14-day NORMANDY TO NUREMBERG D-DAY PE

If you choose the Mont-Saint-Michel Add-on you should arrive the day before. Passengers are greeted at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and transferred by coach to Normandy. After an orientation dinner to get to know your fellow patriots, we spend the next few days exploring the iconic shores of the Normandy Landings. The first two days of this leg will focus on the American landing beaches Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, where we will pay our respects to the heroism that contributed to this battle that changed history. We will visit the Normandy American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach to discover the sacrifice of those servicemen who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. We then visit the British landing beaches, Gold Beach, Juno Beach and Sword Beach, where our fellow Allied troops fought to secure a foothold in Europe. On the landing beaches, we will learn more about Hitler’s feared Atlantic Wall and see how the German forces tried to stop the Allied invasion forces.

The second leg of our journey heads east to Belgium to follow the war stories of the American paratroopers described in the famous book by Stephen Ambrose. We will visit the sites of the Battle of the Bulge, the foxholes of Bois Jacques, and the military vehicles on display at the Bastogne Barracks. You’ll have ample time to explore these quaint areas independently and appreciate the incredible history and awe-inspiring monuments of this vital region. We cross border to Luxembourg to pay our respects to the fallen soldiers at Luxembourg American Cemetery where General Patton is also buried. This will be followed by a walking tour in the nearby, vibrant Luxembourg City, the capital of this small country.

Our journey culminates in Germany, where we will explore the genesis and defeat of Hitler’s Nazi Party. We begin by exploring the somber site of the first Nazi concentration camp of Dachau, where we can pay our respects to the victims of Hitler’s genocide. We then head to Munich to learn about the Third Reich before we visit Obersalzberg and the Eagle’s Nest. We also discover the city of Nuremberg infamous for its former Nazi Party Rallies, carefully planned propaganda events and post-war trials indicting Nazi leaders in the Palace of Justice. Our walking tour brings us closer to the historical center, the one-time capital of the Holy Roman Empire. The tour ends with a chance for reflection and community over a farewell dinner. The next day, our Passengers are brought to Nuremberg’s airport for their return flights.