Trip to Normandy

[caliope]

Hello all!

I'm sure I've read that fellow B-G'ers have taken trips to visit Normandy and other French war sites. As we are planning a trip to England in the next few years, we've also decided to visit France to see some of the battle areas and visit some of the graveyards as well as the spectacular Canadian memorial. I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice as to how they planned their trip, whether there were any tours available to these areas, notable areas to see etc.

Any information appreciated as I'm not sure how we will even get to France from England unless we take a ferry across the channel as I did when I was a young girl?

Thank you!

[Procat]

Hi Caliope,

if you got to the Great War Forum you will find many posts about touring the battlefields.

[Retlaw]

Hello all!

I'm sure I've read that fellow B-G'ers have taken trips to visit Normandy and other French war sites. As we are planning a trip to England in the next few years, we've also decided to visit France to see some of the battle areas and visit some of the graveyards as well as the spectacular Canadian memorial. I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice as to how they planned their trip, whether there were any tours available to these areas, notable areas to see etc.

Any information appreciated as I'm not sure how we will even get to France from England unless we take a ferry across the channel as I did when I was a young girl?

Thank you!

I think you will get far better advice on this subject if you consulted the experts, The Western Front Association.

https://frontforum.westernfrontassociation.com/



Retlaw.

[leamington]

Hello Caliope

Some years ago I was the WFA's Tours Officer (then became it's Chairman and later founded the Great War Forum!). Rather than jump in and start asking things at either forum, I suggest you do a little background work.

You really have three choices:
1. Go on an organised tour departing from UK;
2. Travel to France independently and organise your own way round;
3. Travel to France and pick up a locally organised tour.

The historical sites of Normandy and the Western Front of WW1 are quite far apart and you need to look at them as two quite distinct things.

There are several tour operators who run good battlefield tours to both, departing from UK. It makes it all very easy for you but of course you are constrained to their itinerary and travel with a busload of others.

Travelling independently is, these days, very straightforward. You do have to cross the English Channel, but you have a number of choices. Very frequent car/passenger ferries go from Dover to Calais; you can take your car or go as a foot passenger through the Channel Tunnel. The French terminal is near Calais (Sangatte). Either way if you have a car you are straight onto the excellent French motorway system.

You could alternatively travel by super-fast Eurostar train from London or in Kent, to one of the (few) stations en route to Paris, which include Lille.

Travelling to Normandy can be done from a Calais arrival but is a long drive. You could take a longer Channel crossing from say Portsmouth to Caen (Ouistreham - right on the D-day beaches).

There are plenty of hotels and small bed and breakfasts in both areas. If you travel with an organised party this is taken care of for you.

The final possibility is that you get there independently but use the services of the many local battlefield tour companies that will show you around their local area.

My suggestion to begin is
> figure out where you really want to go. You could not cover the whole of the two battlefield areas in detail unless you had a free couple of months.
> figure out your best choice for actually travelling to France
> figure out whether you want go with an organised group.

Hope that helps.

[caliope]

Thank you, Procat and Retlaw . I didn't know about these websites and will certainly be able to go through them thoroughly as my trip isn't for another couple of years. I'm doing very preliminary planning right now.

Leamington, your information was exactly the sort of thing I needed. Right now where we want to go or how to travel will depend on time, expense etc. You've given me some observations and info I can research. Thank you for your help.