Private Tour of Vimy Ridge & Arras battlefields from ARRAS
Description
A Private Tour is the best way to experience the battlefields with a knowledgeable and certified guide. We have 16 years of experience in organizing battlefield tours in France. Discover the Arras and Vimy Battlefields for a Day Trip in northern France, easy accessible coming from Paris or Lille by train for the day. Starting from ARRAS (other location possible on demand) this tour will allow you to discover the sites of the WW1 battles in northern France: the trenches at Vimy ridge, the monuments, memorials and bunkers... each tour is unique, if you want to follow in the footsteps of a relative or visit any specific site of interest to you we can build up a personalized tour and itinerary for you.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will start the tour visiting Vimy ridge, the largest Canadian Memorial on the Western Front which commemorates nearly 11.000 Canadian soldiers who died in France and have no known grave. The capture of Vimy ridge was a great victory for the Canadian Corps and today it's one of the best preserved World War One battlefields with its preserved trenches, shell holes, mine craters and tunnels. The new visitors centre will be visited as well as the tunnels (open to the public during the season).
The largest war cemetery in France is located at Neuville Saint Vaast, it is the resting place for 44.000 German soldiers who lost their lives in the region during the various battles of Artois.
Free time for lunch on this very nice place.
Visit to this unique new visitor attraction that shines a light on the work of the remarkable organisation at the heart of remembrance of the war dead. The CWGC Experience was awarded the Best Tourism Project in Europe at the 2019 British Guild of Travel Writers’ International Tourism Awards.
We will pass the abbey of Mont Saint-Eloi, used as an observation post in the battles of Artois.
The new memorial, called "The Ring of Remembrance" commemorates the 600.000 soldiers from all nations who lost their lives in Northern France during the First World War.
After the First World War, the hill of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette was chosen by the French Government to receive the remains of French soldiers from over 150 cemeteries on the fronts of Artois, Flanders, Yser and the Belgian coast. This site contains 20,000 graves and the remains of 22,000 unknown soldiers. Notre-Dame-de-Lorette is France’s biggest national necropolis.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(12)
you can cut and paste it . Battle of Crete Tour .Review . On October 13 th we met a fantastic tour guide called Babis . He went out of his way to make sure we were looked after at all times . His knowledge of the Battle fields and the stories connected to them , was second to none ! Absolutely Fantastic! We value his expertise and knowledge he shared with us . Thank you Babis . Carol and Sandra .
I am back in France for the second time, and I’m remembering this AWESOME private tour. Our guide was the best. Very respectful and knowledgeable. In the trenches, we got the chills.
"Wonderful" place of memory whether it is the memorial or the reconstruction of the trenches with the guided tour supervised by young Canadian students who give their all to express themselves in excellent French and make you the unforgettable visit, Bravo and thank you again to Them.
We wanted a tour of the key battlefield areas of the Somme and the Arras area and to get as full a picture of the historic monuments, graveyards and museums as would be possible in four days without being on a huge coach trip and having the benefit of someone that could highlight the key places we needed to see as well as plotting the most efficient way to see them. Staying in Arras we decided to do two full day tours of both the area around Albert and the underground museum, Arras and the Newfoundland monument as well as Memetz, Vimy Ridge and the Canadian sector. Our guide and tour co-ordinator Sylvestre was beyond amazing. Not only did he arrange a brilliant schedule that included all the above but also many many more interesting and relevant sites, but he was extremely knowledgeable, approachable and flexible allowing us to take in what we were seeing at our own pace and in our own way, sharing knowledge with whoever in the group wanted to know about a particular subject whilst being informal where needed to allow us to browse independently and just take our own time in what were extremely emotional and moving settings. So so much better than being herded around like sheep being spoken at instead of spoken to. I cannot recommend this tour company enough, from the extremely comfortable vehicle, the flexibility of the itinerary to the brilliant personality that was Sylvestre whom made our group sitting in a car for eight hours with a perfect stranger feel within the first hour that you were all a group of friends travelling together. I can honestly say every aspect of this trip was beyond my expectations.
Our guide, Sylvestre, was incredibly flexible and accommodating. He responded to emails very quickly. He was friendly and shared his knowledge of the war and present day France in a very open way. He gave us the time and space we needed to process the powerful feelings that we felt as we visited the memorials and cemeteries.
A very interesting visit on what happened The opportunity to understand what my great grandfather experienced and gave his life for France
Our family of 7 had an amazing time on this tour and would recommend it to anyone wanting to see the battlefields and history of WWI our tour guide extraordinaire Sylvester was so knowledgeable and took his time to walk us through an amazing day. Truly worth your time. Only downside of our trip was how long our lunch break was at the cottage we would rather spend more time at the vimmy site.
Emotionally the British and French memorial, the Canadian memorials are beautifully kept and the rangers so friendly and interesting. The big craters, searching in newly harvested fields for shrapnel and parts of mortar shells it is a full on day but do so worth it Our guide Sylvestre was so knowledgeable, friendly and met our pace during the day without missing anything !
Our guide, Sylvestre, was excellent! He communicated with us the day prior to introduce himself and confirm pick up time/location. He was right on time, and once settled we got on our way. As this was a private tour, he let us set the pace which gave us as much time as we needed at each stop. He provided excellent historical background and was very interesting and helpful in answering our questions. He also took us to areas off the beaten track like an observation post in a farmers field and showed us war ordnance on the side of the road - found by a farmer and awaiting pick-up by local authority. He accommodated our request for a light lunch and joined us as we enjoyed a baguette at a picnic table. We can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed this tour because of Sylvestre - it was a somber day visiting these memorials and cemeteries of WWI, but he added to our day with his knowledge and expertise. Thank you!
Used Michel of RMB transport. He wasn't very good at responding to my emails but he was very good as a driver and guide. His English is understandable. He has an excellent knowledge of not only Vimy Ridge, but also the surrounding countryside. He showed up on time. For 50 Euros, it was worth it.
