D-DAY LANDING BEACHES :

On the 6th of June 1944 starting at 6:30am, Allied forces landed on the coast of Lower Normandy to start the liberation of Europe from the Germans. Re-live in one or more days the principal events and battles that made up the Battle of Normandy with a personal private tour of the sites that interest you. Follow, more than 60 years later, the same roads taken by the Allied armies in the summer of 1944. Our guides, passionate about the history and the region of Normandy, will take you to the landing beaches themselves, the inland battlefields, the cemeteries of all three principal armies, the museums and explain the stories and history behind each. “Bloody Omaha”, the Pointe du Hoc, Pegasus Bridge, the American cemetery at Colleville, the Norman Hedgerow countryside that gave the Allied armies so much trouble, the church steeple at Sainte Mere Eglise where John Steele got caught up, the massive artificial harbour at Arromanches, are just a few of the places to visit. Relive the film “The Longest Day” or the series “Band of Brothers” and follow the battles of the 101st airborne division, the famous “Screaming Eagles”. These emotional visits to the places where history was made will be something that you will never forget from your time here in Normandy.

POINTE DU HOC :

Re-live on this exceptional site the exploits of the 2nd Battalion of the US Rangers. After having scaled the 100-foot cliffs, under heavy enemy fire, the Rangers pushed on through this lunar landscape to capture and destroy the 6 heavy guns capable of firing their shells to a maximum range of nearly 15 miles. Colonel Rudder and his men only realised upon capturing the battery that the Germans, under the orders of Rommel, had moved the guns half a mile inland and hidden them while bunkers were being constructed to protect them. The taking of Pointe du Hoc was a long and laborious fight, with the Rangers being left to fend for themselves two days longer than had been planned. The 2nd Battalion suffered very heavy casualties during the two and a half days they were at Pointe du Hoc, only 90 of the original 225 still fighting when they were finally relieved.

OMAHA BEACH :

Approximately 34 000 soldiers of the famous 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions landed on this beach on D-Day. The beach was covered in anti-tank and anti-landing craft obstacles. Nearly all of the pre-invasion bombardment had missed the fortifications along the beach and the geography of the beach itself, consisting of 80 to 100-foot bluffs rising up from the shore, was very easily defendable terrain for the Germans. One of the only good quality front line Infantry Divisions available to the Germans was also present on the beach, purely by coincidence. This made the assault the most difficult of all the beaches on D-Day, earning the nickname “Bloody Omaha”. Only a few days after the landings, the Americans had transformed nearly the entire beach into a vast artificial harbour, code named “Mulberry A”. It was used for less than a week before it was destroyed in a very heavy storm between the 19th and 22nd of June 1944. There is only one piece of this harbour left to be seen today.

AMERICAN CEMETERY AND ITS INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

Overlooking the eastern end of Omaha Beach, the American cemetery holds the bodies of 9 387 soldiers who came from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean to liberate Western Europe from the Germans. This immense place of memory and reflexion will impress you with its calm and serenity. You can see the graves of some of the 307 unknown soldiers or visit the resting places of the more famous, such as the Niland brothers, the family who inspired the film “Saving Private Ryan” as well as the three Medals of Honor winners, one of whom is General Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

THE ARTIFICIAL HARBOUR OF ARROMANCHES

Realising the difficulties of capturing intact an enemy held port, the British, under Churchill, opted for the mammoth task of building two artificial harbours, one for the American 1st Army at Omaha, the other for the British 2nd Army at Gold. However, following a very severe storm lasting from the 19th to the 22nd of June 1944 which completely destroyed the American Mulberry harbour, the British artificial port at Arromanches was left alone as the main supplied channel for all of the equipment needed by the Allied soldiers fighting in Normandy.

MONT SAINT MICHEL AND THE SURROUNDING BRITTANY/h1>

Mont Saint Michel : a miracle or a mirage? A day spent there will be a day that you will never forget. Follow the legends of the rock such as the two Gods fighting to the death on the Mont-Saint-Michel and the Mont Tombe, places that have been considered sacred by the inhabitants since the third century B.C. The first sanctuary, which turned the site into a Christian place of pilgrimage, was built by Saint Aubert, bishop of Avranches in 708 A.D. This was done because the bishop had received visions from St Michael ordering him to build the sanctuary on the site, and to dedicate it to him. As the centuries went by, with increasing numbers of pilgrims coming to pay homage and leave an offering, the sanctuary grew rich and a monastery was founded. As well as this, the sanctuary was being continually expanded and made ever grander, following the different architectural styles of the times which turned the Mont Saint Michel into what it is today, an Abbey on the scale of which the world has no equal.

Le MONT-SAINT-MICHEL

Mont Saint Michel : a miracle or a mirage? A day spent there will be a day that you will never forget. Follow the legends of the rock such as the two Gods fighting to the death on the Mont-Saint-Michel and the Mont Tombe, places that have been considered sacred by the inhabitants since the third century B.C. The first sanctuary, which turned the site into a Christian place of pilgrimage, was built by Saint Aubert, bishop of Avranches in 708 A.D. This was done because the bishop had received visions from St Michael ordering him to build the sanctuary on the site, and to dedicate it to him. As the centuries went by, with increasing numbers of pilgrims coming to pay homage and leave an offering, the sanctuary grew rich and a monastery was founded. As well as this, the sanctuary was being continually expanded and made ever grander, following the different architectural styles of the times which turned the Mont Saint Michel into what it is today, an Abbey on the scale of which the world has no equal.

SAINT-MALO

Drift back in time as you walk through the streets of the old town of Saint Malo, ringed by high fortified walls that offer spectacular views of the port and bay, still as they were when the 16th century explorers, such as Jacques Cartier who discovered Newfoundland, would have seen them. When you feel that it’s time to find something to eat, try one of the creperies, much loved by the locals, where you will find little better than the regional speciality, a “galette bretonne” with a jug of cider. Or if you prefer, there are numerous seafood restaurants where you can sample what the fishermen caught that morning.

DINAN

Raised up overlooking the valley of Rance, the rich town of Dinan dominates the fishing port to which it is connected by a cobbled road, lined with old houses and shops. The architecture of this Breton town shows that it was home to many different craftsmen such as potters, basket makers, weavers and butchers, amongst others. Like the Mont Saint Michel or Saint Malo, the town of Dinan was protected by ramparts, partly destroyed now but offering great protection to the Dukes of Brittany who ruled the region at the time. One of the unique buildings of the town is the oval keep, a defensive tower, built at the end of the 14th century and joined to the ramparts. Let the charm and beauty seduce you and spend an afternoon living in a medieval world of amazement.