Educational Travel Experience Designed Especially for University of Toronto Association of Geography Alumni (UTAGA) (04247-1-3)
Discovering Belgium & France May 20 - 31, 2017 ITINERARY OVERVIEW
DAY 1 DEPARTURE FROM TORONTO DAY 2 ARRIVE BRUSSELS - YPRES AREA (2 NIGHTS) DAY 3 YPRES & SALIENT TOUR DAY 4 YPRES - VIMY RIDGE - BEAUMONT HAMEL - DIEPPE (1 NIGHT) DAY 5 DIEPPE - HONFLEUR - BAYEUX - BAYEUX AREA (2 NIGHTS) DAY 6 NORMANDY (CANADIAN EFFORTS AT D-DAY) DAY 7 NORMANDY AREA - CAEN - ROUEN - GIVERNY - PARIS (5 NIGHTS) DAY 8 PARIS DAY 9 VERSAILLES & FONTAINEBLEAU DAY 10 PARIS DAY 11 PARIS DAY 12 DEPARTURE FROM PARIS ITINERARY Our tour will include the Le Nord Picardy, Normandy, and Paris regions of France. Our trip will focus on the contributions made by Canadian soldiers during World War I and World War II. We will go in-depth in learning about the great sacrifices and heroics that helped to shape our modern world. Educational Tour/Visit Cultural Experience Festival/Performance/Workshop Tour Services Recreational Activity LEAP Enrichment Match/Training Session
DAY 1 Saturday, 20 May 2017 Relax and enjoy our scheduled flight from Toronto.
DAY 2 Sunday, 21 May 2017 Our 24-hour Tour Director will meet us at the airport and remain with us until our final airport departure. We will have use of a private coach and driver, while touring for the next ten days. Brussels is a vibrant city that has grown from a 10th century fortress into a “Capital of Europe.” With many specialized museums, fun sculptures and plazas, and terrific food, there is something for everyone in Brussels. We will take a City Tour using our private bus and tour director, which will highlight some of Brussels' most important and recognizable landmarks. Visit the Cinquantenaire, known as a temple of history. We will enter through the Arc de Triomphe, built to commemorate Belgium's independence. Inside the great park, we will visit the Musee Royal de l'Armee et d'Histoire Militaire, which traces the history of the Belgian military from the 1830 Revolution, through the Second World War. The museum contains over 130 World War II aircraft. Explore the Grand Place where many of the medieval buildings were destroyed by King Louis XIV in 1695. However it rebuilt soon after and is surrounded by guildhalls, the city's Town Hall, and the Breadhouse. Ypres features gabled guild houses and patrician mansions around the Grote Markt and at the western end of this main central square, Ypres's medieval wealth is reflected in its extravagant Gothic Lakenhalle (Cloth Hall). The original, constructed between 1250 and 1304 along the Ieperlee River, which has long since been banished underground, was blown to bits between 1914 and 1918 and reconstructed with painstaking care in subsequent decades, though the work wasn't finished until 1967. Gilded statues adorn the roof, and a statue of Our Lady of Thuyne, the patron of Ypres, stands over the main entrance, the Donkerpoort. Our base for the first two nights will be in the Ypres area, where breakfast will be provided at the hotel. (Central Ypres hotel will be subject to space availability after the group has booked and provided deposits) This evening we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.
DAY 3 Monday, 22 May 2017 During the course of our tour we will gain from the knowledge and insight of four half-day local guides while we are here in France.
