History tour to Normandy by coach: 4 days, 3 nights
An educational school trip to Normandy is a perfect choice to aid students’ understanding of some of the key events during WWII (as well as links to studies of the Norman Conquest with Bayeux and Falaise). Visits to the D-Day Landing beaches, war museums and memorials will give the students unique insights and learning experiences. You could also choose to stay at our Château du Baffy which has historic significance to WWII when the building and hamlet of Colombiers-sur-Seulles were occupied by the Germans.
Similar tours
Suggested itinerary
Day one
Depart from school by coach
Connect with channel crossing
Visit Pegasus Bridge Museum on route
Arrive at the Château Baffy
Day two
Arromanches 360 Cinema
Head to Gold Beach
Arromanches Landings Museum
Visit Bayeux Tapestry
Day three
Visit Sainte-Mère-Église
Airborne Troops Museum
German Cemetery
Omaha Beach
American Cemetery
Day four
Check-out of the Chateau du Baffy
Visit Lingèvres
Bayeux War Cemetery
Ferry check-in for channel crossing
Coach back to school
Tour gallery
Excursion locator map
Excursion Ideas
Honfleur
Subject range: MFL, Art, Cultural, Food Technology
What you’ll experience: A town with a rich artistic and historical heritage, Honfleur has beautiful old houses, narrow paved streets, monuments, little shops, traditional restaurants, galleries, artists’ studios, a fishing harbour and a marina.
Select says: The changing light on the Seine estuary inspired Monet, Boudin, Courbet, and many others.Arromanches 360 Circular Cinema
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: A film about the terrible Battle of Normandy taken from archive images from around the world is projected in high definition on 9 screens. This film is a tribute to soldiers from all countries and to the 20,000 civilians who were killed during this battle for the liberation of Europe.
Select says: A preview can be viewed on Arromanches Circular Cinema website. There is a great view of Mulberry Harbour from up here, and views of Bayeaux town and the coast line.Arromanches: D-Day Landings Museum
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: The museum has five different sections including: a gallery of working models overlooking the historic site (guided tour), a diorama with special light and sound effects that brings the early hours of D Day to life, the hall of the Allied Nations museum collections, a film featuring archive footage, and shops.
Select says: The museum overlooks where one of the Mulberry Harbours was constructed, and its remains can be seen a few hundred metres from the shore. The beach is a great place to stop for lunch and have a bit of fun after the museum. Encourage the students to re-enact what they think happened as the soldiers landed on the beaches.Memorial Museum and Bridge
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: A museum about WWII, dedicated to the heroic action of the 6th British Airborne Division during the battle which took place on the beaches of the landing in Normandy in June to September 1944. Guided visits, within a thematically laid out exhibition hall, enable the visitors to discover the missions of the division and view hundreds of historical objects and photos.
Select says: The original Bénouville Bridge, renamed Pegasus Bridge after the liberation, is on display in the park of the museum. An excellent insight into the planning and execution of one of the most important actions of the invasion. This is a lovely place to stop for lunch by the riverside.D-Day Beaches
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: Utah, Omaha, Gold Beach, Juno Beach and Sword Beach were stormed by Allied soldiers in the morning of June 6th 1944. A visit to the beaches will help your students gain a real feel for the environment and help them imagine events within the settings.
Select says: A visit to Omaha Beach helps to understand the importance of timing and the problems that had to be overcome for the invasion to be a success. Any of the beaches are a wonderful place to stop for lunch.Juno Beach Centre and Juno Park
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: This is a memorial and an educational museum. The Juno Beach Centre shows visitors the importance of Canadian involvement in the Second World War – its troops, navy and industrial effort, which proved vital to the Allies. There are various multimedia interactive terminals available to visitors.
Select says: There are superb educator resources available on the Juno Beach Centre website for use before and after your tour. Certain tours allow you to see up close and personal military clothing and other items used during the war.Pointe du Hoc
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: Heavily defended by the Germans, this headland was an ideal post from which to survey the whole coast and the highest point between Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east. It was here that the American troops landed in 1944 and on D-Day (6 June 1944) the United States Army Ranger Assault Group captured Pointe du Hoc after scaling the 100 ft cliffs.
Select says: Location of one of the most interesting stories of the D-Day landings. A chance to stand in the heart of history and learn how ‘intelligence’ is such an important part of any military action.A memorial in the form of a granite arrow on the edge of the cliff marks the spot.Bayeux British Cemetery
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: This is the largest WWII cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France. It contains 4,648 burials, mostly from the Invasion of Normandy.
