Normandy Landings 85th Anniversary

Full day guided tour. London West End: Trafalgar Square; Whitehall and 10 Downing Street, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace. The hotel which served as the clandestine base for the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Lunch. See the building where ‘Operation Overlord’ was planned and where Sir Winston Churchill delivered his victorious VE Day speech. The statues dedicated to notable Allied figures including Churchill, Eisenhower and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The American Eagle Squadrons Memorial. Visit the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms.
Dinner on own

Early morning departure to Paris on the Eurostar. Transported by private motor coach to Normandy. 
This afternoon we visit the British 6th Airborne Division sector during the opening hours of D-Day, 6 June 1944. Pegasus Bridge. In the first minutes after midnight on D-Day, three Horsa gliders carrying troops of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, commanded by Major John Howard, landed only yards from the bridge. Pegasus Memorial Museum. Ranville War Cemetery.
Lunch on own. Dinner included. 

Today we follow the path of the American soldiers who stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day—from the Rangers' daring cliff assault at Pointe du Hoc, to the cemetery overlooking the battlefield.
Pointe du Hoc, the spectacular cliff-top position between Omaha and Utah Beaches where before dawn on D-Day, the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled 100-foot cliffs under enemy fire to destroy German artillery. Standing on Omaha beach today provides a powerful appreciation of the challenges faced by the men of the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions landing under intense machine-gun, mortar, and artillery fire. American Cemetery, that contains the graves of 9,388.
Box lunch. Dinner included

We take part in the American ceremony at the US Normandy Cemetery and remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. Full information will not be known until early 2029.
Box lunch. Dinner included. 

A full-day tour of the U.S. Airborne sector where American paratroopers and infantry landed on and behind the beaches on D-Day. Sainte-Mère-Église. 82nd Airborne Division descended in the early hours of D-Day. Visit the Airborne Museum. Brécourt Manor, where a group from Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, led by Richard Winters and his ‘Band of Brothers’, attacked a German artillery battery.
Utah Beach, where due to currents and navigation errors, the first waves of the 4^th Infantry Division landed about a mile south of their intended position. Carentan and Dead Man's Corner. La Cambe German Cemetery.
Lunch on own. Dinner included.

Today we drive along the British and Canadian sectors of the Normandy landings. See the remains of Mulberry B, the artificial harbour constructed by the Allies immediately after D-Day. Gold Beach, the British landing sector assigned primarily to the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division. Juno Beach, where troops of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division faced fierce resistance, particularly around Courseulles-sur-Mer. Sword Beach, the easternmost British landing beach, assigned to the British 3rd Infantry Division, supported by commandos and special service units, including Lord Lovat and his personal piper Bill Millin. Drive to Paris, arrive at approximately 18:00 hrs.
Lunch and dinner on own.

Additional Option: Dinner cruise on the River Seine

Morning city tour of Paris: Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. The arc was a focal point of the Liberation parades led by the U.S. 28th Infantry Division. The American church which during WWII, remained open under neutral American administration, serving as a critical refuge for Allied sympathizers and stranded citizens. The quiet square, which features monuments dedicated to American volunteers and allies who fought to liberate France. Afternoon at leisure.
Lunch on own. Farewell dinner.

Breakfast. 10:00am coach transfer from hotel to the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.