We look forward to welcoming you on our journey to England and France!
Please visit the Flights page for more information regarding making flight arrangements.
Below is your preliminary itinerary. Please note that the order of activities, the time of events, and some scheduled activities may change. We do our best to adhere to the promised itinerary, but we greatly appreciate your flexibility and understanding when changes do occur. There is no refund for joining a trip late or leaving early.
Sunday, May 31 – Depart the U.S.
Depart the U.S. on individual flights for London.
Monday, June 1 – London
Arrive in London and transfer to your hotel. Gather as a group in the early afternoon for a guided visit to Winston Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms and the adjoining Museum. It is from this underground “safe place” that Churchill directed the British war effort and where today one can still see maps, telephones and bunks preserved since 1945. This evening, enjoy a private reception and dinner.
(Reception, Dinner)
Tuesday, June 2 – London / Bletchley Park
Travel to Bletchley Park and discover the real story behind the Enigma code breakers, credited with shortening the war by successfully deciphering the encryption used by the Wehrmacht to safeguard its messages. Enjoy an explanation of the decoder, as seen in the movie The Imitation Game.
After lunch at leisure, pay a visit to the HMS Belfast, part of the Imperial War Museum.
(Breakfast)
Wednesday, June 3 – London / Portsmouth / Normandy
This morning, travel south to Portsmouth. Enjoy a pre-opening visit to The Golden Lion Pub, which was converted into an officer’s mess during World War II. Surrounded by photographs and memorabilia, stand in the very same spot where Eisenhower would enjoy a pint. Explore the charming Southwick Village on your own, then embark on a tour of the D-Day Story. Board the last surviving Landing Craft Tank from the invasion, examine the Overlord Embroidery – a stunning handcrafted depiction of the D-Day events that stretches some 270 feet – and see a replica of the map General Eisenhower used to plot Allied positions. This museum aims to focus on the personal stories of those who landed on the beaches of Normandy.
This afternoon, cross the English Channel by ferry and arrive in Normandy in the late evening.
(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Explore the village of Sainte-Mère-Église, where the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division paratroopers dropped from the sky in a hail of gunfire on the night of June 5. View the church steeple upon which one unlucky paratrooper was entangled for hours and visit the village’s remarkable museum.
Continue to Utah Beach, the site of one of the two American amphibious landings in the early hours of D-Day. Stop for lunch at Le Roosevelt, a restaurant built around a former German bunker just steps from the historic beach. This afternoon, pay a visit to the German war cemetery at La Cambe.
(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Friday, June 5 – Pointe Du Hoc / Arromanches / Bayeux
One of the most dramatic sites along the Normandy coastline is Pointe du Hoc, where U.S. Rangers used hooks and ropes to scale cliffs some 100 feet high in order to destroy key German gun positions. Walk along cliff-top pathways still cratered by mortar blasts, and venture into the concrete bunkers from which German forces unleashed a barrage of artillery fire.
Travel to Arromanches, one of the few remnants of the prefabricated concrete harbors (i.e. mulberries) that assisted in landing Allied supplies and visit the Arromanches Landing Museum. After a lunch at leisure, travel to Bayeux, where you will have time to explore the town before a guided visit to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux. Then visit the Pegasus Memorial Bridge and Museum—dedicated to the men of the 6th British Airborne Division. Explore this museum on a guided tour, the exhibits recounting the battle for this strategic location in 1944.
(Breakfast)
Saturday, June 6 – Colleville-sur-Mer / Omaha Beach
This morning, visit the Overlord Museum, then walk along Omaha Beach, site of the bloodiest fighting of the invasion day. At the Omaha Beach Memorial, lay flowers in honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. After a picnic lunch, commemorate the D-Day anniversary at the American Military Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer to honor those who sacrificed so much. Attending any ceremonies and visisting the Cemetery on June 6 is subject to confirmation and details will be announced closer to the event. This evening, celebrate your journey with a farewell reception and dinner.
(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Reception)
Sunday, June 7 – Depart Paris
Depart as a group from Normandy to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris for individual flights home or onward.
(Breakfast)