11 articles in this category
The D-Day landing sites stretch across 80 kilometres of coast, five sectors, a dozen museums and four military cemeteries. Here is what is actually there, what each part costs you in hours, and how to decide whether you need one day, two, or three.
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In 1996, a father brought his two sons to the Utah Beach sign and took their photograph. Thirty years later, one of those boys came back with his own son and stood in exactly the same place, because in 1944, their grandfather came ashore on this beach.
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A curated guide to the films and books I recommend to my American clients before, or after, a WWII history tour in Normandy and Brittany. Watch them, read them, then stand on the ground where it all happened.
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Hank and Babe Dombrowski left the steel town of Gary, Indiana and never came home. They fell thirty-eight days apart in the summer of 1944, and today they lie side by side at the Brittany American Cemetery in Saint-James. This September, their family is crossing the ocean to visit them, and I went ahead to say hello.
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Many travellers come to Saint-Malo because of a novel. Few realise they are walking through one of the most heavily fortified, most fought-over towns of the Second World War in France. Here is the real story behind the walls, from the Atlantic Wall fortress to the 39-45 Memorial.
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A hidden gem in Normandy, hiding in plain sight between the D-Day beaches and Bayeux. Thirteenth-century stone vaults, a sole meunière worthy of Julia Child, and eight hundred years of history. Worth every mile of the drive.
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Private First Class Abel Marques Jr was 21 when he fell near Coutances on July 30, 1944. I went to say hello to him at the Brittany American Cemetery, because as a local guide, helping families preserve the memory of their fallen ancestors is part of who I am.
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Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold, Sword: a complete insider guide to visiting the D-Day landing beaches of Normandy, from a licensed private guide based in the region with 17 years of experience on the ground.
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Can you visit Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery, and Mont-Saint-Michel in a single day from Paris? Yes. Here is exactly how, with a realistic itinerary, honest advice, and a Breton picnic on the road.
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How to visit the Normandy landing beaches from Paris in a single day, focused entirely on D-Day. The right train, the right station, a realistic private itinerary, and honest advice on when to stay a night instead.
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Eighty years after his uncle's B-17 was shot down over Brittany, John Breidenthal flew from Kansas to find the field where Leslie landed. This is the story of that day.
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