Our War Memorial Vacation Through Europe-12 Day Itinerary (Part 1)

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From beautiful Paris to trendy Berlin, charming Krakow and enchanting Prague, my little family embarked on a World War Memorial tour of Europe that we will never forget.

As a gift to my son, who had recently convocated from college, we wanted to go on a vacation together before he was fully immersed in the workforce. Choosing a family vacation involving an adult son with his parents isn’t exactly an easy task. But, given that my son and husband are World War II history buffs and I love non-fiction and realistic fiction stories of the Holocaust and the war, we knew that a memorial tour through Europe would be the perfect vacation for the three of us. So, we purchased plane tickets and gave them to my son as a gift and then started co-planning the itinerary. Here is what our 12 Days in Europe on a War Memorial Vacation looked like.

Paris, France

We arrived in Paris from Canada in the early afternoon. We didn’t plan to spend a lot of time in Paris because my son had already been to Paris a few years prior and my husband and I plan to return to France and spend more time there enjoying the culture and all that this beautiful city and country have to offer (translation: we plan to drink wine and eat our way through this beautiful country).

We picked up our rental car from Sixt Rental Car Company at the airport and headed to our hotel. This was the beginning of a few driving adventures for us while we were in Europe beginning with the roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe.

There we were, an innocent trio of small-town folks, following the GPS in our cute little BMW rental sports car when we were suddenly swept up into roundabout mayhem. While it appeared that no one followed the rules of the road, we learned after successfully maneuvering the insanity and getting safely tossed out on the correct street, that the rules are different on the Étoile. Unlike traditional roundabouts, you must give way to your right and to those entering the roundabout but nothing made sense to us while we were driving in it. It was terrifying at the time but now it’s a great memory and a fun story to share. I would suggest, if you are planning to drive in Paris, you do your homework on this roundabout. We did learn, again after the fact, that there are ways to avoid the Étoile if you don’t wish to have a dose of heart-stopping adventure in your life while on vacation. We finally found our hotel which was in a great location near the Eiffel Tower and the Seine and then set out to explore Paris.

During our 24 hours in Paris we enjoyed a Hop on Hop Off bus tour that took us through the city and to all of the famous landmarks but what I really loved about our time in this beautiful city was that my husband and son agreed to do a photo session while we were there.

I had read about Flytographer, a Canadian start-up company that connects travelers with photographers in over 250 destinations around the world and I thought that a family photo session was the perfect way to remember our family vacation forever. We didn’t have a whole bunch of time so I only booked a 30-minute session but I was thrilled with what we received. The customer service was excellent and our photographer was awesome. I will definitely book Flytographer again while on vacation. You can read about our Flytographer experience here.

After a lovely visit to Paris, it was time to make our way to Caen.

Caen, France (Normandy)

After several hours in traffic on a Friday evening of Easter weekend when every Parisian was trying to head out to the countryside, we finally made it to Caen. We chose Caen because it’s only (supposed to be) two hours from Paris and very close to the beaches in the Normandy area.

There are hundreds of tours of the Normandy Beaches that start in Caen and plenty to see and do in the city itself including Le Memorial de Caen, a major war museum.  We booked accommodations at the Royal Hotel Caen Center and found a fun, family-style Italian restaurant called Le Napoli for a late supper. We had a delicious pizza with a lovely Beaujolais. This was a great spot!

The next morning, we were picked up from our hotel lobby by Francis Paz with Normandy Guided Tours with whom we had planned an 8-hour guided tour of the Normandy Beaches. All three of us were eagerly anticipating this private tour.

Francis was incredibly knowledgeable, personable, and had many stories to share from Canadian, American and French perspectives. We also enjoyed hearing the stories his elderly neighbour shared with him about life in France living under German occupation.  

We could not have had a better day touring this area. If you are looking to tour the Normandy Beaches, I would highly recommend a guided tour. Standing on that landscape listening to stories and explanations provides a perspective of the events that took place on the shores of Normandy, as well as in France during German Occupation that you wouldn’t experience if you visited this area on your own.

It was well worth the money for this full-day guided tour that also included a wonderful lunch (and French wine). It was an ambitious itinerary for the 8 hours which only included Juno Beach and Omaha Beach. If you were wanting to tour all 5 beaches and surrounding area (I wish we had planned to visit Mont-Saint-Michel) definitely plan to stay in the Normandy area for about 3 days. There are many quaint coastal towns in the Normandy region but most guided tours are booked out of either Caen (where we stayed) or Bayeux. I think this would be an amazing area to book an Airbnb and visit in the summer!

Vimy, France

The morning after our unforgettable tour of Juno and Omaha, we were up with the birds and off on our next adventure. Our first stop was Vimy, France to visit the Canadian National Vimy Memorial which honours the Canadian soldiers who fought in World War I.

This impressive monument built by Canadians to pay tribute to the men and regiments who fought at Vimy Ridge is built into the side of the tallest part of the ridge and has the names of over 11, 000 Canadians who were killed in France but whose bodies were never found. The monument is a breathtaking and solemn area to visit and give thanks to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

While we were there, we also took the free tour of the Grange tunnel and frontline trenches with a lovely young tour guide from Ottawa, Ontario. All of the staff working at Vimy are Canadian post-secondary students which we thought would be a truly amazing experience for these young people. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is open to the public and is free of charge. It was definitely worth the stop on our way to Berlin.

After spending the morning at the Vimy Memorial, we were back on the road headed to Berlin, Germany.

Friends, I have read about the Autobahn and seen glimpses of this highway in movies but until you are in a tiny sports car with the humans you hold most dear, reaching speeds of up to 160 km/hour (about 100 miles/hour) with cars whizzing by you, you have no idea what the Autobahn is truly like. The suggested speed limit is 130 km but I’m certain we were the only ones who drove at that speed during the times when my heart couldn’t take it anymore and I needed a break from the high speeds so pleaded with my husband to slow down. He was in his glory though! And my son, who mostly napped in the back seat (how he could sleep during such a stressful drive is beyond me!) was quite entertained when he was awake by the banter that was happening in the front seat. It’s a good thing we are in love!

Miraculously, we arrived in Berlin safe and sound and got settled into our wonderful top floor flat that we booked through Airbnb. A glass of wine had never tasted so good!

We stayed in Berlin for three nights so it was nice to slow down for a bit and have a cozy spot to call home for a few days.

Check out Part Two of our European Vacation where I share our time in Berlin, Krakow, and Prague! Thanks for following along!