Select says: An oasis of tranquillity on the edge of this busy city, the first to be liberated in France.Opposite this cemetery stands the Bayeux Memorial which commemorates more than 1,800 casualties of the Commonwealth forces who died in Normandy and have no known grave.Normandy American Cemetery
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: The cemetery site covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings. On the Walls of the Missing there are 1,557 names inscribed. The memorial consists of a semi-circular colonnade with an exterior gallery at each end containing large maps and narratives of the military operations. There is also an orientation table depicting the landings in Normandy.
Select says: To get the most out of your visit we recommend booking a free guided tour. This cemetery was featured in Saving Private Ryan. You can access the beach from here down a lot of steps, again you could encourage the students to re-enact what they think happened when soldiers landed.German Battery - Longues-sur-Mer
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: This formidable German battery, built on a picturesque cliff, included four fearsome 150mm canons, capable of firing on targets 20km away. It took a bombardment carried out by the Royal Air Force and two hits by a French cruiser to destroy it definitively on 6 June 1944.
Select says: The battery’s observation post was the backdrop for one of the most famous scenes of the film The Longest Day.La Cambe German Cemetery
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: La Cambe is a war cemetery containing in excess of 21,000 German military personnel of World War II. There is an Information Centre to the memory of the losses of Operation Overlord. Human fates and reconciliation are special themes. An adjoining peace-garden with 1,200 maple-trees symbolises that peace ought to grow.
Select says: The majority of the German war dead buried at La Cambe fell between June 6 and August 20, 1944 and their ages range from 16 to 72. They died during the Allied landings and the ensuing combat.Overlord Museum
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: Located a short distance from Omaha beach, Overlord Museum covers the period of the Allied landing until the liberation of Paris. The collection was put together by Michel Leloup who was both a witness to the conflict and involved in the reconstruction of Normandy. You will see numerous items including a reconnaissance plane, V-1 flying bomb, more than 10 armoured fighting vehicles, 30 soft skin vehicles, artillery pieces, posters, signs, documents and personal items from individual soldiers.
Select says: Many of the vehicles have been restored to full running order and have been accurately equipped and painted.Swimming - Aquanacre
Subject range: MFL, Physical Education
What you’ll experience: Aquanacre is located in Douvres-la-Délivrande, just 10 minutes from the Château du Baffy. The swimming centre has 3 pools, one outside, and a pentagliss (parallel slides).
Select says: Swimming is always a fun activity to choose for the students and great for unwinding as an evening activity.The D-Day Story - Portsmouth
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: Discover the story of what took place on the 6th June 1944 at The D-Day Story, the only UK museum dedicated to the momentous events that took place that day. Explore the personal accounts of the people who were there through audio-visual presentations alongside objects from the museum’s collection. The museum, based in Portsmouth, includes the Landing Craft Tank 7074 (LCT 7074), which is the last surviving LCT from D-Day, see what it took to plan the operation. Find out more about D-Day and the battle of Normandy, and finally discover its legacy and view the impressive 83 metre Overlord Embroidery.
Please note that this tour is only available to groups crossing the channel via Portsmouth.
British Normandy Memorial
Subject range: History
What you’ll experience: The British Normandy Memorial records the names of the 22,442 servicemen and women under British command who fell on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944. This includes people from more than 30 different countries. Inscribed in stone, their names have never, until now, been brought together. The site also includes a French Memorial, dedicated to the memory of French civilians who died during this time.
History trip to Normandy by coach: 4 days, 3 nights Accommodation
Château du Baffy
Location: Colombiers-sur-Seulles
Capacity: 110
The Château is only 6 kilometres from the picturesque seaside town of Courselles-sur-Mer with its yacht harbour and sandy beaches, and is also on the doorstep of Bayeux and the World War II landing beaches. It's the perfect base for groups to enjoy the wealth of excursions and educational experiences on offer in this historical area.
Select says: The Château du Baffy has a main building and the adjacent Villa Mathilde - both buildings accommodate a full coach capacity, so groups can enjoy sole-occupancy of their building. Our Château has been a highly popular choice for dozens of UK schools in the past fifteen years and will now be operated by our own team, including our renowned French chef Thierry!
