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Anzac Day on the Western Front
9 Nights 18-27 April 2009 $3250*
Visit the key Australian battlefields in France and Belgium and pay your respects to the nearly 50,000 Australians who were killed on the Western Front. Our 9-night first-class tour visits all the key Australian battlefield sites, as well as Paris, Versailles and Bruges. The highlight is the moving Anzac Day Dawn Service at Villers-Bretonneux. Escorted by WWI authority Mat McLachlan, author of the definitive guide to the Western Front battlefields, Walking with the Anzacs.
DAY 1 18 APRIL
Welcome to your Western Front tour! This evening we have included a welcome drink before dinner in our Paris hotel. This is an ideal chance to meet and get to know your Tour Manager, War Historian and fellow travellers.
DAY 2 19 APRIL
First stop of the day will be a guided tour through Louis XIV's magnificent Palace of Versailles, where the Versailles Treaty, which brought WWI to an end, was signed. In the afternoon we return to Paris for a Panoramic tour which will bring alive the city from the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysées and Arc de Triomphe (including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), to the Louvre and Notre Dame.
DAY 3 20 APRIL
After breakfast this morning we depart Paris and travel to the medieval town of Ypres where we stay the next 4 nights. Enroute to Ypres today we visit the historical town of Peronne where you will enjoy a visit to the Historial de la Grand Guerre Museum and have time at leisure for lunch. Leaving Peronne, we will visit the Australian 2nd Division Memorial and the battlefield of Mont St Quentin.
DAY 4 21 APRIL
We have included a delightful excursion today to the charming city of Bruges. Recognised as one of Europe's best preserved medieval cities, Bruges is riddled with canals, bridges and quiet back streets and is often called the Venice of the North. Wander the quaint and picturesque cobbled streets lined with tiny lace boutiques, tempting chocolate shops and cosy cafes. Maybe take a cruise along the canals or a ride in a traditional horse drawn carriage through the old town to admire the historic architecture. Or simply relax in one of the pavement cafes on the glorious old market square. On our way back to Ypres we will visit Essex Farm, site of the composition of the poem 'In Flanders Fields'.
DAY 5 22 APRIL
Between 1916 and 1918 thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers came to Ypres where some of the heaviest fighting in WWI took place. Completely destroyed in the war, the town was lovingly rebuilt, the grand old buildings and picturesque square carefully restored. This morning we'll take you on a walking tour through the centre of town including the magnificent Cloth Hall, St Georges Chapel and St Martin's Cathedral. In the afternoon we will visit the outstanding In Flanders Fields Museum located in the Cloth Hall before visiting the beautifully situated Ypres Ramparts Cemetery, one of the most beautiful cemeteries on the Western Front. A walk on top of the ramparts leads us to the Menin Gate Memorial, the British Empire's tribute to missing from the battles around Ypres. Tonight you will attend the moving ceremony, begun in 1928, of the sounding of the Last Post at the Menin Gate.
DAY 6 23 APRIL
A fascinating day! This morning includes visits to the main Australian and New Zealand battlefields of the Ypres Salient - Hooge Crater Cemetery and Museum, the 5th Australian Division Memorial and New Zealand Memorials at Polygon Wood, and the old British Empire's largest war cemetery at Tyne Cot. This afternoon you are free to explore Ypres and its enticing cafes and chocolate shops.
DAY 7 24 APRIL
Today we travel across the old Western Front battlefields between Ypres and Amiens. On our way to France this morning we visit the site of the Battle of Messines in 1917, the New Zealand Memorial and the Irish Peace Tower. After crossing the border into France, we will stop at the Australian Memorial Park at Fromelles, the spectacular Canadian National Memorial on Vimy Ridge, and the Bullecourt 'Digger' Memorial. A packed lunch has been included today, and also included is dinner in your hotel.
DAY 8 25 APRIL (ANZAC DAY)
A very special day! Early this morning we leave our hotel for the short drive to the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, where we will attend the official Anzac Day Dawn Service. This sombre and heart-warming occasion will be the perfect opportunity to pay our respects to the more than 48,000 Australians who died on the Western Front, and commemorate the 91st anniversary of the liberation of Villers-Bretonneux by Australian troops. Later in the morning we will tour the 1916 battlefields of the Somme, including the Australian memorials at Pozières. Lunch today has been included at the fascinating Le Tommy Café in Pozières, with its rear garden piled high with relics from the battlefields. After lunch we visit the vast Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, the Ulster Tower to the 36th Ulster Division and the preserved trenches in the Newfoundland Memorial Park. Returning to Amiens your evening is free.
DAY 9 26 APRIL
In 1918 Australian soldiers played a vital role in the saving of the city of Amiens. Begin your day with a visit to one of the gems of French medieval architecture - Amiens Cathedral, where the Australian soldiers have been honoured. Continue on to visit Compiègne, where the Armistice of 11 November 1918 was signed, before arriving in Paris. Your afternoon is at leisure. This evening a local coach takes us to a traditional French restaurant. Here we'll enjoy a 4-course farewell meal including drinks and traditional French accordion music, in a restaurant which is a favourite amongst Parisian artists. On our way back to the hotel after dinner, we are taken on an Illuminations drive past many of Paris' landmarks bathed in glorious light.
DAY 10 27 APRIL PARIS
Sadly your Western Front Tour ends this morning after breakfast.
* Per person, twin share, land only
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Our tours
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Iconic Tours offers a range of escorted group tours to some of the world's most enticing travel destinations.
Each tour is designed to allow you to expand your horizons by showcasing an experience or theme. We have tours that explore cooking, history, sport, dining, special events and a host of other activities, all certain to add an extra dimension to your next holiday.
In addition, our tours are all fully escorted by specialists in their field, offering you a very special travel experience, no matter the theme or destination.
Our tours are long enough to allow you to immerse yourself in the destination, but short enough that you have the option to extend your holiday before or after the tour.
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