Beginning in January 2014, CroisiEurope will offer a unique excursion to honor the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings along the Normandy coast during World War II. The optional daytrip will depart by bus, from several of our most popular river cruises along the Seine, and will visit historic points of interest that marked the Battle of Normandy and D-Day.

The Battle of Normandy was one of history’s largest amphibious military assaults. Many American and Allied lives were lost, yet this historic and daring series of clashes ultimately resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany. To this day, it remains one of the most famous elements of World War II history, and these five French beaches retain the code names given to them by the Allies: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

Our excursion will visit each of these battlefields. We’ll begin at Pointe du Hoc where, during the early hours of 6th June 1944, American troops led by Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder scaled the beach cliffs to destroy Nazi machine-gun outposts, and enable Allied landings at Omaha and Utah beaches. We will then visit Omaha Beach, and the American cemetery which overlooks it from a bluff above in Colleville sur Mer.

We then visit Arromanches and Mulberry harbour, where, in an extraordinary feat of engineering, the British built two huge landing jetties. Over the course of 10 months in 1944, these jetties landed 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tons of goods. Guests will then have an opportunity to watch the powerful film The Price of Liberty – which contains archival footage from war correspondents during June 1944 -- on France’s only 360-degree screen. We’ll return to Honfleur via Gold Beach and Juno Beach in Gray-sur-Mer, Courseulles-sur-Mer and Sword Beach in Ouistreham Lion-sur-Mer.

The Normandy landing excursion must be pre-booked. 

For more information about the excursion and the cruises which offer this special trip, please click here.