Day trip from Paris to Sainte Mère Eglise aboard a Van - Private Tour (7 pax)

Overview

Visit to Normandy D-Day battle sites and paratroopers drop zones from Paris (Including The Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mère-Eglise and the Normandy American Military Cemetery). Travel with your own group of passengers (2/7 participants) aboard a comfortable and air-conditioning Van. Step back in time on a history tour, and learn about the events of June 6, 1944. See the famous church in Sainte Mère l’Eglise (With a dummy american paratrooper still hanging onto the church steeple). Live the history of the Normandy invasion at the Airborne Museum in Sainte Mère Eglise ( You will see an unique sample in France of a WACO Glider. Also in an airfield tarmac at the foot of a C-47 aircraft which was deployed in the D-Day parachute drop operations, review the troops with The General Eisenhower just before Invasion and the Battle of Normandyin an airfield). Pay tribute to the fallen americans soldiers while visiting the Normandy American Military Cemetery which overlooks Omaha Beach.

What's included

• ✓Private transportation
• ✓Hotel Pick up and Drop off
• ✓Admission ticket to the Airborne Museum, Sainte Mère l’Eglise

• ✕Lunch
• ✕Gratuities

What you'll do

1. 1

   The Iron Mike memorial is a statue of an American paratrooper. It is named after St Michael, a saint of the Airborne. The memorial is a replica of the one at the U.S. Army Infantry School in Fort Benning USA. The Iron Mike memorial was unveiled on June 7, 1997 by Major-General Kellogg, commander of the 82nd Airborne who made a jump with his men that day out of a plane. Jumping on the night of D-Day, the 82nd Airborne had to capture the town of Sainte-Mère-Église. Holding the town, however, would have meant little without also holding the roads to and from it. One such route had a bottleneck: the La Fière Bridge a small stone bridge at La Fière manor, 700 yards to the west of the outskirts. The manor itself was a small group of buildings a grenade-throw away from the bridge. On the far side of the bridge, the road led west, the small hamlet of Cauquigny standing by it two-thirds of a mile away. Securing La Fière Bridge fell to the 505th PIR. The 1st Battalion was one of the few units that night to jump on time and land in its designated drop zone to the east of the bridge, between it and the town. They quickly learned that things were not as expected: the Germans have flooded large areas of Normandy and the tiny Merderet River running north-south under the bridge was now a marsh 1,000 yards across at its narrowest. The elevated road between the bridge and Cauguigny became a causeway surrounded by water, providing no cover.

   ⏱ 30 min
2. 2

   Sainte Mere Eglise became known to the world after the film The Longest Day because of the paratrooper John Steele of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Steele indeed landed on the church's steeple and pretended to be dead in order to avoid being shot by the Germans. He stayed put, hanging in the air, for two long hours and watched helplessly as the Germans shot his comrades around him. Nowadays the Church is still standing in the middle of the town square. The municipality of Sainte Mère l’Eglise has hung a dummy US paratrooper and his parachute on the steeple of the church and so has found the finest tribute that could be given to John Steele and all his comrades who lost their lives under German bullets. In addition, two stained glass windows were created for the church, in order to commemorate the liberation of the town by 82nd Airborne Division on June 6,1944.One of them depicts the Virgin with two paratroopers and the second one is Private John M. Steele (1912–1969)

Availability & pricing

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Good to know

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.