18-Day Normandy to Krakow Tour - 2020

Itinerary

• Day 1

  Passengers are greeted at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and transferred by coach to Normandy. In the evening there is an introduction to the tour and a chance for the passengers to introduce themselves over a welcome drink.

• Day 2

  We begin the day with a visit to Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. The day continues with a trip to Pointe du Hoc, where Rudder’s Rangers ascended the steep cliffs to take out the long-range artillery firing on the landing beaches.

• Day 3

  We spend the day exploring Utah Beach. We stop at the monument near Brecourt Manor, site of Easy Company’s famous assault on a German artillery position. The afternoon features visits to Utah Beach itself and Sainte-Mere-Eglise. The day ends with a visit to Dead Man’s Corner Museum in St-Come-du-Mont with an opportunity to buy authentic and replica WWII items.

• Day 4

  The day begins with a trip to Longues-sur-Mer, the only German battery in Normandy with the guns still in place. We then travel to the town of Arromanches-les-Bains where we visit the Circular Cinema and Gold Beach with its remnant Mulberry Harbor. In the afternoon we stop at Juno and Sword beaches and we cross Pegasus Bridge.

• Day 5

  After breakfast in Normandy we travel to Belgium with regular stops along the way.

• Day 6

  In the morning we tour the sites of the Battle of the Bulge. We stop at the Mardasson Monument, which pays tribute to the Allied resolve during this critical period. The foxholes of Bois Jacques highlight the morning itinerary. After lunch we visit the Bastogne War Museum.

• Day 7

  We spend the day exploring the northern arc of the Bulge. We travel to Malmedy and La Gleize, where we follow the advance and demise of Colonel Jochen Peiper’s battlegroup and pay witness to the atrocities committed by SS troops.

• Day 8

  We pay a visit to the Luxembourg American Cemetery, the final resting place of many 101st paratroopers as well as General George S. Patton, on our way to the city of Munich.

• Day 9

  In the morning we visit the infamous Dachau Concentration Camp, which features a full-scale museum detailing Nazi atrocities. In the afternoon a local guide leads us on a Third Reich Tour of Munich.

• Day 10

  The day involves a trip to Berchtesgaden, site of Hitler’s Bavarian retreat and the Eagle’s Nest. We start with a scenic drive up to the Eagle’s Nest itself. We then pay a visit to Dokumentation Obersalzberg, an exhibit set atop the bunker complex that was to serve as the Nazis’ last stand.

• Day 11

  In the morning we leave Munich for Austria and have lunch on the road. In the afternoon we visit the Mauthausen memorial at the site of the former Nazi concentration camp. We spend the night in Vienna.

• Day 12

  The day begins with a walking tour of Vienna in the footsteps of the Habsburgs. After lunch we visit one of the three flak towers of Vienna and walk along the Mariahilfer Strasse to get a taste of downtown Vienna.

• Day 13

  We travel through the Austrian and Hungarian countryside to the beautiful city of Budapest, capital of Hungary and the heart of Central Europe. We visit the castle district in the afternoon and then we make our way up Gellert Hill to the city’s Citadel for a beautiful view of Budapest by night.

• Day 14

  We start the day with a walking tour of the Jewish district, including a visit to the Dohany Street Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe and second largest in the world. We spend the afternoon exploring the rich cultural sights of the city and taking a river cruise on the Danube.

• Day 15

  The day features travel to Krakow, one of Poland’s most historic and scenic towns. The journey takes us through the majestic Tatra Mountains of Slovakia. The evening is free to explore the city or rest up for the next day’s busy schedule.

• Day 16

  We travel to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. Birkenau, Auschwitz’s notorious extermination camp, accounted for the death of more than a million Jews, Roma, POWs and political opponents from across Europe, and stands as a testament to the greatest atrocity of the 20th Century. The day’s events include a visit to Auschwitz I and its piles of personal possessions stripped from the camp’s prisoners, followed by a trip to Birkenau itself.

• Day 17

  We start the day with a walking tour of the Jewish ghetto and the castle district. After taking in Krakow’s historic sites and seeing where Schindler’s List was filmed, we visit Schindler’s actual factory and the museum that is now adjoined to it.

• Day 18

  After saying goodbye, our guests are brought to Krakow's John Paul II International Airport for their return flights.