Daily Itinerary

Day 1 – Aug 22 – Departure.  Depart your hometown airport for an International Portal for the flight to Charles De Gaulle Airport Paris (CDG).  Dinner and a continental breakfast served aboard.  

Day 2 - Aug 23 - Arrival in France.   Arrive at CDG and make your way to our conveniently-located airport hotel.  MHT will provide a one night accommodations for two (with breakfast) in our airport hotel the night before your tour formally begins. An early evening complimentary Wine Welcome is planned to meet the other D-Day tour participants. Hotel: Hilton Paris CDG Airport. 

Day 3 - Aug 24- Paris to Caen.
We will bid farewell to Paris and head for Caen. However, before we head to Normandy we make a stop at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Cemetery commemorates the birthplace of US combat aviation & serves as a symbol of the Franco-American comradeship during WWI. This site honors the volunteer US pilots who flew with French squadrons during the Great War. It is the final resting place for 49 of America’s first combat aviators & 2 of their French Officers. On the way to Caen we stop at William the Conqueror’s Tomb & Caen Castle. RON Hotel: Best Western Plus Le Moderne, Caen. Meals: Breakfast -Included daily. L & D - On Own (OO).

Day 4 - Aug 25 - Normandy D-Day. 
Our first day in Normandy starts with the famed Pegasus Bridge & Museum.  The bridges across the River Orne & the Caen canal had to be captured & held intact to enable the seaborne reinforcements to cross.  The result was textbook example of a successful operation. Next stop is the German Merville Battery.  The gun battery had to be put out of action. The 100mm caliber guns could fire down on to Sword Beach & the Allied fleet off the coast.  Although successful, it was a nearly disastrous operation.  On display is a restored C-47 aircraft from D-Day. Before lunch we see Arromanches. The remains of one of the two artificial "Mulberry" harbors erected in the landing operation may still be seen.  Lunch OO at Port-en-Bessin. A picturesque fishing port that was home to one of the 'Pipelines Under the Sea' (PLUTO) pumping stations. After lunch we walk the Longes-sur-Mer German coastal defense battery, probably the best remaining example of such a battery in Normandy. The rest of the day is used to explore Omaha Beach was the most intensely contested beach on D-Day. It is six miles wide – the largest of all the five beaches. The entire beach was overlooked by cliffs which made attacking the area very difficult.  You will walk the sands where the liberation of France began 79 years ago.  29th Infantry Division.  Our tour will include the seawall, bunkers, & other German defenses along the beach.  The western half of the beach was assigned to the untested US 29th Infantry Division.  Vierville Draw where the 29th landed was featured in both "The Longest Day " and "Saving Private Ryan." 1st Infantry Division was assigned the eastern half of Omaha Beach. The battle-hardened “Big Red One” stormed ashore and began fighting for its life on a strip of beach near Coleville-sur-Mer that had been marked the "Easy Red" on battle maps. Slowly, spurred by the individual heroism of many individuals, the move inland got underway.  Also at Omaha Beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer. we see the American Indian Monument, a sculptured granite turtle, a tribute to the 175 American Indian soldiers who struggled up this shore on D-Day so they are never forgotten. RON Hotel: Best Western Plus Le Moderne. Meals: B & L/D-OO.

Day 5 - Aug 26 - Normandy D-Day. 
After breakfast, we visit the Overlord Museum.  This privately-owned museum just outside the Cemetery gate chronicles the period of the Allied landing until the liberation of Paris.  The collection was assembled by someone who was both a witness to the conflict & involved in the reconstruction of Normandy.  Personal items from individual soldiers & armored fighting vehicles from the six armies in Normandy are presented in set displays showing over 35 vehicles, tanks and guns. We move to the famous cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. The 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled the 100-foot cliffs to eliminate the German heavy guns that could threaten both Utah and Omaha beaches. At a high cost, they successfully defended against determined German counterattacks for two days. The Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument was erected by the French to honor the incredible courage of the Rangers.  Next up is Utah Beach, the westernmost of the five landing beaches.  The beach was situated on the east at the edge of a marshland zone which had been flooded by the Germans. Only four causeways could be used to cross this marshland & reach inland.  The 4th Infantry Division's objective, supported by airborne landings of the 82nd & 101st Airborne Divisions, was to secure a beachhead on the Cotentin Peninsula.  The division only lost 197 men during the day & by the night of June 6th, 20,000 men & 1,700 vehicles were ashore. It was for his actions that day that Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Assistant Division Commander, earned the division’s first Medal of Honor.  The Utah Beach D-Day Museum is built on the very beach where the first American troops landed.  A restored, original B-26 “Marauder” bomber is among the displays. After lunch, we stop at  La Cambe German Cemetery before we walk the intriguing Maisy Battery, The fight for the capture of the battery lasted days between a German Regiment & paratroopers of the 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne & rangers of the 5th Bn. The  battery disappeared until 2005 as US Army Engineers bulldozed it over with earth, allowing it to remain unseen for over 60 years. RON Hotel: Best Western Plus Le Moderne. Meals: B & L/D - OO.

