D-DAY LANDING BEACHES :

On the 6th of June 1944 starting at 6:30am, Allied forces landed on the coast of Lower Normandy to start the liberation of Europe from the Germans. Re-live in one or more days the principal events and battles that made up the Battle of Normandy with a personal private tour of the sites that interest you. Follow, more than 60 years later, the same roads taken by the Allied armies in the summer of 1944. Our guides, passionate about the history and the region of Normandy, will take you to the landing beaches themselves, the inland battlefields, the cemeteries of all three principal armies, the museums and explain the stories and history behind each. “Bloody Omaha”, the Pointe du Hoc, Pegasus Bridge, the American cemetery at Colleville, the Norman Hedgerow countryside that gave the Allied armies so much trouble, the church steeple at Sainte Mere Eglise where John Steele got caught up, the massive artificial harbour at Arromanches, are just a few of the places to visit. Relive the film “The Longest Day” or the series “Band of Brothers” and follow the battles of the 101st airborne division, the famous “Screaming Eagles”. These emotional visits to the places where history was made will be something that you will never forget from your time here in Normandy.

POINTE DU HOC :

Re-live on this exceptional site the exploits of the 2nd Battalion of the US Rangers. After having scaled the 100-foot cliffs, under heavy enemy fire, the Rangers pushed on through this lunar landscape to capture and destroy the 6 heavy guns capable of firing their shells to a maximum range of nearly 15 miles. Colonel Rudder and his men only realised upon capturing the battery that the Germans, under the orders of Rommel, had moved the guns half a mile inland and hidden them while bunkers were being constructed to protect them. The taking of Pointe du Hoc was a long and laborious fight, with the Rangers being left to fend for themselves two days longer than had been planned. The 2nd Battalion suffered very heavy casualties during the two and a half days they were at Pointe du Hoc, only 90 of the original 225 still fighting when they were finally relieved.

OMAHA BEACH :

Approximately 34 000 soldiers of the famous 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions landed on this beach on D-Day. The beach was covered in anti-tank and anti-landing craft obstacles. Nearly all of the pre-invasion bombardment had missed the fortifications along the beach and the geography of the beach itself, consisting of 80 to 100-foot bluffs rising up from the shore, was very easily defendable terrain for the Germans. One of the only good quality front line Infantry Divisions available to the Germans was also present on the beach, purely by coincidence. This made the assault the most difficult of all the beaches on D-Day, earning the nickname “Bloody Omaha”. Only a few days after the landings, the Americans had transformed nearly the entire beach into a vast artificial harbour, code named “Mulberry A”. It was used for less than a week before it was destroyed in a very heavy storm between the 19th and 22nd of June 1944. There is only one piece of this harbour left to be seen today.

AMERICAN CEMETERY AND ITS INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

Overlooking the eastern end of Omaha Beach, the American cemetery holds the bodies of 9 387 soldiers who came from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean to liberate Western Europe from the Germans. This immense place of memory and reflexion will impress you with its calm and serenity. You can see the graves of some of the 307 unknown soldiers or visit the resting places of the more famous, such as the Niland brothers, the family who inspired the film “Saving Private Ryan” as well as the three Medals of Honor winners, one of whom is General Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

THE ARTIFICIAL HARBOUR OF ARROMANCHES

Realising the difficulties of capturing intact an enemy held port, the British, under Churchill, opted for the mammoth task of building two artificial harbours, one for the American 1st Army at Omaha, the other for the British 2nd Army at Gold. However, following a very severe storm lasting from the 19th to the 22nd of June 1944 which completely destroyed the American Mulberry harbour, the British artificial port at Arromanches was left alone as the main supplied channel for all of the equipment needed by the Allied soldiers fighting in Normandy.

MONET

At the centre of a rich and undulating countryside, the village of Giverny, just outside of Vernon, had the privilege of being, from 1883 onwards, the principle residence of the impressionist painter, Claude Monet. This charming village of Giverny became, in just a few years, famous worldwide thanks to the presence of this talented precursor of modern artist. To this day, Normandy represents one of the central places for modern art to work outside in the same circumstances and places as the Impressionists had. Claude Monet counted amongst his friends Eugene Boudin, another celebrated impressionist from Honfleur, and George Clemenceau, who was twice French Prime Minister. During the 1890’s, artists, principally Americans, started to visit Giverny to meet “The Master”, amongst others, Robinson, Metcalf, Theodore Butler, Finn, Perry, and Jongkind the Dutch painter, who stayed mainly at the Auberge Baudy during their time in the village.