1 DAY 3 Monday, 22 May 2017 We will take a guided tour of the Salient that will include the St. Julien Memorial, Hill 62, the Yorkshire trench and the Newfoundland Courtrai Memorial. We will also stop to visit the Essex Farm Cemetery, where there are 1,200 WW1 servicemen buried or commemorated. Of these burials 103 are not identified. There are special memorials commemorating 19 casualties who are known or believed to be buried among the unidentified burials. In addition we will stop to explore the Site John McCrae, where the remains of concrete bunkers used by a British Advanced Dressing Station, while separate memorials to John McCrae and his poem In Flanders Fields are just to the east of these bunkers. We will stop to visit the Passchendaele Memorial Park and Grounds, highlighted by the Canadian Memorial that commemorates the Canadian Corps that helped capture the area and end the campaign in 1917. Take a tour of the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, including the museum's newest addition, the Gallery of Remembrance. The museum features over 5,000 items to include memorabilia, artifacts, photographs, films and wartime maps. Concentrating on the five battles of Ypres and the Battle of Passchendaele 1917, the museum also has a six metre deep dugout with reconstructed communication, dressing posts accommodation and headquarters. Another highlight of our visit we will be the trench experience comprising of six different types of trenches, 125 metres in length, including four German and two British sections. Visit the Flanders Fields Museum, this provides an interesting and comprehensive background guide to the causes and actions of the Great War. This evening we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant. We will view Menin Gate and then we will witness the Last Post Ceremony, which takes place each evening at 8:00pm. This is a moving ceremony that takes place under the Menin Gate in Ypres and has become part of the daily life of the local people. It is a simple but moving tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice of those who fell in defense of their town.
DAY 4 Tuesday, 23 May 2017 Today we will travel from Ypres to Dieppe. En route we will explore the Somme. The Somme is an area of France within the Picardy region, named after the Somme River that flows through it. It was the site of numerous battles in WWI, and is home to many haunting military cemeteries and monuments. Visit the Battlefield Park at Vimy Ridge, and explore the Underground tunnels and trenches. The attack at Vimy Ridge was part of an offensive mounted primarily to draw the Germans’ attention from a major French offensive on the Aisne. The site is now owned by the Canadian Government, and is maintained as a Memorial to the Canadian forces who fought in the Great War. Stop in Beaumont Hamel to visit the Newfoundland Memorial Park, the biggest battalion memorial on the Western Front and the largest area of the Somme battlefield that has been preserved. In addition, see the Schwaben Redoubt and the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. Thiepval was chosen as the location to commemorate those who died in the Somme sector before March 20, 1918 and who have no known grave. The small town of Dieppe is home to the closest beach to Paris, and is lively with tourists year-round. It is more well-known, however, as the site of a raid by Canadian forces on the 19th of August, 1942. The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, the Essex Scottish, and the Royal regiment of Canada fell into German hands and were killed during this disastrous battle. The Dieppe area will be our base for the evening. Breakfast will be provided at the hotel. (The requested Dieppe hotel will be subject to space availability after the group has booked and provided deposits) This evening we will have dinner as a group in a local restaurant.
2 DAY 5 Wednesday, 24 May 2017 This morning we will take a Walking Tour of Dieppe. Our tour will include Red and Maples Beaches, as well as the Square du Canada. We will view the monument erected by the town commemorating the long relationship between Dieppe and Canada. The base of the monument is inscribed with the words "nous nous souvenons" ("we remember"). Above the monument, the Canadian Maple Leaf flag is flown side-by-side with that of France. Today we will travel from Dieppe to Normandy. En route we will stop in Honfleur and Bayuex. The former defensive port of Honfleur has grown into one of Normandy’s most appealing harbor towns. The 17th century heart of the city has drawn artists from around France for the last century, including Boudin, Renoir, Courbet, and Cezanne; painters are still often seen along the quayside. Bayeux was the first town to be liberated after the Normandy invasion, but escaped the war with little damage, allowing its charming streets to be preserved. A walk through town reveals a wealth of 15th-19th century buildings and streets lined with cafes and shops. Visit the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux, home to one of the most famous tapestries in the world. The tapestry is actually embroidery on a band of linen, 231 feet long and 20 inches wide. It depicts 58 scenes in eight colors, telling the story of the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy. Tour the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux). It was consecrated in 1077 in the presence of William the Conqueror. The Bayeux area will be our base for the next two nights. While here, we will enjoy breakfast at the hotel. (The requested Bayeux hotel will be subject to space availability after the group has booked and provided deposits) This evening we will have dinner as a group in a local restaurant.
