History & Heritage Travel in Europe
Walk the D-Day beaches with a historian, follow Easy Company from Normandy to the Eagle’s Nest, or stand in the village your family came from. Trips where the history is the reason to go.
Trips with a story behind them
Some people come to Europe to see a place. Others come because of what happened there, or who came from there. This page covers both: Second World War and remembrance travel, and heritage trips built around your own family history.
These trips need a different kind of planning. The right guide matters a great deal, and the pace has to leave room for the places that affect you most.
A good historian can turn a quiet field into the place where it happened.
I know how much these trips can mean, especially when they’re about someone in your own family. You can take a full escorted tour, add a single guided day to a wider trip, or build a private journey around your family’s records, and I’ll help you decide which fits.
KatiePlaces These Trips Visit
The D-Day Beaches
Normandy, France
Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, Pointe du Hoc, and the Normandy American Cemetery above Omaha Beach.
Bastogne
The Ardennes, Belgium
The Battle of the Bulge: the foxholes in the Bois Jacques woods, the war museum and the Mardasson Memorial.
Luxembourg American Cemetery
Luxembourg
Where General Patton is buried among the soldiers of his Third Army.
Dachau
Near Munich, Germany
The memorial site of the first Nazi concentration camp, visited on several of the Germany itineraries.
The Eagle’s Nest
Obersalzberg, Germany
On a mountaintop above Berchtesgaden, reached by a summit road, weather permitting.
Auschwitz-Birkenau
Near Kraków, Poland
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and memorial, on the Eastern Europe escorted route.
Why These Trips Matter to Me
My grandpa, Pfc. William S. Klubben of Forman, North Dakota, enlisted in 1942 and served in Company K of the 398th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division. His regiment assaulted Fort Schiesseck on the Maginot Line, and when Germany launched its last offensive in the west on New Year’s Eve 1944, the 100th was the only division in the Seventh Army to hold its ground. These are a few of his photos from his years in the Army.
Find Your WWII & Remembrance Trip
Katie’s Pickfor 1st timers11 daysBand of Brothers
Easy Company’s route from the Normandy beaches to the Eagle’s Nest.
See the day by day
12 daysParis, Normandy & the Loire Valley
A full day at the D-Day sites inside a wider trip through France.
See the day by day
9 daysHeritage Journey: American Airfields in England
Wartime England, built around the places tied to your own family.
See the day by day
Katie’s Pick14 daysThe Best of Eastern Europe
Berlin, Warsaw, Kraków and Auschwitz-Birkenau, Budapest, Vienna and Prague.
More escorted tours
12 daysAlpine Paradise
Munich and the Dachau memorial, then the Eagle’s Nest on the way to Salzburg.
Ask me about this trip
12 daysLondon, Paris & D-Day
The Churchill War Rooms, Bletchley Park and Portsmouth, then the Seine to Utah Beach.
Ask me about this cruise
Katie’s Pick8 daysParis & the Heart of Normandy
Round trip from Paris to the D-Day beaches and the American Cemetery.
Ask me about this cruise
11 daysParis to Normandy WWII Remembrance, with London
Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc and the American Cemetery, then three nights in London.
Ask me about this cruise
Katie’s Pickfor repeat visitors17 daysSeine & Rhine Revealed WWII Remembrance
A history expert aboard for Normandy, then seven nights on the Rhine.
Ask me about this cruise
20 daysGrand France WWII Remembrance
The Riviera, the Rhône, the Normandy beaches and three nights in London.
Ask me about this cruise
Katie’s Pick9 daysPolish Escape
Warsaw’s ghetto, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Kraków’s Kazimierz quarter, in the quieter season. Globus.
Ask me about this tour“The world must know what happened, and never forget.”
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
The Itineraries, Day by Day
Band of Brothers
France, Belgium, Luxembourg & Germany
- All five D-Day beaches
- The foxholes of Bois Jacques at Bastogne
- Historian guides in every country
Follows Easy Company of the 101st Airborne, from Stephen E. Ambrose’s book and the HBO series. It starts on the Normandy beaches, goes east to the Battle of the Bulge, and finishes at the Eagle’s Nest. A tour director travels with you, and local historians guide you in every country.
See the stop by stop
- Days 1 to 4NormandyAll five D-Day beaches, with the focus on the American sectors: Utah Beach and its museum, Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, the Normandy American Cemetery and Sainte-Mère-Église. Then Gold Beach and the Mulberry Harbour, the Juno Beach Centre, Sword, the Longues-sur-Mer batteries and Pegasus Bridge.
- Days 5 to 7Belgium and LuxembourgThe Battle of the Bulge: the foxholes of Bois Jacques, the Bastogne War Museum and Barracks, McAuliffe Square and the Mardasson Memorial. Then the Luxembourg American Cemetery, where Patton is buried, and a walk through Luxembourg City.
- Days 8 to 11GermanyDachau, Munich and the history of the Third Reich, then Obersalzberg and the Eagle’s Nest. A last evening at the Hofbräuhaus and on Marienplatz, and a farewell dinner.
