Centre Dufferin
Battlefield
November 5-17, 2013
Day One – Tuesday, November 5/13
Arrive at Pearson International Airport to check-in for your overnight flight to PARIS! Dinner and a light breakfast will be served on board.
Day Two – Wednesday November 6
Arrival in Paris
David Godfrey (REQUEST) your (Tour Leader throughout) will meet you after you have cleared customs and picked up your baggage.
Guided Tour of Paris
A guided tour of this magnificent city awaits your arrival, where you will experience highlights such as Pont-Neuf, the Notre-Dame
Cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe, Chaillot Palace, the Eiffel Tower and L’Opera.
Check in to your hotel
Dinner included at hotel or nearby restaurant
Evening Visit to the Eiffel Tower
Take the elevator up to the third level and gaze down across the Parisian landscape.
Overnight in Paris
Day Three – Thursday, November 7
Breakfast at your hotel
Cruise on the River Seine
Enjoy a relaxing cruise along the River Seine on the famous Bateaux Mouches before taking the rest of the day to discover Paris at your
own pace.
Today is yours to experience! Feel free to revisit your favourite areas of the city, take in a piece of authentic French culture and explore the
local corners of Paris off the beaten path. Make the most of your last day in this beautiful city. Many options will be presented to you.
Dinner on own
Overnight in Paris
Day Four – Friday November 8
Breakfast at your hotel
Guided Tour of the Chateau de Versailles (including the grounds and gardens)
Visit the beautiful 17th century palace and its surrounding gardens. You will see the Grand Apartment, the Hall of Mirrors and the King’s
and Queen’s suites.
Lunch on own
Depart for Bayeux
Check in to the Churchill Hotel
Place de Quebec
14400, Bayeux, Normandy, France
Tel: 0033231213180
Dinner at Taverne des Ducs
41/43 Rue St. Patrice
Tel: 00330231920988
Overnight at Churchill Hotel in Bayeux
Day Five – Saturday November 9
Breakfast at your hotel
Full day Guided Tour
Local Guide: Lucie Hoffman (REQUEST)
Guide Phone #: 0033 603 091 021
Meeting location: Hotel Lobby
Visit to Abbaye d’Ardenne
Visit the Abbaye which was used by the Germans as an observation post during WWII. Here, about 20 captured Canadian soldiers were
executed by the Nazi SS.
Juno Beach Centre - Tour & Reconnaissance for students to prepare for Ceremony
This is Canada’s World War II Normandy museum, with both permanent and temporary exhibits. A tour of the D-Day beach will also take
place.
Visit the Guns at Longues-sur-mer
The Germans had built on cliffs a defensive component of the Atlantic Wall, a massive four large gun battery.
Lunch on your own in Arromanches
See the remains of the artificial harbour (“mulberries”) that was a key component for the eventual Normandy invasion success.
German Cemetery La Cambe
This is a German war cemetery in Lower Normandy and serves as a stark contrast to the Allied equivalents. 21,202 German soldiers are
buried here making it the largest of its kind in France.
Omaha Beach
It is on this beach that one of most historical accounts of perseverance, tragedy, and torture played out. It was at Omaha Beach, on June
6, 1944, that one of the deadliest battles during D-Day occurred. As American soldiers moved to and from the shore as effortless as the
tide, a flawless plan of victory was no match for their tragic course of destiny.
Return to Bayeux
Rest of the evening (including dinner) on your own
Overnight at the Churchill Hotel in Bayeux
Day Six – Sunday November 10
Breakfast at your hotel
Full Day Guided Tour in Normandy
Local Guide: Lucie Hoffman – REQUEST
Bény-sur-Mer Canadian Military Cemetery
This cemetery contains 2,100 Canadian soldiers killed during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Bénysur-Mer was created as a permanent resting place for Canadian soldiers who had been temporarily interred in smaller plots close to
where they fell.
9:30 am – Arrival at Juno Beach Centre to prepare for your Ceremony.
Lunch on your own at the Juno Beach Centre
Bernieres-sur-mer
After lunch, visit the “Queen’s Own Rifles House” – the first private home liberated by Canadian soldiers on D-Day at Bernieres-sur-mer.
Also see the landing beach at St. Aubin.
Visit Pegasus Bridge where the first Allied paratroopers landed on D-Day.
Return to Bayeux
Dinner on your own this evening
Overnight at the Churchill Hotel in Bayeux
Day Seven – Monday November 11
Breakfast at the hotel
Guided Tour of Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park
Of the five memorials established in France and Belgium in memory of major actions fought by the 1st Battalion of the Newfoundland
Regiment, the largest is the thirty hectare site at Beaumont-Hamel, nine kilometres north of the town of Albert. This site commemorates
all Newfoundlanders who fought in the Great War, particularly those who have no known grave.
