Discover the history of Belgian and French battlefield during World War I in this 7-day cruise aboard the Panache. Visit the Belgian war sites around Ypres like Flander Fields museum, The Christmas Truce Cross and Pool of Peace crater. Cruise to France and see the battlefield memorabilia between the German and Allied forces in WW1. Tour the historic centre of Arras with its magnificent City Hall and Belfry which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Highlights
Visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site Cathedrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens
Explore the picturesque river and canals of Picardy
Discover the historic war sites and memorabilia at Picardy
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Guests are met at their choice of location in Bruges and transferred by private chauffeured minibus to Panache for a Champagne welcome and an introduction to your crew and barge. You might have time perhaps, for a walk or cycle ride before dinner on board.
This morning you will cruise to Lille along the beautiful River Lys near Ypres which the Australian troops called “Wipers” and the centre of intense, sustained fighting between German and Allied forces in WW1. After lunch, you can visit sites in and around Ypres, including the medieval Cloth Hall that now houses the “In Flanders Fields” museum – a moving pictorial comment on the futility of the conflict. You will also visit the Christmas Truce Cross, the Pool of Peace crater and the site where Lt. John McCrae wrote the moving poem “In Flanders Fields”, the Essex Farm dressing station. Early dinner ashore at 6.30pm in a traditional Belgian restaurant, then afterwards you will attend the moving daily Last Post ceremony at 8pm at the Menin Gate Memorial.
Today you will cruise to Arleux and the beginning of the Canal du Nord. After lunch, you can visit the National Necroplis, the largest of all French military cemeteries and wonder at the magnificent ‘Ring of Remembrance’, the recently-inaugurated International Memorial of Notre Dame de Lorette, engraved with the names of 580,000 soldiers killed in Northern France during World War One. We also head off to visit the battlefields of Arras and Vimy Ridge.
After breakfast, you will tour the historic centre of Arras with its magnificent City Hall and Belfry, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and also enjoy some time exploring the impressive traditional market. We then visit the fascinating Wellington Quarry, an underground memorial to the thousands of Allied soldiers that were barracked there in preparation for the battle of Arras in 1917. You will then return to the barge for a cruise under the New Zealand Engineers Bridge, amazingly built in a week in 1918 under continuous German fire. The canal itself was the scene of the Battle of Canal du Nord in September 1918. Being located in the heart of the battlefields, it was substantially destroyed and no attempt was made to reinstate and complete it until the early 1960s. After lunch you will come back on board, and you will continue cruising on to our evening mooring at Ruyaulcourt.
This morning, you will pass through the 3 mile Ruyaulcourt Tunnel and cruise on down towards Péronne. Later, you will head to the Somme and the site of the first day of the Battle of the Somme, where 23,000 men died on July 1st, 1916. You will visit the moving Thiepval memorial, a monument to 75,000 “missing” from this battle. There is also a visitor centre which has wonderful archival film footage and photographs from the era. Afterwards, you can visit a choice of memorials or museums, such as the Historial de la Grand Guerre, or perhaps visit the famous little town of Pozières to see the Gibraltar bunker, the ancient Windmill monument and infamous Tommy Café. Return to the barge for dinner on board.
The liberation of Villers-Bretonneux in 1918 claimed over 1,200 Australian soldiers’ lives. Every year, the ANZAC Day ceremony is held at the town’s memorial where over 10,000 Australian servicemen are commemorated. This morning you will visit this incredible village, which remains a living tribute to the Australian soldiers who liberated it. Highlights are Victoria School (this was built by money raised from children in Victoria after WW1), a fascinating and moving visit and pictorial museum in the town centre, the Australian National War Memorial and Le Hamel, memorial site of General Monash’s astounding 93 minute victorious battle over the Germans. Alternatively, there is the option to visit the nearby city of Amiens, with its magnificent Gothic cathedral. After lunch you will cruise the final leg of the journey along the Western Front to Pont-l’Éveque. Gala dinner aboard.
Day 7: Pont-l’Éveque (Noyon) | Disembark
1 Breakfast
After breakfast, guests are transferred by private chauffeured minibus to the Hotel Westminster in Paris.
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Junior Suite
150 sq ft including en suite facilities including TV/DVD, Double sink in bathroom and air conditioning/ heating, WiFi (subject to location)
Initial deposit is 25%, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 100 days prior to departure by Credit card, check, and bank transfer. All final payments by credit card subject to a surcharge of 2.5% and maximum of $20,000 charge
This was my first experience with Adventure Life - and I couldn't have been more pleased with the trip. The guides and local staff in both Buenos Aires and Uruguay were terrific - extremely helpful and accommodating. I really enjoyed meeting the friendly staff in Buenos Aires in person (I left my bags with them for the afternoon).
Karen Snider
TrustScore 4.8 | 134 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 134 reviews on
22 hours ago
Very responsive to all questions
Teresa Cardoso
1 day ago
Kelly and Rhenee were excellent to work with on planning our trip. The logistics all worked smoothly and everyone was friendly and on time. Our accommodations were very good, particularly the incredible Patagonia Camp in Torres del Paine! Our guides on every excursion were outstanding and made the hikes memorable! Overall we had a wonderful trip with incredible memories!
Scott Gibson
1 day ago
Adventure Life is definitely a first-class safari tour company, and our representative was Franny Friesz. First of all, she responded immediately after we contacted Adventure Life. We told Franny that we had never been on a safari, and she was more than eager to offer a mountain of information about the trip. She informed us fully about all the ups, downs, and all arounds! She even prepared a number of packages for us to review -- even after we made changes to the areas we wanted to explore. Friendly, helpful, professional, and extremely knowledgeable -- these words describe Franny, and what a wonderful trip she prepared! We couldn't have asked for better service than Franny of Adventure Life. We HIGHLY recommend her and her outstanding company! Bon Voyage!
Prima Burke
2 days ago
The staff at Adventure Life made planning my family's trip to the Galapagos Islands as easy as possible. They listened to what we were hoping to experience and made thoughtful suggestions about how to accomplish our vacation goals while meeting the needs of travelers ages 17-76! They patiently answered questions and follow up questions in the months leading up to the trip. They helped us trouble shoot and customize the trip in every way possible. The logistics involved in traveling from Boston to the Galapagos are innumerable. The Adventure Life staff helped us arrange every detail and the team they assembled in the Galapagos was tremendous. I have never done a trip this big before and after working with Adventure Life this time--would not hesitate one second in working with them again.
Jennifer Howard Schroeder
3 days ago
Kevin got right on our request and had us booked within the week