner in Burg Namedy s ballroom is unavailable during some sailings. An alternative experience will be provided.