Thursday April 24, 2025 Rome / Cassino (D)
Arrival at Rome airport and reception by our English-speaking Tour Manager, who will remain with the group the whole tour. Transfer to Cassino. Dinner.
Overnight at our hotel.
Friday April 25, 2025 Cassino / Montecassino (B, L)
Buffet breakfast at our hotel.
This morning we visit (with local guide) Liri Valley and Cassino War Cemetery and Memorial.
Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon we continue our visit (with local guide) to Montecassino Abbey and Kingsmill Bridge, passing by Rapido River. Open for dinner.
Overnight in Cassino.
Saturday April 26, 2025 Cassino / Campobasso / Ortona (B, D)
Buffet breakfast at our hotel.
Transfer to Campobasso (Canada Town) and visit (with our tour manager) this town, liberated by Canadian soldiers from German occupation in 1944.
In the afternoon, transfer to Ortona, where we will enjoy a walking tour (with local guide), including the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery.
In the evening, enjoy a performance of La Montanara by Mike Ford and Murray Foster.
Check-in at our hotel, dinner and overnight.
Sunday April 27, 2025 Ortona / Ravenna / Bologna (B, L)
Buffet breakfast at our hotel.
Transfer to Ravenna and visit (with local guide) the historic center, including Commonwealth Graves Cemetery.
Lunch at a local restaurant. Transfer to Bologna and check-in. Free dinner
Overnight.
Monday April 28, 2025 Bologna / Paris (B, D)
Breakfast, transfer and departure for Bologna airport to take our flight to Paris.
Check-In at Hotel Campanile Centre Caen. Welcome dinner at the hotel.
Tuesday April 29, 2025 Caen / Arras (B, D)
Breakfast at our hotel and check-out.
Mid-morning departure for a panoramic drive along the Normandy Coast via Dieppe to Arras (app 390 km). Free time for lunch in Dieppe.
Check-in at Mercure Centre Gare in Arras with dinner tonight.
Wednesday April 30, 2025 Arras (B, L)
Breakfast at our hotel.
Arrival and an open evening.
Thursday May 1, 2025 Arras (B, L)
Breakfast in our hotel.
Overnight at our hotel.
Friday May 2, 2025 Arras / Ieper (B, L, D)
Breakfast at our hotel and check-out.
Check-in at Hotel Tearoom New Regina with dinner.
Saturday May 3, 2025 Ieper (B, D)
Breakfast at our hotel.
Depart for a short ride to the Essex Farm Cemetery.
Individual visit of the Essex Field Dressing Station and Essex Field Cemetery. Essex Farm got its name from a small cottage nearby. From 1915 - 1917 the concrete bunkers found here comprised a dressing station. Canadian Medical Officer John McCrae served here. In 1915 he wrote the war's most well-known poem, 'In Flanders Fields'. 1,200 service men of which 103 are not identified are buried or commemorated in the Essex Field cemetery.
We then return to Ieper for:
A guided visit of the “In Flanders Fields Museum” (IFF).
Visitors are invited to reflect on the major historical events but also experience the personal stories of individuals. The Museum shows how the First World War affected the lives of thousands of people of many different involved nationalities.
Open for lunch at the Museum cafeteria or Market Square. Balance of the afternoon is open before we enjoy an evening dinner and performance of McCrae in the Mirror”
Balance of the afternoon is open before we enjoy an evening dinner.
Sunday May 4, 2025 Ieper / Utrecht (B)
Breakfast at our hotel and check-out.
Dinner.
Monday May 5, 2025 Groesbeek – Apeldoorn – Utrecht (B, L)
Breakfast at our hotel.
Open afternoon and evening.
Tuesday May 6, 2025 Utrecht / Amsterdam (B, D)
Breakfast at our hotel.
Farwell group dinner and musical presentation by Mike Ford and Murray Foster.
Wednesday May 7, 2025 Departure (B)
Breakfast at our hotel. Final transfer to Amsterdam’ Schiphol Airport
Accommodations
Flights:
We have included air costs in our program. We also offer the option of handling your international air separately. The land-only cost includes the one-way flight from Bologna to Paris on April 28.
SPECIAL INCLUDED FEATURES
Italy Tour Inclusions:
Northern Europe Inclusions:
NOT Included in either tour:
Payment Requirements:
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This tour includes moderate physical activity, including walking on uneven ground through cemeteries and on cobblestone sidewalks.
