Thinking of going to Northern France / Belgium. Has anyone been on a good WW1 tour? I went with the RIck Steves tour for the Normandy WWII tour with Ellwood (ddaybattletours.com), and it was FANTASTIC. I'd love to get a tour of WW1, and/or Agincourt.
Cheers!
Interesting, your subject line and post focus on WW1 and WW2 subjects, then in your last sentence you morph to Agincourt.
So you really want to go back that far in history?
Yes. I am interested in history in the area
Thanks
Hi,
can't help you with a tour covering such history. I never took one. On WW 1 history I've tracked down numerous places in northern France, depends what interests you on the war. Which places/sites are you primarily interested in? Over-all? Just British? Just German? Just pertaining to the French? Mainly those sites pertaining to the American military role in the war?
If you do this pursuit on your own, you need a car, which gives you a lot more flexibility in covering more ground as you go from site to site. A battlefield map certainly helps.
In northern France I would suggest seeing these sites: Vimy, Arras (the city hall to get a lot more info on the surrounding areas), Cambrai, Neuville St Vlaast, Albert/Somme, Perrone, Bethune, Compiegne, Douai, St Quentin, Soissons, etc
Thanks so much! Yes, I'm just generally interested in seeing some of the history. What you have me was a great list! Thanks!
Fred is well informed and gives a good list about sites, there are many posts about WW1 here on the forum, you can find them using the search button.
Keith described well what to see about Azincourt, maybe you can add Crécy-en-Ponthieu too. Didn´t visit the latter, but expect to experience a bit the same. The Invalides Army Museum in Paris has quiet a lot of medieval armor on display. On the way to Ypres in Belgium you can visit museum “Kortrijk 1302” for the Battle of the Spurs (of 1302 obviously), there are guided tours in town.
Further of historical interest is the ring of Vauban fortifications, you can find remains in Ypres and Arras. Bergues and Gravelines near Dunkerque are nice and more complete.
La Musee de la Grande Guerre opened in the pleasant town of Meaux, outside Paris, a couple of years ago. It depicts the French experience during the First World War, paying attention as much to the daily lives of citizens and troops as to battle strategies and generals. Following the audio guide in English, it is an eye-opening couple of hours. Meaux is about a 40-minute train ride from Gare de l'Est. http://www.museedelagrandeguerre.eu/en
Hi,
"...generally interested..." You're welcome. Obviously, the two big museums on the war are at Meaux and Perronne. Going to Perronne from Paris is not doable by train unlike Meaux. If you are staying Paris, you can as day trips see Reims and Chateau-Thierry on the Marne, the last German push. The big US monument is up on a hill, for which you need a car. The rest of the sites can be seen on foot. The monument to US 3rd Inf. Division is there, as is the nearby Anglo-French military cemetery.
Since the primary focus is northern France, I suggest you stay a few days in Arras, a city where i don't think I've ever seen any US tourists even in the centre ville. Arras was the Gen HQ for the BEF. The large British war cemetery is at the edge of town. Yes, you can walk it from the train station to track down this site, takes over an hour. At the city hall there is not only a museum pertaining to the war experience, only by guided tour, but also the tourist office with lots of material directing you to other war sites in the immediate area.
@ Wil...thanks, I'm sure you've covered more of this than I have.
The horrors of the Western Front were in the Somme and Nord Pas-de-Calais. If you want to trace the events of the Somme battle or the last German offensive in 1918 (the Kaiserschlacht), you absolutely need a car going from village to village, seeing the British cemeteries dot the countryside. To get to Vimy from Arras to see the Canadian monument you need the car. Tours are given in English and French at Vimy. Renting a car can be done at the Arras train station, ie to the left of it.
Thanks too Fred…no idea, anyway I am impressed how much you know about both WW´s, I think especially the technical part of the battles and how these evolved.
Wow! Thank you all for all the fantastic information. It helped a lot, and I'm updating my plans now!