Lunch at the Ocean Villas Tea Rooms
REQUEST - Including talk and tour of the trenches by Avril Williams
MENU: Buffet Lunch with selections of quiche, cold meats & salads. Tea and Coffee included
Approximate time of arrival at your hotel
Check-in to the Ypres Centrum Hotel
8:00pm – Menin Gate Last Port Ceremony
Every night at 8.00pm a moving ceremony takes place under the Menin Gate in Ypres. For a few moments the noise of traffic ceases and a
stillness descends over the memorial. At exactly 8:00pm up to six members of the regular buglers from the local volunteer Fire Brigade
step into the roadway under the memorial arch. They play Last Post, followed by a short silence and then play Reveille. Visiting groups
may lay a wreath and say a few words. The Last Post Ceremony has become part of the daily life in Ypres and the local people are proud of
this simple but moving tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice of those who fell in defence of their town.
Dinner at your hotel
Overnight at the Novotel Ypres Centrum
Day Eight – Tuesday November 12
Breakfast at your hotel
Visit to the Essex Farm Cemetery
Essex Farm was the location of an Advanced Dressing Station (ADS) during the Great War, and now is the site of a CWGC Cemetery, as well
as the remains of several bunkers some of which were used by the ADS.
The unplanned layout of the graves here reveals the nature of the cemetery. There are 1,199 burials, only 102 of which are unidentified,
again reflecting the location of the cemetery near a dressing station, where casualties returned from action and hence identification was
the norm. There are also 19 special memorials to men believed to be, or known to be, buried here.
Essex Farm Cemetery itself is probably one of the most visited sites in the salient, and this is principally because of its association with
John McCrae.
Flanders Fields Museum
One of the most outstanding World War I museums
Lunch on own in town’s main square
Drive to nearby city of Bruges
“The Venice of the North” Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
A canal tour will be followed by some time to shop for Belgian chocolate, lace, and other items.
Return to Ypres
Dinner included
Rest of the evening on your own
Day Nine - Wednesday November 13
Breakfast at your hotel
Guided tour of Vimy Ridge Canadian Memorial & Grange Tunnel
Canada's most impressive tribute overseas to those Canadians who fought and gave their lives in the First World War is the majestic and
inspiring
Canadian National Vimy Memorial which overlooks the Douai Plain. The Memorial does more than mark the site of the engagement that
Canadians were to remember with more pride than any other operation of the First World War. It stands as a tribute to all who served their
country in battle in that four-year struggle and particularly to those who gave their lives.
Lunch on own
Drive to Wiesbaden, Germany, (500 kms) from Vimy
Dinner included
Overnight at hotel
Day Ten – Thursday November 14
Breakfast at your hotel
Drive to Nuremberg, then to Munich (425 kms) today)
In Nuremberg, visit the Documentation Centre Party Rally Grounds.
The museum is in the north wing of the unfinished remains of the Congress Hall of the former Nazi party rallies. Its permanent exhibition
"Fascination and Terror" is concerned with the causes, connections, and consequences of Nazi Germany. Also, if time permits, visit
Courtroom 600 in the Palace of Justice where the Nuremberg Trials of 1945-6 took place.
Continue on to Munich
Lunch on own
Welcome to Munich!
Munich is the capital city of Bavaria (Bayern), Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third
largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg. There are about 1.35 million people living within city limits.
Dinner included
Overnight at hotel
Day Eleven – Friday November 15
Breakfast at your hotel
Munich City tour
Following breakfast, enjoy a 3 hour guided city walking tour. You will see such things as the Marienplatz with its famous Glockenspiel, the
museum district and the Frauenkirche.
Lunch on your own
Dachau Concentration Camp – Audio Guide tour Opened in 1933, Dachau Concentration Camp served as a prototype for all subsequent
camps in the Nazi network until its liberation by the Allies in 1945. Visitors today can tour the infamous compound that housed over
200,000 prisoners during its twelve year operation.
Return to Munich
Dinner and Bavarian music entertainment at the world renowned Hofbrauhaus
Overnight in Munich
Day Twelve – Saturday November 16
Following breakfast, depart at 8:30am and drive to Berchtesgaden.
Visit the Documentation center, Obersalzberg (Audio guide included)
To date, the Obersalzberg Documentation is the only permanent exhibition worldwide to cover all essential aspects of the Nazi period.
After your visit of the documentation, walk down into the bunkers. The construction of the bunker complex at Obersalzberg began in the
summer of 1943. The system was unsuitable for military purposes.
Continue with a visit to Salzburg
Welcome to Salzburg. Salzburg's "Old Town" (Altstadt) has internationally renowned baroque architecture and one of the best-preserved
city centres north of the Alps. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its Alpine setting.
Enjoy some free time for lunch and to go shopping or explore the area. See sites associated with the 1965 movie “The Sound of Music.”
At 5:00pm, board the coach for your return to Munich
Day Thirteen - Sunday, November 17
Breakfast at hotel
Transfer to Munich Airport; flight back to Toronto; late afternoon arrival in Toronto.