DAY 6 Thursday, 25 May 2017 Due to the volume of history and information to be learned in this location, we will benefit from the knowledge and wisdom of a Full Day Local Specialist-Guide today. Explore Juno Beach, which was one of the five main landing sites of the Allied invasion off the coast of Normandy on D-Day during World War II. It was situated between Sword Beach and Gold Beach. It is also known as the Canadian beach, as it was assigned to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division (with the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade). These were representative of the whole nation: three of the infantry battalions came from Ontario, one from Quebec, three from the Western provinces, and two from the Maritimes. Our guided tour of Juno Beach, which will include St-Aubin-sur-Mer, the landing site of 48th Royal Marine Commando, the monument to the Fort Garry Horse, Bernieres, facing the Nan sector of Juno Beach, a monument to the Queen's Own rifles, memorials to the Regina Rifles, and the 1st Canadian Scottish Regiment. Visit the Juno Beach Centre, a museum and cultural centre that opened at Courseulles-sur- Mer, France on June 6, 2003. The Centre presents the war effort made by all Canadians, civilian and military alike, both at home and on the various fronts during the Second World War, as well as the manifold faces of contemporary Canadian society. Visit the Memorial Pegasus, which is dedicated to the men of 6th Airborne Division and their role during the Battle of Normandy from June to September 1944. The thematically laid out exhibition hall, enables visitors to discover the missions of the division. Missions carried out before the seaborne landings on the beaches in June 1944, The Longest Day. Hundreds of historical objects and photos of the era are presented in the museum. The original Bénouville Bridge, renamed Pegasus Bridge after the liberation, is on display in the park of the museum along with a Bailey bridge and a full size copy of a wartime Horsa glider. Visit Mulberry Harbor and Arromanches 360 is the only circular cinema in France. With its 360 degrees projection over 9 High Definition Screens, you will be plunged to the heart of the action, among the fighters on D-Day experiencing all the intensity of this great moment that was the landing of the Allied forces in Normandy. Explore Pointe du Hoc, a nearly 100-meter-high cliff, with perpendicular sides jutting out into the Channel. It was assigned to the U.S. 2nd Rangers to take and hold during the D-Day landings. Pointe du Hoc now features a memorial and museum dedicated to the battle. Many of the original fortifications have been left in place and the site remains speckled with a number of bomb craters.
3 DAY 6 Thursday, 25 May 2017 Visit the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery which, despite its name, is near the village of Reviers. The mayor and people of Reviers take a special interest in the cemetery for, although it bears another name, they feel it to be their own. Fine hedges decorate the entrance, and the flanking registry buildings have platforms from which visitors can look out on the whole area and appreciate the skill and devotion that has gone into the planning and design of this superb cemetery. This evening we will have dinner as a group in a local restaurant.
DAY 7 Friday, 26 May 2017 Today we will travel from Normandy to Paris. En route we will stop in Caen, Rouen & Giverny. Caen became the favorite residence for William the Conqueror and Queen Matilda in the 11th century, and, despite extensive bombing in WWII, much of the city remains. While the war and subsequent reconstruction left the city without much of the traditional Normandy charm, it is still beautiful and full of historic interest. Explore the Peace Museum, which uses some of the most advanced interpretative techniques available to take us on a trip through the history of World War II. Rouen is the capital of the Haute Normandie region, and was once the Anglo-Norman capital from which England was governed. The city is dominated by Notre-Dame Cathedral and is well-known for it's association with the death of Joan of Arc. We will make a stop in central Rouen for the group to get their own lunch.