HONFLEUR

A visit to Honfleur is in itself a complete history lesson, from the 100 years war, through the voyages of discovery to the New World during the 17th century to the art of the impressionists. As a defence against invasion by the English the town was walled and fortified during the second half of the 14th century. You can still go through the old “Caen Gate”, the last remaining piece of the original fortifications, most of which were demolished as the town and port were being expanded in the 17th century.

ROUEN OU GIVERNY

ROUEN :

Known as the “Town of a Hundred Steeples”, the eastern part of Rouen itself is an open-air museum to be walked. With representations of the different eras of history to be seen everywhere, from painting and art to literature and architecture, as well as being the town where some of France and Europe’s most important historical events and characters lived and died. You can see the marvellous architecture of this capital of Normandy, including Claude Monet’s favourite, the Cathedral. This towers up to nearly 500 feet above the plaza making it the tallest Cathedral in France. The richness of its design is evident, down to the intricate sculptures over the entrances, where scenes from the bible have been brought to life by the medieval craftsmen. Inside the Cathedral no matter where you go, from the nave to the crypt, it shows itself to be among the most ornate and beautiful in France.

THE AMERICAN ART MUSEUM OF GIVERNY :

Since the end of the 19th century, numerous painters, mainly Americans, were drawn to Giverny to discover the countryside and landscape that had influenced the French Impressionist painters such as Monet, Boudin and Courbet. Daniel J. Terra, who is an art collector, decided to create in Giverny the American Museum of Art in the same vein as that in Chicago. Several well-known names are present: Theodore Robinson, Charles Courtney Curran, Perry and Mc Monnies. The transatlantic cultural exchange that went on over a century ago is still evident in Giverny today.

PARIS :

Paris: who has not dreamed of visiting and spending time wandering around Paris, the “City of Love”, walk its little streets and grand boulevards, and see the monuments that make Paris famous the world over. Paris offers, more than any other city, a rich mixture of history, art, culture, architecture and variety in a single city. Leaving behind you the Arc de Triomphe, built by the Emperor Napoleon the First, head down the Champs Elysees and have a look at the shops and boutiques that make up this street, as well as the small and large Palaces built by aristocrats, who were executed during the French revolution. At the end of the Champs Elysees you will come to the Place de la Concorde with its huge granite Obelisk taken from the Temple of Luxor in Egypt. Another place to note is the Place Vendome, where there is an original statue of the Emperor Napoleon the First.

This spot is ringed by the most luxurious and expensive shops in Paris as well as the best hotel, the original “Ritz”. At the end of one of the nicest streets in Paris the “Rue de la Paix”, you will see in front of you another marvel of the 19th century, The Paris Opera House, the largest in the world. Far more than a museum, the Louvre is a living encyclopaedia showing everything from Ancient Egyptian art to classical art. Mixing the old and the new, its architectural structure of the Louvre is remarkable, as you cannot fail to notice while you make your way through the hundreds of rooms seeing things on your way such as the “Venus de Milo” and “Mona Lisa”. Complementing the collection in the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay displays the art of a different era, in this case the second half of the 19th century up to the start of the cubist era. Go into the very heart of Paris onto the “Ile de la Cite”, the island in the River Seine where the Cathedral Notre Dame stands.

This building is renowned worldwide as one of the most magnificent examples of Gothic architecture anywhere. It was this that inspired Victor Hugo to write his novel, “Notre Dame de Paris”. On the other side of the bank of the river you will find the “Conciergerie”, the last stop before execution for people such as Marie Antoinette or Charlotte Corday. Also, stop by the last resting place of the ashes of Napoleon at Les Invalides and have a look at his mausoleum. When you come out you will be able to get a good view of the winning entry for the 1889 Paris Exposition, and what has become one of the symbols of France, the Eiffel Tower. If you choose to visit the Eiffel Tower you can eat at one of the restaurants on the tower which offer an unprecedented view of the city of Paris.