Arrival at Paris airport. Transfer to hotel. Free time to relax or to explore the French capitals grand boulevards. Welcome dinner and overnight in Paris.

Our morning city tour features a visit of Notre Dame Cathedral, see the Arc de Triumphe, Opera, Louvre and Champs-Elysées. Enjoy an ascent of the Tour Montparnasse for wonderful views over the city. Balance of the day at leisure. Optional afternoon excursion to the Palace of Versailles. Dinner and overnight in Paris.

Enjoy a scenic drive through the rural area west of Paris. Our first stop is the historic Rouen in the lower valley of the River Seine. Visit of the Gothic Cathedral with paintings by Monet; we will also see the square where the 19 years old Joan of Arc was burned in 1431. Continue to Caen and visit of the Caen Memorial, which is regarded as the best World War II museum in France with great exhibits of the Battle of Normandy. The Caen Memorial also includes exhibits on other failures and triumphs of peace, such as September 11th and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Dinner and overnight in Caen.

After breakfast we drive to the Normandy landing beaches and visit the Omaha military cemetery, continue to Bayeux and visit the Tapestry Museum in Bayeux. In the afternoon visit of the Benedictine Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, connected to the mainland via a thin natural land bridge, which before modernization was covered at high tide and revealed at low tide, giving the mount a mystical quality. Dinner and overnight in Caen.

Our trip today stops at the World Heritage Site Le Havre. At the beginning of September 1944, a great part of Le Havre was destroyed, creating a “tabula rasa”, a clean slate. From the station, people can see the sea. Nothing was left but rubble and ashes. Le Havre, martyr city, only was freed of the Nazi scourge after a twelve day siege under a barrage of fire. After lunch break we continue on to Amiens. Dinner and overnight in Amiens.

The battlefields of the Somme take centre stage today. Stop at Villers-Brettoneux to visit the memorial to Australian soldiers who lost their lives in WWI. Carry on to Thiepval to see the poignant memorial which honours the 72,337 missing British and South African men who died with no known graves. We drive further to Reims. Dinner and overnight in Reims.

Morning City tour of Reims followed by a visit of the Surrender room. On Monday, 7 May 1945 in the War Room of General Eisenhower’s supreme headquarters (S.H.A.E.F.), which occupied part of what was Reims’ technical college, the Allied Forces put an end to the Second World War in Europe. The site was subsequently turned into a museum in 2005, including its Salle de la Signature, which has remained intact. In the afternoon enjoy a visit of a Champagne winery. Discover a collection of Champagne tools from the 19th century. Our guide will explain to you in detail all the stages of the elaborations of champagne. During the tasting, the blends of the Champagnes will be highlighted by tasting comments and suggestions for food and wine pairings. Dinner and overnight in Reims.

On our way to Luxembourg we stop at the “Douamount ossuary” – a memorial containing the remains of soldiers who died on the battlefield during the Battle of Verdun in World War I. It is located in Douaumont/France within the Verdun battlefield. Dinner and overnight in Luxembourg city.

This morning experience one of the greatest battles of the second World War. Located close to the famous Mardasson Memorial the Bastogne War Museum is the principal memorial dedicated to the Second World War in the Ardennes and Belgium. It offers a particular emphasis on the Battle of Bulge. Through the use of scenography, witness testimonial, multi-media installation the route through the exhibition appeals not only to the intellect but to the emotions, giving visitors the feeling that this story belongs to each and every one of us. Continue on to Aachen. Dinner and overnight in Aachen.

Morning departure to Cologne followed by a guided city tour. See the Bridge at Remagen, which, in early March 1945, was a critical remaining bridge across the river Rhine in Germany when it was captured during the Battle of Remagen by United States Army forces during the closing weeks of World War II. Built in World War I to help deliver reinforcements and supplies to the German troops on the Western Front, it connected Remagen on the west bank and the village of Erpel on the eastern side between two hills flanking the river. In the afternoon enjoy a relaxing Rhine River Cruise to Rudesheim. Transfer to our hotel in Frankfurt by coach. Dinner and overnight in Frankfurt.

Transfer to Frankfurt Airport.