The small village of Giverny is best known as the home of impressionist painter Claude Monet. A settlement has existed here since Neolithic times, and the quaint town is now an attraction in its own right. Explore Claude Monet'’s House and Gardens, known also as the Fondation Claude Monet. The house is decorated in the original color schemes that Monet admired and the gardens are the subject of some of the artist’s best-loved works, including the Water Lilies series. Paris is one of the most iconic cities in the world, filled with culture and history, monuments and museums. Known as the City of Light, Paris is a million things to a million people. No writer has ever been able to truly capture Paris in words, and only the experience of being there can begin to express the grandness and magic of this incredible city. For the final five evenings we will enjoy the convenience of our centrally-located Paris hotel, where daily breakfast will be included. This evening, dinner will be provided in a local restaurant.
DAY 8 Saturday, 27 May 2017 Visit Notre-Dame Cathedral. Work began in 1163 on a spot that had been a holy shrine since Roman times. Over the centuries, the cathedral has been the scene of some of France's most momentous occasions, including the coronation of Napoleon. Tour the renowned Louvre Museum with a local specialist guide. We will see Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the imposing Coronation of Napoleon, and many of the finest paintings and sculptures from western civilization. Walk through the Jardin des Tuileries, the Neo-Classical gardens outside of the entrance to the Louvre and continue to La Place de la Concorde for a magnificent view of the Champs Élysées. Time permitting we will explore the Champs Élysées, which offers a beautiful look at Parisian life and architecture. Ascend the Arc de Triomphe, a massive triumphal arch commissioned by Napoleon. Today, it is a symbol of Paris and is home to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This evening dinner will be in a local restaurant, by the group's own arrangement and cost.
4 DAY 9 Sunday, 28 May 2017 Enjoy an excursion outside of Paris today. The Fontainebleau Château was a favorite royal country house for more than eight centuries. Traces of French kings and some of the major historic events that happened here are still preserved in this magnificent palace. A monument of French history, the gardens, art and architecture of Fontainebleau open an enchanted window onto the everyday lives of our sovereigns. Experience Versailles, a palace commissioned by Louis XIV around Louis XIII’s hunting lodge. In addition to viewing the spectacular Gardens, our visit includes the ornate State Apartments, highlighted by the magnificent Hall of Mirrors. Versailles set the standard for royal opulence in the 17th century; this over indulgence set the stage for outrage and the ensuing French Revolution 100 years later. Tonight we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant in the Latin Quarter, a section of the city that dates back to the Roman times; it is generally associated with artists, intellectuals, and political unrest.
DAY 10 Monday, 29 May 2017 Stroll through the Cimetiere du Père-Lachaise, a cemetery which has been called the "grandest address in Paris." Numerous famous people, from Sarah Bernhardt to Oscar Wilde to Richard Wright, are here, along with Honoré de Balzac, Jacques-Louis David, Eugène Delacroix, Maria Callas, Max Ernst, Georges Bizet, Frédéric Chopin, Molière, Marcel Proust, Maurice Ravel, and Doors singer Jim Morrison. Take a guided-tour of the Opera National de Paris, founded by Louis XIV in 1669. The current Palais Garnier was inaugurated on January 15, 1875 and is the thirteenth theater to house the Paris Opera. Highlights of our tour will include: the Grand Staircase, built in marble of various colors; the Library-Museum, which houses a permanent gallery containing paintings, drawings, photographs and scale models of sets; the richly decorated Grand Foyer; the Salon du Glacier; and the Auditorium dominated by the immense crystal chandelier hanging below Marc Chagall’s brightly colored ceiling. Take some time to explore or shop at your leisure. Around sunset, we will ascend to the top of Paris’ most recognizable landmark, the Eiffel Tower, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1889. The wrought-iron tower was not meant to be permanent, and the first permit was only for 20 years. But by that time, it had proved to be a valuable communication device for radio. It is now France’s global icon and has hosted over 200 million visitors. This evening dinner will be in a local restaurant, by the group's own arrangement and cost.
