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WWII sights within 2 hr drive from Disney Paris

Hi. We will be staying near Disney Paris and would like to see some WWII battlefield/museums. Are there any good ones within a 2 hr drive from Disney Paris? Also, we are then going to Strasbourg--anything on the way from Disney Paris to Strasbourg? how would these compare to D Day beaches/Normandy?

Posted by
2362 posts

It is really worth a stop at the Lorraine cemetery on the way to Strasburg, It is located in the small town of St. Avold. . I seem to remember it is fairly close to Metz. Largest US cemetery for our servicemen in Europe, over 10,000 buried. You can see details on the American Military website. It is also an awesome experience to look at YouTube for a song, "here's to the heroes who never came home", beautiful aerial view of our overseas cemeteries. All of this is sobering.

Posted by
11294 posts

I know this wasn't your question, but if you don't find any WWII sights to see on the way from DLP to Strasbourg, consider stopping at Nancy, an lovely undiscovered gem of a city halfway between the other two. If you're a fan of Art Nouveau or fancy glassware, it's a must.

Posted by
10344 posts

The WW2 Surrender museum is at Reims. I was there a couple of months ago. The room where the surrender was signed has been left as it was that day in 1945.
The usual route to Strasbourg goes near Verdun, a different war (WW1) but if your interest includes WW1, this was the site of the infamous battle that resulted in what has been estimated at roughly one million casualties (killed + missing + wounded).

Posted by
1639 posts

The Memorial Charles de Gualle at Colombey les Deux Eglise, near Troyes, covers large chuncks of WWII in relation to Charles de Gualle, as part of a larger exhibition dedicated to him.

Posted by
8 posts

There is the Ligne Maginot within a one hour drive from Strasbourg - maybe interesting for you: https://www.google.de/maps/dir/Strasbourg,+France/Ligne+Maginot/@48.7617849,7.7464575,11z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4796c8495e18b2c1:0x971a483118e7241f!2m2!1d7.7521113!2d48.5734053!1m5!1m1!1s0x0:0xcb5ab755b3c7be65!2m2!1d7.9406308!2d48.952539!3e0?hl=en

For more information check out the website: http://www.lignemaginot.com/accueil/indexen.htm

By the way, when you're going to Disney Paris, there is another theme park near Strasbourg (60km) on the German site of the border. For more information check out: http://www.europapark.de/en

Other sights nearby Strasbourg, but on the German site of the Rhine river as well, that might be interesting for tourists are the youth hostel located in a castle in Offenburg/Ortenberg (20 km) http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/youth-hostels/ortenberg20/portrait or the small town of Gengenbach (40km) which was used as a backdrop in the Hollywood movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (called Düsseldorf). http://www.regio360.com/360/gemeinde_gengenbach_11_hd/flash/uw2000_gengenbach_hd_60.html

Posted by
32709 posts

If you are going as far as St Avold, just one more exit on the autoroute is Saarbrucken. A short distance on the connecting road, just right on the German/French border is a Mercure hotel (the second one from the border) Around the back with access from their car park is a Gestapo headquarters and detention camp remains. All the foundations are marked, as is a "water feature" from the basement.

Just beyond Saarbrucken is Neunkirchen where just behind the car park of the Holiday Inn Express is a very unusual SpitzBunker which looks like a concrete missle rising from the ground but was actually an air raid bunker for the staff of the steel mill blast furnace next door. It is very rare.