Terms and Conditions:
Cancellation Penalties:
NOTE:
In the event that a confirmed traveler finds a replacement OR one is available from waitlists between date of booking and 31-days prior to date of departure, a flat $50.00 p.p. + hst administration charge will be accessed. Within 31-days prior, we regret that all payments become non-refundable with or without a replacement. We do not guarantee a replacement for any cancelled passenger.
Insurance:
We recommend adequate travel insurance and will provide details of insurance suggestions at the time of booking.
Walking Information on the Tour
Due to the nature of the tour and the sites we will visit, there is a fair amount of walking involved. Having visited France, Belgium, and Netherlands, we can provide first-hand observations that may help inform your decision. This will be our first time including Italy on the tour, and so we are relying on third-party information to comment on accessibility at those sites. With that said, here are some thoughts about various features of the tour:
Cemetery visits: We visit quite a few cemeteries, and the ground can be uneven at these sites. That said there are typically places to sit near the entrance, and I think these visits can be impactful experiences even if one does not walk around the site.
Walking tours: We have walking tours planned in Ortona, Boulogne-sur-mer, and Ghent. There is always an option to skip the walking and perch at a café to enjoy the environment and people watching. The walking tours typically start and end near public squares with lots of options for seating.
Abbey at Montecassino: The website says it is wheelchair accessible.
Juno Beach Centre: There is a lot to take in even if one doesn't want to walk around: the vista, film presentations, and an easy-to-navigate museum.
Vimy: There is a very nice visitor centre that is accessible. We drive the bus to the monument, which is very impactful to see from ground level, even if one does not walk around on the monument.
Beaumont Hamel: The welcome and interpretation presentation happens at the front entrance; it is optional to walk around the site, and lots of areas to sit and take it in if you choose to stay near the front entrance.
Langemark German Cemetery: Easy to navigate site with lots to see within steps of the front entrance.
Talbot House: We will be programming in the courtyard, which is easy to reach. There is a chapel in the attic of the house that you can only reach by steep stairs; otherwise, the site is easy to navigate.
Ypres: In Flanders Fields Museum is a one-minute walk from our hotel; and Menin Gate is a four-minute walk (400 m). There are some cobblestones – which are charming but can be difficult to navigate.
In Flanders Fields Museum: Is accessible, with places to sit throughout.
Passchendaele Museum: Is partially accessible; there are accommodations for the trench tours – which you can bypass or view from above.
Freedom Museum: Is accessible, with seating throughout.
Amsterdam: We have a free day for individual explorations here, but those wishing to go to Amsterdam will need to travel there by public transportation. Guests may instead choose to stay near our hotel in Utrecht instead, which looks like a lovely place!
We do provide interpretive talks on the bus, and music/theatre shows at museums or our hotels – so there should be no barrier to participate in these experiences. We have had people with mobility challenges attend our past two tours, and they have fared well when they have had a travel companion to assist, and when they have come prepared with mobility devices, ie. canes, walkers, wheelchairs. On occasion they took a pass on some of the walking activities, choosing to rest on the bus, or at a café, or park bench.
About MF2 Musicals
Mike Ford and Murray Foster first partnered with Guelph Museums in 2016 for a production of Sons of ’17 at McCrae House Backyard Theatre. They have since become close creative accomplices of the Museum, writing and performing engaging musical shows that explore history from new and unique perspectives. Providing the soundtrack for past Guelph Museums tours, Ford and Foster return with performances of Sons of ’17 and McCrae in the Mirror, and will debut two new shows for this tour – one centered on Canada’s involvement in the Italian Campaign during the Second World War, and another described as a poetic and impressionistic journey through the heart of the universal soldier - the heroics, the tragedy, the hopelessness and the hope held within the human spirit.
Ford and Foster have collaborated on many projects since their early days as members of Canadian '80s band Moxy Fruvous, while also achieving success as independent solo artists. Foster is an accomplished musician, songwriter, playwright, and teacher, well-known as bass player for Great Big Sea and as the founder of the Toronto Songwriting School. Ford is an educator and Juno-nominated Franco-Ontario solo artist who has released several acclaimed albums of Canadian-history inspired songs.
About Bev Dietrich
Bev Dietrich is retired Curator of Guelph Museums which includes McCrae House National Historic Site, birthplace of First World War poet John McCrae of In Flanders Fields fame. She is internationally recognized for her ongoing research and expertise on the life, service, and writings of Lt. Col. McCrae.
Bev was special guest in Belgium in 1995 for the 80th anniversary of the writing of the poem “In Flanders Fields” and has since shared her expertise during our special tours commemorating the 100th anniversary of John McCrae’s passing and the 150th anniversary of his birth.
