Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours | Tours - Armistice Day 90th Anniversary

Remembrance Day On The Western Front
10 Nights 2-12 November 2009 $3250*

On November 11, 1918 the guns fell silent on the Western Front, marking the end of more than four years of bitter fighting. Join us on an exclusive tour of the Australian battlefields of France and Belgium, including Remembrance Day commemorations in Paris. Escorted by Tom Morgan, a leading First World War historian, this tour is a unique chance to see the battlefields where thousands of Australians fought, and pay your respects to the almost 50,000 who never came home.

Features and Inclusions:

All excursions, scenic drives and sightseeing as described in the itinerary
10 nights First-Class accommodation
Hotel porterage
Breakfast daily, 2 lunches, 4 dinners
Welcome drink in Paris
Services of a tour manager/war historian and experienced local guides
Extensive touring as per the itinerary
Entrance fees as listed in the itinerary
Travel by First-Class air-conditioned coaches
Local taxes and end-of-tour tips to your tour manager and driver
Commemorative cap
Copy of Mat McLachlan's definitive guide to the Western Front, Walking with the Anzacs

DAY 1 2 NOVEMBER

Your tour commences in your Paris hotel this evening. We have included a welcome drink in your hotel. This is an ideal chance to meet and get to know your Tour Manager and fellow travellers. Your welcome dinner will be in a local restaurant close to your hotel.

DAY 2 3 NOVEMBER

We depart Paris, and mid-morning arrive at Adelaide Cemetery (site of the exhumation of Australia's Unknown Soldier in November 1993) and the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux. It was here on April 25, 1918, exactly three years after the Gallipoli landings, that Australian courage and determination provided a stunning victory that proved a turning point in the war. It is a place to think about how Australia's story on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918 has been commemorated. Driving on across the uplands of the Somme our next stop is the historical town of Péronne where you will have time at leisure for lunch. In 1918 the Australians stormed and took this heavily fortified town under intense machine gun fire. We will take you up onto the city ramparts to fully appreciate how incredibly difficult this task must have been. We've also included entrance to the Historial de la Grande Guerre (Museum of the Great War) with its fascinating displays setting the picture of life before, during and after the War, as lived by the French, the British, the Anzacs and the Germans. We finish our stay in Peronne at the 2nd Australian Division memorial at Mont St Quentin. Later this afternoon we continue to Ypres where we stay the next four nights. 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 re-built carefully restoring the grand old buildings and picturesque square. Our hotel is superbly located in the very centre of the old town and barely 200 metres from the famous Menin Gate. Tonight, after a buffet dinner, you will attend the sounding of the Last Post at the Menin Gate, a moving ceremony repeated every night since 1928.

DAY 3 4 NOVEMBER

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 return drive to Ypres we will stop to visit the Essex Farm Cemetery - site of the composition of the poem In Flanders Fields.

DAY 4 5 NOVEMBER

Today will be enjoyed in Ypres. Join your tour guide for a walking tour through the centre of town including the magnificent Cloth Hall, St Georges Chapel and St Martin's Church. We'll also visit the beautiful Ypres Ramparts Cemetery and walk on top of the ramparts to the Menin Gate Memorial, the British Empire's tribute to missing from the battles around Ypres. The highlight of your day will be a visit to the 'In Flanders Fields' Museum - a remarkable interactive experience of World War One located in the Cloth Hall. The rest of your day is free in this delightful gothic town.

DAY 5 6 NOVEMBER 2008

A day to discover the battlefields and memorials associated with one of the most costly operations fought by Australian soldiers - the Third Battle of Ypres, from June to November 1917. In the morning we visit the site of the Battle of Messines, the New Zealand Memorial, the beautiful Toronto Avenue Cemetery and the Irish Peace Tower. After lunch in Ypres we visit Hooge Crater Cemetery and Museum (this small, private museum is in a renovated Chapel and small school), the 5th Australian Division Memorial and New Zealand Memorial at Polygon Wood, and the British Commonwealth's largest war cemetery at Tyne Cot. What happened in this area east of Ypres in 1917 was eventually summed up in one terrible word - Passchendaele.

DAY 6 7 NOVEMBER

Today we journey through the old Western Front battlefields from Ypres in Belgium to Amiens in France. After crossing the border, we will stop at VC Corner Cemetery and the Australian Memorial Park at Fromelles, scene of Australia's first major battle on the Western Front. From there we visit the most spectacular British Commonwealth memorial in France - the Canadian National Memorial on Vimy Ridge. Before heading into Amiens, we will travel across the old Bullecourt battlefield and view the moving statue of an Australian soldier at the Bullecourt Digger Memorial. In 1918 Australian soldiers played a prominent part in the saving of the city of Amiens. End your day with a visit to one of the gems of French medieval architecture - Amiens Cathedral, where the Australian soldiers have been honoured. A packed lunch has been included today.

DAY 7- 8 NOVEMBER

Today we follow the tragedy of the 1916 Somme battlefields including Devonshire Trench Cemetery and the Australian memorials at Pozières, which recall the loss of 23,000 men in six weeks. A light lunch has been included today at the fascinating Tommy Cafe in Pozières. In the cafe gardens there is a private museum containing numerous military objects and hardware collected from the surrounding countryside and displayed in and around a series of re-created WWI trenches. Later we visit the New Zealand Memorial at Longueval, the vast and tragic 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 your hotel your evening is free.

DAY 8 9 NOVEMBER

Departing Amiens we visit Compiègne, where the Armistice of 11 November, 1918 was signed. Continue to the outskirts of Paris for a guided tour through Louis XIV's magnificent Palace of Versailles, where the Versailles Treaty, which brought the First World War to an end, was signed. Arriving in Paris, your evening is at leisure to explore this city of romance.

DAY 9 10 NOVEMBER

This morning enjoy a panoramic tour which will bring Paris alive from the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysées and Arc de Triomphe (including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), to the Louvre and Notre Dame. Your afternoon and evening is at leisure.

DAY 10 11 NOVEMBER (REMEMBRANCE DAY)

A full free day in Paris. We have designed this day to give you the flexibility to explore Paris during the Remembrance Day commemorations. Perhaps join the thousands of people on the Champs Elys��es, or the 11am commemorations at the Arc de Triomphe. We have included a travel card for the Paris public transport system, to enable you to travel to whichever sites in the city you most wish to visit. Your Tour Manager and Historian will naturally be on hand to help you throughout the day. This evening we will take an Illuminations drive past many of Paris' landmarks bathed in glorious light as we make our way to the traditional French restaurant for a farewell meal including drinks.

DAY 11 12 NOVEMBER

Sadly your Western Front Tour ends this morning in your hotel after breakfast.

* Per person, twin share, land only