DAY 11 Tuesday, 30 May 2017 Visit the Musée d'Orsay, which is housed in a former railway station. It features mainly French art from 1848-1915, and is best known for its impressionist masterpieces by Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Cezanne. Learn about sculptor Auguste Rodin with a visit to the Musée Rodin. This 18th century mansion was the artist’s residence from 1908 until his death in 1919. We will view most of his significant creations, including The Kiss and The Thinker. Visit the Hôtel des Invalides, an imposing building commissioned by Louis XIV in 1670 for his wounded and homeless veterans. We will also visit the gilded Dome Church, one of the finest examples of 17th century French architecture. It is highlighted by the massive Tomb of Napoleon. Take some time to explore or shop at your leisure. Tonight we will ascend to the Montmartre area of Paris, where we will have dinner in a local restaurant. This area was made famous in the late 19th century as an artists’ haunt. We will also spend time in the Place du Tertre, a square known for its local artwork. Visit Sacré-Coeur Basilica, a huge white church that dominates the Parisian skyline. Construction of the church began in 1875 and ended in 1914, just before WWI. Inside, we can admire the stained glass and some of the world’s largest mosaics.
5 DAY 12 Wednesday, 31 May 2017 Our rewarding and enjoyable tour comes to an end as our Tour Director accompanies us to the airport on our final day.
What is Included:
* Round trip airfare with a major carrier on scheduled flights and guaranteed dates * All airport taxes and fuel surcharges (which will not change after time of enrollment for any participant) * Accommodation in 3 & 4 star centrally located tourist class hotels in twin/double or triple rooms (if an odd number of a gender) * A filling breakfast everyday to get the day started well throughout your program * Dinner daily reflecting local cuisine on every evening in local restaurants (with the exception of days 8 & 10 which will be by own arrangement and cost) * A full-time WorldStrides International Discovery programs Tour Director to accompany your group 24 hours a day from arrival to departure * The expertise and perspective of local guides where needed during your tour * All excursions, cultural activities and (several pre-booked) admissions as per your itinerary * Transportation by private coach while in Belgium and France. * Porterage (one bag) for airport transfers and hotels * Basic health insurance while on tour (including medical treatment on tour up to $7,500) and $50,000 of coverage for emergency evacuation and repatriation
This Does Not Include:
* Any items not mentioned above or in the detailed itinerary * Lunches or personal beverages with meals * Group dinners on days 8 & 10 * Visas (if required) * Tips and gratuities for the guide and driver * Any fees that might be imposed by the airlines at the airport for checked baggage * Travel insurance - We offer and always recommend our Trip Mate travel insurance policy to all participants. This comprehensive policy includes health, property and cancellation coverage at a cost of $149
6 UTAGA (04247-1-3) Full Paying Price In CAD (Subject to final airfare confirmation) Participants
This proposal is valid until 30 June 2016 and this tour cannot 35 $3,999 be operated in its present format with fewer than 10 30 $4,099 participants. 25 $4,275 Please contact your Program Leader Jacqueline Peers 20 $4,420 at [email protected] for further information. 15 $4,999
Register Online to join the Group
To Register and Join the Group, Please follow these easy instructions: 1. Go to: https://worldstrides.com/register/ 2. Enter your Trip ID Number - 131564 3. Click the Register Button on the upper right-hand side
4. Complete the requested information and make your payment
Tour Prices Guaranteed at Time of Enrollment!
Our Price Guarantee: Once you have received this promotional information, and the trip dates have been confirmed, the tour price (as long as the minimum group size is met) shown will not change, regardless of any subsequent rate fluctuations (for example, on visits to attractions, airline fuel/taxes or currency movements on overseas programs).
Trip Payment Schedule
May 31, 2016 $300 First Deposit is Due (Pay when you register online)
June 30, 2016 $200 Second Deposit is Due
December 22, 2016 Trip for the Price Locks in (based on number registered)
January 31, 2017 90% of the final balance is Due & Final date to Join the Group
March 22, 2017 Remaining 10% of the outstanding balance is Due
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