tour of Vimy

Yes , Canadian. I have found tours out of Paris but fairly expensive. Wondering about picking up a tour once closer.

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/vimy

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

Arras is a comfortable train ride from Paris. Most tourists use Arras as a base for visiting the memorial. Any taxi driver should know the route. The visitors centre there was expanded a few years ago to help put the place in perspective. Canadian students have for years served as tour guides and will explain such issues as the use of tunnels for assault as well as the network of trenches. The memorial itself is a story of its own: No military scenes, lots of mourning. Its construction was contentious and prolonged and the idea of the battle as building the Canadian national identity came after it was complete rather than before.
Back in Arras the scenic town has its own history, with two impressive squares showing Flemish influence. Tunnels under the city saw another major WW1 battle.

I took a guided tour of Vimy in English years ago. The tour guides were two young Canadian women. Getting to Arras can be done from Paris Nord on the TGV train.

This last trip I finally went back to Arras, hadn't been there in about 15 years. The Tourist Office is located inside the city hall,, Hotel de Ville. Walking from the Arras train station to the city hall is ca. a bit over half an hour.

Arras itself has a number of WW1 and WW2 monuments and memorials. The British WW1 Military Cemetery is ca. one hour or so from the train station. The German WW1 military cemetery is beyond Vimy , which can reached by bus. Likewise with Vimy.

One of pleasant surprises in French cities I saw this time is the expansion of local public transportation to outlying areas by the local bus network. Next to the Arras train station is the Gare Routiere with its current extensive bus network.

Going out to Vimy in the past meant I had to be driven out there. Likewise with the German WW1 military cemetery beyond Vimy. They can be now accessed by bus.

Battlefield tours are not cheap. So going away from Paris doesn’t solve your problem by and large. Keep searching on line or look at the Major and Mrs Holt’s battlefield guides and plot out your own adventure perhaps with a rental car.

Vimy is a fantastic spot, especially for us Canadians. Definitely go.

I went there on my own, by car. Its an easy drive from Lille station, where you can rent a car. I assume the same is true from Arras, but that's not the station I used.

Once there, there are free tours given by the staff. There is also a Visitor Centre with maps for self-guided tours. I toured the Memorial by myself, but did take a guided tour of the trenches and a bunker called the Grange. https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/vimy/education-centre