Day 6 - Aug 27 - Normandy D-Day. 
In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the American airborne forces successfully executed some of the most difficult and challenging missions of D-Day.   Their objectives were to secure the invasion right flank against German counterattacks and secure the causeways off Utah Beach. Our first stop is at Brecourt Manor.  The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment’s assault by Easy Company on the German howitzer battery that was disrupting the exit leading off Utah Beach was immortalized in the HBO series “Band of Brothers”. It is often cited as a classic example of small-unit tactics and leadership in overcoming a larger enemy force.  82nd Airborne Division paratroopers were to capture objectives in the area west of the Allied amphibious invasion, specifically the town of Sainte-Mère-Eglise & the La Fière bridge.  Ste Mere Eglise was another site made famous by the film, "The Longest Day." A mannequin of a paratrooper hangs from the church spire as “Red” Buttons did in the film.  A must see is The Airborne Forces Museum that has a C-47 troop transport aircraft that flew in the invasion & a rare WACO glider on display.  The 101st Airborne Division’s objectives were to secure the four causeway exits behind Utah Beach to ensure the exit route for the 4th Infantry Division from the beach later that morning.  We finish the day in Bayeux. The first city of the Battle of Normandy to be liberated. The buildings in Bayeux were virtually untouched as was the historic tapestry during the Battle of Normandy, the German forces being fully involved in defending Caen from the Allies. RON Hotel: Best Western Plue Le Moderne. Meals: B &L/D - OO.

Day 7 - Aug 28 - Normandy D-Day.
After breakfast we depart for Coleville Cemetery. After lunch, we have the chance to be part of a Calvados Tasting. The group has the chance to taste some of the region's specialties including Calvados (the Spirit of Normandy a choice apple brandy) with a visit to a local distillery. RON Hotel: Best Western Plus Le Moderne. Meals: B/L &D - OO.

Day 8 - Aug 29- Depart for Reims.
We depart for Reims, on the way to visit the iconic Battle of Belleau Wood with its beautiful memorials with the famed Bulldog Fountain & “Iron Mike” statute. Lunch at Chateau-Thierry scene of the massive First Battle of the Marne, Second Battle of the Marne & 3rd Infantry Division battlefield.  Our next stop is the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery & Memorial contains the remains of 6,012 American war dead, most of whom lost their lives while fighting in this vicinity in 1918 during World War I. The memorial is a curving colonnade, flanked at the ends by a chapel & a map room. It is built of rose-colored sandstone with white trim bearing sculptured details of wartime equipment. The chapel contains an altar of carved stone. Engraved upon its Walls of the Missing are 241 names. The map room contains an engraved & colored wall map portraying the military operations in this region during 1918. Afterward, we head to Reims with a brief stop at the spectacular Reims Cathedral. RON Hotel: Reims Holiday Inn Centre. Meals: B / L & D - OO.

Day 9 - Aug 30 -  World War I - Bastogne. 
Our route will take us eastward through the beautiful countryside that once was a shell-scarred wasteland crisscrossed with French & German trench lines.  The terrain feature known as the Plateau Chemin des Dames was the scene of costly attacks & stalemate. After The Great War, France faced a changed strategic situation. Consequently, France conceived of the Maginot Line, a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles & weapon strong points constructed during the 1930s.  We will take a two hour underground tour of Fort du Hackenberg, the largest single fort in the line with its 1000-man garrison. This is a real journey back in time & into the history of one of the most formidable fortifications of the 20th Century.  Afterward, we journey to Bastogne, Belgium, with a brief stop at the Luxembourg American Cemetery where we pause to pay our respects to the fallen, including the late General George S. Patton Jr. RON Hotel: Melba AV. Mathieu Bastogne. Meals: B / L & D - OO.

Day 10 - Aug 31 - Battle of the Bulge. 
MHT is most fortunate to have as our local guide, Joel Lamberty “Mr. Bulge” In the three days we are with Joel, we will visit McAuliffe Square with its famous Sherman tank, the Bastogne Historical Center, Shuman’s Crossroads, plus we travel Patton’s route to relieve Bastogne on the Clochimont to Assenois Road. RON Hotel: Melba AV. Mathieu Bastogne. Meals: B / L & D - OO.

Day 11 - Sept 1 - Battle of the Bulge. 
After breakfast, we depart for the "Siegfried Line" with its signature "Dragon’s Teeth,” the site of the in-famous "Malmedy Massacre" & see one of only 11 German “King” Tiger II tanks remaining in the world. After lunch we walk the Bois Jacques the treeline with the famous "foxholes" of the "Easy Company" (from the series "Band of Brothers.") Followed by a visit to the German Cemetery in Recogne, Joel will have special access to the Belgium military base from where General McAuliffe sent his famous reply, “NUTS!” to the German surrender demand. RON Hotel: Melba AV. Mathieu Bastogne. Meals: B / L & D – OO.  

Day 12 - Sept 2 - Drive to Paris.     
We depart for Reims, on the way we will stop at the “Armistice Clearing” near Compiegne & a walk through the small museum housing a sister coach to Marshal Foch’s “Surrender Carriage” where WWI essentially ended & where the French capitulated to Hitler in June 1940. In a way, it is the place where WWI ended & WWII began. We head to the “City of Light.” RON Hotel: Concorde Montparnasse. Meals:  B / L & D - OO.

Day 13 - Sept 3 - Paris.  
Free day to tour Paris.  RON Hotel: Concorde Montparnasse. Meals:  B / L & D - OO.

Day 14 - Sept 4 - Paris Departure.  
Individual departure on your own schedule to the airport for your return flight to the USA, arriving same day. Meals: B.