One of our teachers says, “Beautiful setting – a great place to take school groups. Plenty of outdoor space to run around and very French feeling dining room. Ideal location to explore this wonderful area.”
Rooms: The Château sleeps up to 110 persons in 2-5 bedded rooms, all with en-suite bathrooms.
Facilities: There are two restaurants, a teachers' lounge, a sun-terrace, and a meeting room. Outside there are lawned gardens and a tennis court, as well as a barbeque area, plus a new 100 metre squared sports hall!
UNCMT Tailleville
Location: Tailleville
Capacity: 50
Tailleville is a traditional rural hamlet just 3km from Courseulles and 12km from Arromanches. The UNCMT is set in its own grounds and is a great accommodation for school groups, with classrooms available if required as well as plenty of enclosed outside space.
Rooms: Mostly en-suite rooms, some shared facilities.
Facilities: Restaurant, meeting rooms, table tennis, volleyball.
CPCV Normandie
Location: Houlgate
Capacity: 94
Located in its own grounds in the attractive seaside resort of Houlgate, just 50m from the seafront and beach, also within easy walking distance of the town centre.
Rooms: All rooms have en-suite facilities.
Facilities: Restaurant, TV room, lounge area, table tennis.
Hotel le Canada
Location: Ouistreham
Capacity: 55
Located in Ouistreham 200m from Sword Beach, one of the famous sites of the Second World War where British troops landed. The town centre is only 500m away.
Select says: Groups can get packed lunches delivered and take evening meals at a local restaurant close by.
Rooms: All rooms have en-suite facilities.
Facilities: Breakfast room, free Wi-Fi.
Le Home du Cotentin
Location: Agon-Coutainville
Capacity: 170
This property occupies an ideal position just 50m from the seafront in Agon-Coutainville. Le Home du Contentin is located between Mont-Saint-Michel and the landing sites from June 1944, in front of the islands of Jersey and Guernsey.
Rooms: All rooms have en-suite facilities.
Facilities: 2 dining rooms, meeting / classrooms, free Wi-Fi, games room.
Links to Learning
Learning areas:
KS3
The development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509- the Norman Conquest
Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day - the Second World War and the wartime leadership of Winston Churchill
A study of a significant society or issue in world history and its interconnections with other world developments: USA in the 20th Century.
KS4
AQA – Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and dictatorship
Edexcel – Warfare and British society, c1250 – present and London and the Second World War, 1939 – 1945
Edexcel – Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88
Edexcel – The reigns of King Richard I and King John, 1189–1216
OCR – International Relations: the changing international order 1918–c.2001
OCR -Germany 1925–1955: The People and the State
OCR – War and British Society c.790 to c.2010
OCR SHP – Living under Nazi Rule, 1933–1945
OCR SHP – The Norman Conquest, 1065–1087
WJEC – The Development of Warfare, c.1250 to the present day
CEA – Life in Nazi Germany, 1933–45
SQE – The Creation of the Medieval Kingdoms, 1066–1406
SQE – World War II, 1939–45KS5
AQA – The quest for political stability: Germany, 1871–1991
AQA – International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941
AQA – Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918–1945
AQA – Wars and Welfare: Britain in Transition, 1906–1957
Edexcel – Germany and West Germany, 1918–89
Edexcel – The changing nature of warfare, 1859–1991: perception and reality
Edexcel – Germany, 1871–1990: united, divided and reunited
OCR – Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107
OCR – International Relations 1890–1941
WJEC – Europe In An Age Of Conflict And Co-Operation c.1890-1991
WJEC – Germany: Democracy To Dictatorship c.1918-1945
WJEC – Changing Leadership And Society In Germany, c.1871-1989
WJEX – Europe in an Age of Conflict and Co-Operation C.1890-1991
SQA – Historical Study: European and World (Higher)
CEA – Germany 1919–45
SQA Pre U – European History Outlines, c.300–c.1461
European History Outlines, c.1774–c.2000
SQA Pre U – Nazi Germany, 1933–1945
CEA – Clash of Ideologies in Europe 1900–2000
CEA – The Causes and Consequences of Great Power Conflict 1848–1945Select Extras:
Have you thought of selecting a relevant movie for the coach journey? We recommend WWII related films The Book Thief (certified 12) and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (certified 12). These may also be great books for your group to read before or bring on tour with them to give them more information on WWII through story – The Boy in the Striped pyjamas by John Boyne is available here and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak here.
- the Norman Conquest