Taking up to 5 people
(+ Guide / Driver) in our comfortable air-conditioned Citroën C8 minivan or rental vehicle we will explore the battlefields of the Ardennes on foot, by car, and through museums.

Your guide will be Dr Andrew Thomson, History Ph.D. (University of Kent). His topic was the experiences of U.S. troops in France in 1944-45 (you can consult an abstract of the thesis on this site).

This is a suggested itinerary only - on all our trips we are of course happy to accommodate specific requirements, and to adjust the schedule depending on weather and preferences.

Ask us for an individual quote today.

The Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge)
A suggested 3-day / 2-night private tour for up to 5 people
Make your own party - do get in touch to discuss possible dates

 

Private groups (i.e. you & your friends);
dates by arrangement

  • up to 4 people (exceptionally 5) travelling in our air-conditioned Citroën C8 or rental car
  • Start & finish:
    - at the Channel Tunnel (meeting you off the high-speed train down from London);
    - Canterbury (our base, and only one hour from London - short tour & one night in B&B);
    - Brussels
  • 5-day joint theme tours possible, for example: Normandy & the Bulge
  • Larger groups? Ask us for a quote for a private minibus (10-15 people) or coach (16-50 people)

Staying right in the centre of Bastogne, here is a suggested 3-day (2-night) itinerary that covers not just the main Battle of the Bulge sights, but gives you a taste of the Ardennes itself, with its delightful countryside. Naturally we can put together a family-specific tour, and tours of different durations.

Day One - the December 16th attack:

- After a night in Canterbury, or a 40 minute train journey from London to Ashford - 35 minute Tunnel crossing in our car, then 3 hr 15 minute drive from Calais., arriving at the eastern end of the Ardennes around 3.00 p.m.
- Pickup from Brussels (best option for this tour) - 2 hr 15 minute drive, arriving at 11:30 a.m. in time for a snack lunch in the area

A tour covering the December 16th 1944 attack on the 'Northern Shoulder': Lanzerath, traces of the Siegfried Line on the Belgian-German border, forest tracks that the panzers attacked down, the 'Twin Villages' of Rocherath and Krinkelt.  Visit Malmedy massacre site and memorial before driving one hour south-west to Bastogne - check-in to hotel here (2 nights).

Day Two - Bastogne; Peiper & the Ambleve Valley:
Morning tour of Bastogne: the northern perimeter (including 'Band of Brothers' memorial at the Bois Jacques, near Foy), Noville, the US Memorial & museum, and the road where Patton's tanks broke through.  Lunch at 'Parker's Crossroads', then we follow SS Col. Peiper's advance up the Ambleve Valley - a drive through Trois Ponts and La Gleize, with a Tiger II tank on display, and back to Bastogne via Houffalize to see a Panther tank on display.

Day Three - Luxembourg; Dinant & the Meuse:
Drive to Luxembourg (only 10 miles from Bastogne) to see the 'Southern Shoulder' of the Bulge.

Brussels finish: Visit the Our Valley and the Luxembourg Museum of Military History in Diekirch with its superb Battle of the Bulge displays (snack lunch in town), then the US Cemetery in Luxembourg City, where General Patton is buried.  Drive 1 hour west to see the furthest extent of the Bulge - 24th December 1944 - at Celles near the River Meuse at Dinant (lunch break).  Leave 4.00 p.m., aiming to get you to Brussels by 5.30 p.m.

UK finish: visit the US Cemetery in Luxembourg City, where General Patton is buried.  Drive 1 hour west to see the furthest extent of the Bulge - 24th December 1944 - at Celles near the River Meuse at Dinant (lunch break).  Leave 2.00 p.m. - 3 hr 30 minute drive to Calais. A train from Ashford will get you back to London around 7.20 p.m.

Check out our prices here
Do get in touch to discuss details and possible dates.

See also:
World War II Tours
A suggested 5-day itinterary: Normandy & the Ardennes
A suggested 3-day itinerary: D-Day & the Battle of Normandy
A suggested 3-day itinerary: Dieppe 1942 & Normandy 1944

Above: Remains of the Siegfried Line - anti-tank defences, built by the Nazis in the 1930's
Below: The 'Band of Brothers' memorial at the Bois Jacques, near Foy

Above: Dinant on the River Meuse

Dr Thomson's Tours 37 The Crescent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7AW, England
All text, maps, photos, © Dr Thomson's Tours Telephone: 44-1227-455922; email: aat@drttours.co.uk

Add-ons before or after your tour

One of the key things that we offer is flexibility: we are keen to help you enhance your tour experience by offering you the chance to visit somewhere that you’ve always wanted to see (either just before or after your tour with us). And bear in mind the possibility to do this in the context of being dropped off somewhere interesting for the next leg of your vacation (or business trip). Starting the tour in one place and finishing in another is something we do often for clients.

Add-ons available on an Ardennes tour:
A day in the county of Kent (+ a night in Canterbury), Bruges, Ghent, Bridge at Remagen; or combine it with Normandy or Market-Garden.
See our add-ons page for more details.

The Ardennes: isolated villages of local stone, fields, forests, & attractive rivers