Liberation Tours Canada

I recently discovered a tour company that specializes in tours of battlefields in Europe called Liberation Tours Canada. They have tours of Normandy and Vimy as well as special Italian Campaign and other tours. They have spacial anniversary tours coming up this year, next and beyond. For example, they will have an 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Holland tour in 2025. Information on their extensive fall 2023 tour can be found here.

They also have Medieval Britain and American Civil War tours.

I haven't investigated the company, so I cannot vouch for their quality or reliability.

Fall 2023 Canadian Battlefield Tour

Juno Beach

Sites here are the Juno Beach Centre — Museum and Park, and Juno Beach itself.
Located in Courseulles-sur-Mer, France, 25km from Caen and about 270km from Paris.
Juno Beach Centre website.

Location of the famous Bayeux tapestry, Bayeux is about 30km west of Caen.

Located south of Courseulles-sur-Mer is the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, near Reviers.

Getting there:

By train (SNCF) from the Gare St. Lazare, Paris to Caen (25km from the Centre)
By taxi or bus to the Centre. Use the Bus Verts line 3.

Full contact information:
Centre Juno Beach
Voie des Français Libres, BP 104
14470 Courseulles-sur-Mer, France

Tel: (33) (0)2.31.37.32.17
Fax: (33) (0)2.31.37.83.69
Email: resa@junobeach.org

GPS Coordinates:
49°20'11.52"N / 0°27'42.52"W

Vimy and Hill 70

Just north of Arras near the small town of Lens are two famous First World War sites and memorials:
The Vimy Memorial

Site of the memorial and the preserved trenches and the nearby Canadian Cemetery. Located about 10km north of Arras, 15km south of Lens, 135km southeast of Calais and 175km north of Paris.

The Vimy Memorial website.
Map of the site location.
Wikipedia page.

Vimy Memorial and Preserved Trenches map

The Canadian Cemetery No.2 is located in Neuville-St.Vaast, about 1.5km west of the Vimy Memorial. Map

Map of the Vimy and Hill 70 Memorials around Lens, France.

Map of the Vimy Memorial and Canadian Cemetery No.2.

Getting there:
From Paris: Take train (SNCF) from Gare du Nord, Paris to Lens (approx. 1hr, 15min.).

From Arras (approx 15min.): N17 towards Lens/Thélus/Vimy/Liéven and drive for approximately 10 km.

From Calais (approx. 1.5hrs): A26 motorway for approx. 130km, take exit 7 for Arras Center/Vimy and follow signs to join the N17 towards Lens/Thélus/Vimy/Liéven.

Full contact information:

Canadian National Vimy Memorial

Route D55
Chemin des Canadiens
62580 Givenchy-en-Gohelle
France

Tel (from Canada): 011 33 3 21 50 68 68
Tel (from Europe): +33 (0) 3 21 50 68 68
Email vac.vimy.acc@canada.ca

GPS Coordinates:
N50.379444, E2.773611

Hill 70 Memorial

Site of the Hill 70 memorial and the Loos Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery. Located about 5km north-west of Lens, France near the village of Loos-en-Gohelle.

Hill 70 Memorial website.
Map of the site location.
Wikipedia page.

Canadian 1st & 2nd World War site maps

Map of the the principle sites of the battlefields, burial sites and invasion beaches of Canadian forces in the First and Second World Wars.

The beginning

This blog is to provide information on my proposed trip to Normandy. My primary purpose is to visit Canadian battle sites from the First World War: the Vimy Memorial and Hill 70 Memorial near Lens, and from the Second World War: Juno Beach near Caen.

Read this good Telegraph article on travel throughout Normandy.

Since I'll be near Bayeux, I'll stop to see the famous tapestry.

Map of the Normandy sites from Lens to Bayeux.

FOOD, DRINK & ACCOMMODATIONS

I will also use this visit to partake in another interest of mine - ciders. Normandy (along with Brittany) is to cider production in France as Somerset is to England. Many of the cider makers also make another major beverage of the Normandy region — apple brandy or Calvados.

Normandy cider makers map.
Brittany cider makers map.

In Rouen, try the restaurant at the La Couronne Inn, 31 Place du Vieux-Marche. They claim to be the oldest inn in France — opened in 1345! www.lacouronne-rouen.fr (English - www.lacouronne-rouen.co.uk).

I discovered that there are lots of guides available through a website I've just discovered called "Tours by Locals". It has information on private guides all over the world, not just France, including reviews by users.