Somme and Vimy Ridge WWI private tour from Paris

About this tour

The Somme and Vimy Ridge are two of the most moving battlefields of the First World War. On the first day of the Somme, 1 July 1916, the British Army suffered more than 57,000 casualties; at Vimy in April 1917 the four Canadian divisions, fighting together for the first time, took the ridge.

Your guide takes you through preserved trenches, explains the tactics and conditions soldiers faced, and connects each place with the stories of the men who fought there.

Itinerary

A typical day. As the tour is private, every stop can be changed.

1. 6:30 am
   Pickup in Paris At your hotel, with a coffee and croissant stop on the way.
2. Frise viewpoint
   The Somme valley A hilltop view over the valley that explains the geography of the 1916 offensive.
3. Beaumont-Hamel
   Trenches and no man’s land The best-preserved battlefield of the Somme, where the Newfoundland Regiment was almost destroyed on 1 July 1916.
4. Le Hamel
   Australians and Americans in 1918 The memorial to the combined attack of 4 July 1918, planned by General Monash.
5. German trench
   Recently uncovered positions A section of the German line seen from the other side.
6. Lunch
   Local restaurant In a village restaurant or sandwiches in the van.
7. Lochnagar crater
   The great mine One of the largest mine craters of the Western Front, blown on the morning of 1 July 1916.
8. Amiens cathedral
   A Gothic masterpiece The largest cathedral in France, with its labyrinth and a relic said to be part of the head of John the Baptist.
9. Vimy Ridge
   The Canadian memorial The monument and preserved trenches on the ridge taken by the Canadian Corps in April 1917.
10. Compiègne
    The Armistice clearing Where the Armistice of 1918 was signed and where France signed the armistice of June 1940.
11. 8 pm
    Back in Paris Drop-off at your hotel, depending on traffic.

What’s included

Practical information

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