Small-group WWI Somme Battlefields Day Trip from Paris with John Monash Centre

1 day

Popular

Small Group

Full Day

About this activity

Visit the cemetery of Delville Wood at Longueval, situated on the edge of the Somme. See the Lochnagar Crater "Located at La Boisselle" - an impressive mine hole 100 meters across and 30 meters deep.

See the Australian flag flying over Poziere in recognition of the sacrifices made by the ANZAC's in the battle that took place here during the battle of the Somme. This battle was followed by the battle of Mouquet Farm which you will also visit today.

Continuing to Thiepval, you will see the largest memorial dedicated to missing British Soldiers. You will also visit The Ulster Tower, a memorial to the men of the 36th Ulster division, the Beaumont-Hamel and the Newfoundland Memorial which offers a realistic and moving view of these battles in its remarkably well-preserved trenches system. During this day-trip you will also see the the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.

Finish the tour with a visit to the Historial at Peronne, an international and cultural museum of the first world war (1914-1918) which explains the conflict, its origins and its consequences.The museum boasts a unique collection of over 50,000 original objects and documents of everyday life during the war.

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Included

Small group tour (maximum 8 participants)
Guaranteed to skip the long lines
English speaking guide
Transport by Air-Conditioned Minibus
All taxes, fees and handling charges
Entry/Admission - Thiepval Memorial
Entry/Admission - Australian National Memorial
Entry/Admission - Historial de la Grande Guerre
Entry/Admission - Ulster Memorial Tower
Entry/Admission - Lochnagar Crater
Entry/Admission - Delville Wood War Memorial
Guaranteed to skip the lines

Not included

Gratuities
Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Additional

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 3 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Be sure to arrive promptly for your tour.
The group will not wait if you are late and if you miss the tour due to a delay, you will not be entitled to a refund.

Features

Tourism

95%

Cultural

65%

Reviews

4.6

268

anilsen

5 | 2019-09-16

I attended with my husband, daughter and close friends. My husband is ex-RAN and our friend is ex-Army. We wanted to learn and pay our respects to all the Australians that had died on the Somme battlefields. We had a very remarkable day with our guide who was extremely informative. We attended not only Australian memorials but also English and Canadian. The John Monash Centre is truely worth a visit as were all the places we attended that day including the crater. It leaves you tired, weary and sad but we were all pleased we had learnt so much and paid our respects to not only the fallen Australians but the many other soldiers who had given their lives in battles sometimes even when they had no chance of survival,. Definitely recommend this tour, we did stop for a coffee in the morning and a baguette from a local patisserie for lunch which we ate in the a church garden. Can also do some memorabilia shopping.

arnoldfeather

5 | 2019-08-01

We had a fantastic day touring the battlefields of the Somme and Villers-Bretoneux. Our tour guide Matt was full of knowledge and gave us a great insight into the area and history of the battles as well as events leading up to WW1. A tour that will live in our memories.

Rachel G

4 | 2019-07-03

We planned this trip to VB to pay homage to our fallen soldiers. As Australians we knew this was to be a great yet emotional experience and had been looking forward to it for some time. I think this tour definitely needs a little tweeking to take it to the next level. There needs to be more time at the John Monash Centre, especially, as with our group, when most or all of the group is composed of Australians. It is too rushed and does not allow sufficient time to see everything (even quickly) and then pay your respects at the graves. Some people in our group had actual relatives buried there and to think they were rushed in paying their respects saddened us. We basically had to run through to graves to make it to the bus on time after departing the JMC museum. For people who have come SO far to see this important site, being given less than one hour here was quite annoying to say the least. Unfortunately we were also not instructed by our guide that in order to view the interactive exhibits at the centre you need to download an app as well as have a pair of headphones. We only figured this out with about 15 mins left in the centre which only exacerbated how rushed we felt during our time here. There is probably too much time granted for lunch and the final museum and not enough time for the John Monash centre. If this was tweeked the day would be far more enjoyable. The other stops and memorials were great and moving and our guide Max did a good job of explaining the history of the area, the war and the Australian involvement in the war. In general, I think it was a very enjoyable day. Everyone on our trip had similar comments, so I hope the owners/managers please take this into account to take this day to the next level.

Vicki F

5 | 2018-02-20

Loved this trip and our guide was so friendly and helpful

Susan W

5 | 2018-01-14

Loved this tour. Our tour guide was excellent, went out of his way to assist people with us to find their Great Uncles grave and was very informative. Would highly recommend.

Gregory W

5 | 2017-12-27

Absolutely excellent. If you are interested in WW1 battles, it would be hard not to like this. The many cemeteries make for a moving experience. I REALLY enjoyed this, Saw a lot, including the place where the Red Baron crashed to his death. Guide knew his stuff. Tipped him more than any guide I had before. Unlike American graves, the British Commonwealth allowed relatives to provide epitaphs to be written by relatives. Check out this one,. Could speak for everyone killed in that war, although this particular soldier died on the day that the German general Ludendorff described as the Black Day for the German army, so in that respect he didn't die, as so many did in that war, in vain.

MISS S E T

3 | 2017-10-18

The small group thing is a good way to do it. However, 15 mins at the Somme memorial was a bit rude. And if you are sitting in the middle you see nothing. So it was a very expensive exercise and I wouldn't overly recommend it.

Colina W

5 | 2017-10-12

Sorry I thought I had rated this trip. This was our holiday last year it was a wonderful day - I would strongly recommend if you only have a day to spend this trip covers a lot. It was amazing.

GREGORY C

5 | 2017-09-08

For some reason the other 4 people did not show up so we had a private tour. The tour guide was great!

Julia S

5 | 2017-07-12

The day was very interesting and the guide very knowledgeable. The day was tailored to the needs of the people attending with enough time spent at the memorial sites. It was a little cramped taking 8 in the mini van but definitely worth it.

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Small-group WWI Somme Battlefields Day Trip from Paris with John Monash Centre

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