What’s included
- Four-star hotels, ten breakfasts and ten dinners
- All entrance fees, and a motorcoach with Wi-Fi
- A tour director throughout, plus expert historian guides in each country
Expect four to six miles of walking a day, some of it on uneven ground. The Eagle’s Nest depends on the weather. A Mont-Saint-Michel visit can be added before the tour, and some September dates include an Oktoberfest meal in Munich.
Paris, Normandy & the Loire Valley
France
- A full day at the D-Day sites
- The Bayeux Tapestry
- Mont-Saint-Michel and the Loire châteaux
One full day at the D-Day sites inside a wider trip through France. Paris, Monet’s garden at Giverny, the Bayeux Tapestry, Mont-Saint-Michel and the Loire châteaux are all part of it, so the history sits alongside everything else.
See the stop by stop
- ParisThe cityA panoramic tour and the view from Montparnasse Tower, a walk through the Latin Quarter, a morning at Versailles, and an evening Seine cruise with dinner.
- RouenGiverny and RouenMonet’s gardens at Giverny, then Rouen and its cathedral, where Joan of Arc’s story ends.
- CaenD-DayPointe du Hoc, the Utah Beach Museum, Sainte-Mère-Église, Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery.
- CaenWilliam the Conqueror and the Norman coastFalaise Castle, the Bayeux Tapestry and the Abbey of Saint-Étienne. A day of Camembert and cider in the Pays d’Auge, with Honfleur and Deauville.
- PontorsonMont-Saint-MichelThe abbey on its island, and the walled town of Fougères.
- ToursThe Loire ValleyChâteau de Brézé, Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau and Blois, and Chartres Cathedral on the way back toward Paris.
What’s included
- Hotels with breakfast and the dinners noted
- A coach, guides and the admissions on the itinerary
This is a sample shape, so the length, hotels and the time in Normandy can all change.
Heritage Journey: American Airfields in England
England
- Wartime sites researched for your family
- Churchill’s secret bunker
- Dover Castle above the Channel
For families whose story runs through wartime England. Before you travel, genealogists research the wartime sites tied to your family, and the trip is built around them. London includes the Tower of London and Churchill’s secret bunker, with Canterbury Cathedral and Dover Castle on the way to the coast.
See the highlights
- Before you goThe researchGenealogists trace the airfields and wartime places connected to your family.
- LondonThe Tower and the bunkerThe Tower of London and Churchill’s secret wartime bunker.
- KentCanterbury and DoverCanterbury Cathedral, a UNESCO site, and Dover Castle above the Channel.
Heritage & Ancestry Journeys
For travelers who want to see where their family came from. Each trip is private and built around your own family history.
Research before you go
Genealogists look into your family’s records ahead of the trip, and the stops are chosen from what they find.
A private guide
Most of these trips travel with a driver-guide, so you can take the time you need at each place.
A day on the ground
A genealogist joins you on site for a day at the villages, churches and land your family knew.
Tracing Irish Ancestry
From Dublin out to the Ring of Kerry with a driver-guide, with stops chosen from your family research and a day with a genealogist walking the land and churches your family knew.
Sicilian Heritage Journey
Sicily’s history and your ancestral villages, researched with AncestryProGenealogists®, with a day alongside a genealogist at the places your ancestors lived.
Scottish Family Heritage Journey
The Lowlands with a driver-guide, stops chosen from your genealogy research, and a day with an on-site genealogist at the key family sites.
Heritage Journey across the Emerald North
The coast and cities of Northern Ireland with a private driver, from County Down to Derry, then the Wild Atlantic Way along Donegal’s coast to the Slieve League cliffs. Heritage stops are shaped by genealogist research.
Questions About History & Heritage Trips
Do I need to know a lot about WWII to enjoy these trips?
Not at all. The guides explain what happened at each site as you go. If you’d like to prepare, the Band of Brothers book or series is a good start before the Easy Company tour.
Can I visit a relative’s grave or unit history?
Tell me what you know about them when you inquire, such as their name, unit or where they served. I’ll ask the supplier whether a visit can be built in, and on a private trip the route can be shaped around it.
How much walking is involved?
On the Band of Brothers tour, expect four to six miles a day, some on uneven ground such as beaches and woodland. A private trip can be paced more gently, with more time in the vehicle between sites.
What do I need for a heritage trip?
Whatever you already have: names, dates, places, old letters or documents, or results from a DNA or ancestry site. The genealogists start from there and do the research before you travel.
Can I add a history day to a regular Europe trip?
Yes. A single well-guided day at the Normandy beaches or Dachau fits easily into a wider trip, like the Paris, Normandy and Loire itinerary above.
What does it cost to work with you?
For custom trips, my planning fee starts at $50 per person for a single city, and starts at $100 per person per city for a multi-city trip. Other trips vary, and I’ll tell you the exact fee before we start. My How It Works guide walks you through exactly how I plan your trip, step by step.
Tell Me the Story You Want to Follow
A battlefield, a regiment, a family name or a village. Tell me what you know, and I’ll take it from there.
