Place de Québec

Place de Québec is situated just around the corner from The Bayeux Tourist Information Office. On this tour, we pick up here at 08:35 for the morning [T4] Tour, which departs at 08:45 and after lunch at 13:35 for the afternoon [T5] Tour, which departs at 13:45 [Mon-Fri] for a full-day D-Day Private Tour.

There are toilet facilities here, as well as a cafe nearby – ‘Le Garde Manger’ – perfect for passengers who wish a quick coffee prior to departure.  (Our Bayeux Train Station drop-off at the end of the day is at 17:45, returning to Place de Québec just a short time later). We also return here for a convenient lunchbreak from 12:45 to 13:45.

*Check-in is always 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure.

 

1. Ryes Commonwealth Cemetery

This small, virtually forgotten cemetery – off the beaten track and surrounded by fields – is situated between Bayeux and Arromanches and is rarely visited by major tour companies or tourists. Beautifully maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission it contains 653 Commonwealth war graves, including one Polish and 335 German. The first interments in the cemetery were made two days after the initial D-Day landings. Some of the soldiers buried here are from the 50th British Northumbrian Infantry Division that landed on Gold Beach. The cemetery also contains a large number of Royal Navy and merchant navy sailors. Two brothers, Private Joseph Casson (Durham Light Infantry) and Marine Robert Casson (45 Commando) are buried beside each other in the graveyard. We will begin our Allied Triangle D-Day Group Tour in this humble place…

2. Canada House : Bernières-sur-Mer

“Within sight of this house over 100 men of the Queen’s Own Rifles were killed or wounded, in the first few minutes of the landings”. That stark inscription welcomes visitors at the entrance of a large, timber-framed house overlooking Juno Beach In the village of Bernières-sur-Mer. ‘La Maison des Canadiens,’ or Canada House, is one of the most iconic buildings in Canadian military history. It was one of the first houses liberated by Canadian soldiers on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and has since become a familiar historic landmark, standing in the backdrop of the many black-and-white photographs showing troops landing on the sands of this village in Normandy….At Canada House we will take a closer look at the fierce battle which resulted in heavy losses for the Canadians landing on Juno Beach on D-Day…

3. Charlie-1 Tank & Cosys Bunker WN #31

This Churchill Mk IV AVRE tank was designed to get close to fortifications and blow them up with its mortar. This obstacle-clearing tank called ‘Avenger’, lay hidden under the sand-dunes of Juno beach for 3 decades and was not rediscovered beneath the sand dunes until 1976! Just along the path we will also visit Cosys Bunker, named after Lieutenant W.F. “Cosy” Aitken, who commanded No. 10 Platoon, of B Company, Royal Winnipeg Rifles. On D-Day, his men stormed the bunker and suffered 78% casualties in doing so...

4. Juno Beach Centre (*Option – clients may disembark)

Thanks to a project conceived in the 1990s by a group of Canadian veterans – and spearheaded by veteran Garth Webb and his companion Lise Cooper – the Juno Beach Centre was inaugurated on 6 June 2003 with over one thousand Canadian veterans attending. The museum’s exhibitions, features & photos not only relate the events of D-Day itself, but the story too of life in Canada before the outbreak of the war. It also tells the story of Canada’s civilian and military contribution to the war effort, and of contemporary Canadian society in the decades since World War II. The unique building – designed by Canadian architect Brian K. Chamberlain – is made up of five main points in a single-storey structure, resembling a stylized maple leaf. Just adjacent to the visitor centre there is a ceremonial area, which features a statue entitled Remembrance & Renewal. The museum also houses a temporary exhibition space, which changes approximately once per year and which highlights historic themes & stories relating to Canada past and present. A visit here is considered by many a must for everyone, and especially for all Canadian visitors to Normandy…

5. The British Memorial – Ver-sur-Mer

The British Normandy Memorial records the names of the 22,442 servicemen and women under British command who fell on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944. This includes people from more than 30 different countries. Inscribed in stone, their names have never, until now, been brought together. The site also includes a French Memorial, dedicated to the memory of French civilians who died during this time.

On 6 June 2021, 77 years on, an historic moment took place as the Memorial was officially opened, virtually, by Patron of the Normandy Memorial Trust, His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales. The Opening Ceremony was presided over by then British Ambassador to France, Lord Edward Llewellyn.

On 6 June 2022, the 78th anniversary of D-Day, the Memorial was for the first time the focal point of the commemorations in Normandy, as a place where people could come together to remember and reflect…

6. Stanley Hollis Hut – Gold Beach

The 6th and 7th Battalions of the Green Howards were part of the D-Day landings, wading ashore on Gold Beach on the morning of 6 June 1944. By the evening of the first day they had fought their way seven miles inland, further than any other British or American unit. By the close of the operation 180 Green Howards had lost their lives. Middlesbrough born Company Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis (1912 to 1972) was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for his actions on D-Day; the only VC to be awarded on 6th June. At one of the landmarks dedicated to him and to his division’s honour, we will take a reverent look at some of his heroic actions on D-Day…

7. Pointe-du-Hoc

Pointe-du-Hoc, a 100ft promontory cliff overlooking the English Channel on the coast of Normandy in northern France was heavily fortified with concrete casemates and gun pits and protected by the German 352nd Infantry Division. On D-Day the United States Army Ranger Assault Group under lieutenant colonel James E. Rudder assaulted and captured Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs. Disabling the six 155mm guns there was crucial to the successful completion of the Allied Land Invasion. There was however a cruel surprise in store for Colonel Rudder’s men…

8. Vierville-sur-Mer – Omaha Beach {‘Saving Private Ryan’}

On D-Day at 06:30, the U.S. Army’s 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division, along with units of the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions,  landed on Omaha Beach, below Vierville-sur-Mer. The 29th Division & The Rangers suffered extremely heavy losses in the very first few minutes. On this stop you’ll find out how the courageous soldiers persevered on ‘Bloody Omaha’, and how in the face of all odds and at the prospect of certain death, they finally cut through the formidable German defenses.

9. Saint Laurent-sur-Mer – Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944. Taking Omaha was to be the responsibility of United States Army troops of the First Division nicknamed ‘The Big Red One’. However faced with the 12,020 experienced combat troops of the German 352nd Infantry Division, the battle-hardened 1st Infantry Division had its work cut out. During this memorable visit you’ll find out why nothing here went according to plan on D-Day. Thus we shall discover how ‘Bloody Omaha’ earned its name…

10. Normandy Colleville US Cemetery (+ new Visitor Centre)

On June 8, 1944, the U.S. First Army established the temporary cemetery, the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. After the war, the present-day cemetery was established a short distance to the east of the original site. Come and honour the graves of our fallen Heroes, discover the gold-embossed gravestones of the three Medal of Honour recipients – listen to some stories from their lives – and peruse the wall of the missing upon which are engraved the names of 1557 servicemen never recovered…

We arrive back at Bayeux Station at 17:45, and shortly afterwards back at Place de Québec

We will always depart our last stop at the US Cemetery on schedule at 17:15 (*the taps are at 17:00) to ensure that we arrive back in Bayeux in plenty of time for clients to catch their train back to Paris. During our relaxing drive back to the station you will have 20 minutes to reflect on the day’s touring and have a casual chat with your Guide. We always appreciate feedback about your D-Day experience and welcome any last-minute questions. Please do not hesitate to let your driver know if we can be of any further assistance. Thank you for choosing NormandyONtour.