Band of Brothers Tour

The American cemetery with Patton’s grave in Luxembourg was nice to visit. It’s somber, like all military cemeteries. Not far from it, the National Museum of Military History (MNHM) Asbl in Diekirch was very interesting and we spent more time there than I thought we would. Its main focus is the Battle of the Bulge. Hopefully your tour visits them.

When I was still in the military in Europe, I wrote a tour company offering a Band of Brothers Tour if I could bring my family along to meet Babe Heffron and Bill Guarnere. They said yes so we tagged along on the tour in Holland. Very much an upscale polished tour (not too much less OP than you are being charged) and having veterans along like that was tremendous. So yes you’re paying serious money but there’s great value! Good Luck.

I certainly don't want to be a wet blanket, but it seems odd to have one's first trip to Europe center entirely around World War 2. This seems to me like something seasoned international travelers might like as a change of pace.

...it seems odd to have one's first trip to Europe center entirely
around World War 2.

To each their own. If that is their interest and what gets them to several interesting European countries, so be it. Some would think it odd to have a trip consist mostly of art museums.

Not at all odd. If someone is passionate about a subject, they should follow their passion. It’s a wonderful way to experience new countries for the first time. They can always come back if they want.

I don't find it odd at all that one would want to visit WWII-related sights on their first trip to Europe. Good for them for wanting to see some of the things we have all read about for all our lives, and learn a little more deeply from experts and from being on the ground.

Sorry Jim I don't have any knowledge of this particular company. I hope you are able to find something about them as indeed you want to be sure before making a big investment like that.

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If you are going to Paris a few days early, I suggest Paris Walks for their Paris during the Occupation and Liberation walk, Right Bank circuit. It's so good I've done it twice. It starts in the Tuileries Gardens right near the Hotel Meurice which was the German HQ in WWII.

"Between September 1940 and August 1944, the hotel was requisitioned by the German occupation authorities. In August 1944, the Meurice became the headquarters of General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris. von Choltitz famously disobeyed Hitler's commands to level the city of Paris. Hitler's reported question screamed to von Choltitz over a Hotel Meurice telephone, "Is Paris burning?", later served as the title of a best-selling book about the liberation of Paris, and the 1966 film which was shot partly at the Meurice."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Meurice

The free Liberation Museum in Paris is also excellent.

https://www.museeliberation-leclerc-moulin.paris.fr/en

There also is an American Cemetery just outside Paris at Suresnes although it is mostly WWI graves. I have not been but it's on my rotating "to-do" list! It looks to be easily accessible by public transit.

https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/suresnes-american-cemetery

I have never taken such a tour, or heard about this company. Sorry I can't answer your direct question!

"Odd to have one's first trip to Europe be to WWII sites and history" Interesting. So my friend is into WWII stuff. To each his own. I actually hope to expose him to more than that once we are there.

There is so much to see and do in Europe and the UK and there are as many reasons to travel there as the number of people who go. I've been fortunate to make trips there seven times, and the next one is back to Scotland for the third time. I have played the Old Course in St. Andrews four times and have a tee time in June. My wife has missed on the last two trips there because of family illness and the death of her 98-year-old mother last year. This one is more for her to explore her family Scottish heritage than my golf, but since I'm there..... My first trip, like many others, was all about the biggies. It was 12 days flying into Rome and out of Paris, with visits to Florence, the Cinque Terre, Milan (night train to Paris) and three days in Paris. I had no clue how to plan that trip except for the Rick Steves DVDs, his guidebooks and the very helpful people on the Forum, which back then was called the Traveler's Helpline. Unfortunately, as I looked back on it, I realized that I tried to do too much in a short time. Rick says "assume you will return" but I never thought there would be a second trip. Silly me. In 2018 I was able to do a two-week solo trip to Italy and got more done than on any other trip there. I learned that when you are traveling solo, all decisions are unanimous.

Regardless of my comment above, I hope you all have a great time!

I don’t know anything about the tour company, but I think the tour sounds fantastic. Like your friend I am extremely interested in WWII history. I’ve visited Normandy 5 times and never tire of it. Wherever I travel to in Europe I always research the area for any WWII connections.
If the tour company checks out, and you and your friend have the $$, I recommend doing it.
Would love to see a trip report after you return.

I saw someone mentioned the Paris Walks tour about the German Occupation.. it is GREAT! I did it in the summer of 2022 & might do it at again this May.although I found a walking tour about Napoleon that looks really interesting as well.

I would love to do a Band of Bothers tour- that would be incredible. I just re watched that series & just finished watching Masters of the Air ( about American WW 2 bomber pilots) on Apple. Would love to tour the Normandy beaches but any tour for me with need to have a Canadian focus & those are harder to find ! Victoria in Toronto.

I stayed in Authie (suburb of Caen) during my 2018 France visit. I used that as my base for Normandy area and beach visits. Every morning I passed by this prominent abbey on the way to my day trips. It was Ardenne Abbey. So, I read about the abbey history and stopped in. If you haven't read about the massacre that occurred there and the others to Canadians in the Normandy region, I recommend that you do. In the areas around Authie there are small Canadian and British cemeteries. I visited a few and paid my respects.

I just returned from a visit to Bastogne (episode 6) and the military cemetery in Luxembourg. There are several things to see here. There is a very well done museum in Bastogne that is worth a look. Also the Nurse memorial and gravesite where Renee LeMaire is buried (the one featured in ep 6). The woods where the bombings took place was a very impactful place to visit with craters still in the ground and plaques on the trees with which soldiers occupied which of the foxholes. You can also go to the town of Foy and see bullet holes in the sides of buildings and retrace the stops of where Spears ran through the German lines. There is also a German military cemetery close to Foy. In Luxembourg you can pick up a brochure in the visitors center that shows some of the graves of Easy Company. There is also a very nice memorial donated by Tom Hanks in Bastogne dedicated to Easy Company that is really close to the Bois Jaques foxholes. I absolutely loved my visit there and hope you have a great trip. You won't regret your visit here!!

After reading all of your responses, we have decided to forego the BofB tour and instead do a two-week trip. We will fly into London and spend a week looking at WWII sites there, then take the train to Paris for a few days before heading over to Normandy for 4-5 days. In 2013 my wife, her mother and I stayed at a B&B in Bayeux for three nights, one in Honfleur and one in Rouen before taking the train to Provence. The B&B is no longer in business, so I am looking for other lodging in Normandy, Bayeux or perhaps Caen. One thing I missed in our 2013 trip was Mont St Michel, which although not a WWII site, is at the top of MY to do list, and hopefully my TP will want to see it too. Any suggestions on lodging in Normandy, and how to prioritize the D-Day sites. One of the reasons we opted out of the tour was that there were places he had no interest in and places that were not included in the tour. Thank you.

Jim

Jim,
One thing we did in 2017 on our self-driven trip to the DDay sights in Normandy, was to be at the American Cemetery for the flag lowering ceremony. It was very moving. You might want to see if that fits. Go to the American Battle Monuments website for info. (abmc.gov/normandy).

Bon voyage!

"One thing I missed in our 2013 trip was Mont St Michel, which although not a WWII site, is at the top of MY to do list,"

Actually I was watching a youtube video recently about an American journalist who landed with the DDay forces. There were pictures of him, Ernie Pyle AND Ernest Hemingway at MSM. They were staying there as the forces advanced thru Normandy. I can't find it right this minute (of course, lol) but will look for it and post when I find it. I was shocked as I've been to MSM several times before and did not know that connection.

As a former history, major specializing in World War II, I could easily see making my entire first trip to Europe around World War III. Maybe we should not judge other peoples themes and motivations.