Nord-Pas-de-Calais

Day Trips

In Bruges you will enjoy the view of the peaceful Lake of Love and the picturesque Beguinage. Your guide will explain the stories and secrets behind the city’s history from the Viking period until the end of the Middle Ages. Catch many of the highlights of Bruges: the Basilica of the Holly blood of Jesus, the Belfry tower, our Lady’s Church, Saint John’s hospital and enjoy a pleasant boat trip along the narrow canals. After a short lunch break you willl leave for Flanders Fields. Your expert guide will lead you throughout the visit to help you understand the events that led to the first world war and how the catastrophe developed. Visit Passchendaele battlefield and the Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world where British, Australian and Canadian soldiers were laid to rest. Close by is Polygone where every year Anzac Day is celebrated at dawn. Then visit the Monument of the ‘Brooding Soldier’, which commemorates the sacrifice of 2,000 Canadian soldiers during the first German gas attack. Next, your coach will take you to Essex Farm. This was the dressing station where Dr. John McCrae wrote the famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields.’ After a set lunch in the outskirts of Ypres, drive to France to visit the awesome Vimy Memorial, museum and trenches. If time allows, you will also visit close to Ypres Hill 60 where Australian diggers detonated great underground mines. At 8:00 PM, you attend the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate, a daily tribute to all Commonwealth soldiers and officers that were missing after battle. The tour offers ample opportunity for reflection and to take pictures.

This visit starts at a German cemetery, from where you will move onto the WW1 trenches and Essex Farm Cemetery, where John McCrae wrote the famous poem "In Flanders Fields", after a friend’s burial on the site. Head to your first stop, Bruges. Enjoy the view of the peaceful Lake of Love and the picturesque Beguinage. Learn about the stories and secrets behind the city’s history from the Viking period until the end of the Middle Ages from your guide. See the highlights of Bruges like the Basilica of the Holy Blood of Jesus, the Belfry Tower, our Lady’s Church, Saint John’s Hospital, and more. You even have the option to enjoy a pleasant boat trip along the narrow canals. After a short lunch break, leave for Flanders Fields. At The Brooding Soldier, a statue towering over Langemark in permanent honor of the Canadian resistance during the German gas attack of 1915, take a moment for commemoration and photos. Continue to the Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world, and Hill 60 or Hill 62. In France, visit of Vimy Memorial and the trench site. As the highlight of the tour, attend the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate, a daily tribute to all of Britain’s missing soldiers and officers. Choose between a private and a shared option.

Join a small group for a thought provoking day of remembrance. Discover the many cemeteries, memorials and traces of battles from the First World War along the path of the Western Front. Stop off for a exploration of The Artois where the gently rolling landscape is full of reminders of the bloody battles fought there. Visit a site of major significance to Canadians, The Canadian National Commemorative Park at Vimy. Here, see many scars on the land such as trenches, mine craters, and ridge tunnels which were used to shelter Allied troops as they came under fire from German artillery. The strategic value of Vimy Ridge and its famous network of tunnels made it a strategic possession, and the German occupation of Vimy Ridge was a major threat to any advance in the Somme region. The British- and Canadian-led battle took possession back during April 1917. Also enjoy free time in the beautiful historical town of Arras. As the day progresses major sites such as the Cabaret Rouge Cemetery in Souchez will be revealed, all reminders of those other soldiers, from Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries who also contributed and fought to give us the peace we enjoy today. This tour will give you the opportunity to honor all those who gave up their lives.