End of the Western Front
7 days from £1,149pp
About the tour: End of the Western Front
Tour Introduction
Join us as we travel the Western Front, which ran for over 450 miles, to the often forgotten ‘end of the line’, where the trenches ran beyond Verdun down to the Vosges mountains. Alongside a Specialist Guide, we find hidden bunkers, trenches carved from rock, and fascinating museums.
Tour Includes
- 6 nights hotel with continental breakfast
- Specialist Battlefield Guide
- Convenient local joining points
(Deposits from £150pp)
We offer flexible payment options
Once you have booked your battlefield tour either online, or by telephone (), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can -
- Use our balance payment facility online to make and track your card payments. You can pay as much as you want up until your final due date or pay it all, the choice is yours.
- Send payments via online banking.
- Send payments via cheque.
- Call us and make a card payment, either a small amount or as lump sum until your final due date.
Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.
Tour Itinerary
For customers living outside of the UK, if you want to make a booking you will need to provide a UK postcode on our online booking system. If you are not able to provide a relevant UK postcode then you can enter the postcode for London Victoria Coach Station – SW1W 9TP. You should then be able to proceed to complete your booking.
If you do encounter a problem then you can speak to one of our friendly advisors who will be happy to help.
Please Note : After completing your booking, a member of our Customer Service team will be in touch to make sure everything is okay.
Either e-mail our Reservations Department or call on 01709 830 333 and they will check to see whether you can visit a particular cemetery on any of our Battlefield Tours, if we are not able to fit it into our itinerary then you could take some time out of the tour and do this independently by taxi or public transport.
Day 1
Local departure by coach or Door-to-Door service, then to our hotel in Reims for an overnight stay.
Day 2 - Reims and the Argonne
This morning, we begin at Fort la Pompelle just outside Reims. The fort sat on the front line for four years and was constantly bombarded. Today, it houses a superb museum, and we have an included visit to see the remains of the fort and the exhibits within.
We then travel through the Champagne to the Argonne Forest, discussing the French battles here, and continue to where American forces made their advance in 1918.
After lunch, we pay our respects to the American dead at the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery, the largest American War Cemetery in Europe with over 14,000 graves. We then continue to the Vosges for a four-night stay.
Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Fort la Pompelle (3)
Key Visits
- Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery
- Fort la Pompelle
Day 3 - Great War in the Vosges
The Vosges was a mountainous region where the Western Front crossed some incredible terrain. Today we look at the French attacks here from as early as 1914, seeing the preserved trench system and museum at Le Linge, and also the nearby cemetery.
After lunch, we then travel to the high point of Hartmannswillerkopf and see the Historical Museum (included visit), preserved battlefield and memorials. Here both sides fought up in the mountains in one of the most stunning battlefields of the First World War.
Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Le Linge (2)
Key Visits
- Le Linge
- Hartmannswillerkopf
Day 4 - The End of the Western Front
We start at Jonchery this morning, seeing the memorial to the first French soldier killed in the Great War, and then travel to Pfetterhouse on the border with Switzerland. Here the front lines ended at the junction of three countries, and we see the border area as well as bunkers and battlefield sites.
We then go into Altkirch for the last ‘Demarcation Stone’ which marks the end of the Western Front, and also visit the impressive German Cemetery here with original memorials and graves that cover the whole war in the Vosges.
Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Altkirch (4)
Key Visits
- Altkirch
- Pfetterhouse
- Corporal Peugeot Memorial
Day 5 - Alsace-Lorraine at War
Today we look at nearly a century of conflict in this region of France, discussing the Franco-Prussian War, the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, the fighting in the Great War and the events here in World War Two. We travel to territory that was German soil in 1914 to Fort de Mutzig, or Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II, one of many largest fortifications built in this area before the Great War. Here we get an included guided tour of this well-preserved fortification. Please note: this site requires some walking and has uneven ground and steps.
In the afternoon, we look at the tragic events of the Holocaust in France in WW2, seeing the site of the Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp and included visit to the Memorial here, and later we travel to Colmar, looking at the Battle of the Colmar Pocket in 1944/45 and seeing the memorials and the Colmar Pocket Museum.
Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Colmar (2)
Key Visits
- Fort de Mutzig
- Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp
- Colmar
Day 6 - Les Eparges and Verdun
We depart the Vosges and travel to the high ground of Les Eparges where both sides met in 1914, and it became an area of intense mining activity. We see the mine craters, remains of trenches and the memorials. We then travel into Verdun for lunch and drive through the battlefield here before departing for an overnight stay in Northern France.
Included meals: Breakfast
Verdun Battlefield (3)
Key Visits
- Verdun Battlefield
- Les Eparges
Day 7
Return home.
Included meals: Breakfast
Specialist Battlefield Guides
All of Leger’s battlefield tours are accompanied by specialist guides. Their individual in-depth knowledge of warfare will be informative, as well as enhance your overall experience, as they recreate a fascinating perception of the history and factual events of each battle. Discover the actual catalysts for war, the strategies employed and the final, inevitable outcomes, as well as experiencing the emotional human side of the front line.
Please note: On certain tours, you may get tour guides other that the ones listed below.
Hotel
If you prefer, then you can join the tour at the hotel. To do this, we will require a copy of your passport for identification purposes and you must advise us at the time of booking.
No reduction will be given if you should choose to do this.
All hotel rooms benefit from private bathroom facilities.
Some hotels have tea and coffee making facilities. Please check the tour pages for more information or call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333
Most hotels have a lift, please call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 for more information.
Some hotels have ground floor rooms. Please email for information on individual hotels or call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333.
Your hotels will supply towels in your room.
We are unable to guarantee that the hotel will be able to meet your dietary requirements. We find that the majority of European countries do not generally cater for vegetarians and that the meal supplied may well be what everyone else is having minus the meat.
We will of course endeavour to arrange for a vegetarian meal at the hotel. We do however suggest that you advise us of your dietary requests at the time of booking and recommend that you speak to the receptionist on arrival with regard to your request.
You will stay for four nights at the 3-star Des Vosges in Klingenthal, near Obernai.
Overnight stays in France will be in city-style hotels.
Des Vosges
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About the hotel
The 3-star Des Vosges is situated only a few miles from the pretty Alsace town of Obernai. The hotel is set within pleasant parkland, ideal for a walk after dinner.
Hotel Features
- Bar
- English Speaking Staff
- Lift
- Restaurant
- Swimming Pool
- WiFi Available
Room Features
- Bath and/or Shower
Travel Options
Departure times given for each region are approximate. Please check your travel documents to confirm the actual timings.
Front row seats can be reserved for £14pp (up to 6 days duration), £22pp (7 & 8 days duration) and £25pp (9 days duration and over) on all European tours. In addition to this seats on the second row can be reserved for £7pp (up to 6 days duration), £14pp (7 & 8 days duration) and £15pp (9 days duration and over). This offer is only available for bookings of two or four persons on the front row and is subject to availability. Guaranteed front/second row seats cannot be reserved on feeder journeys to/from the U.K. port. Children under 15 years cannot occupy a front row seat due to French Law. Central view seats are free.
Please note: On some coaches the legroom on front seats may be slightly less than that available on other seats due to the presence of a modesty board in front.
If your tour is cancelled for any reason and front/second row seats are not available on your new tour you will be refunded the supplement. No other compensation will be payable.
Alternatively, we can take seating requests on your booking. However, requests are not guaranteed. All seat numbers are confirmed on travel documents approximately 7-10 days prior to departure.
We guarantee that all passengers on the same booking will be seated together on the main tour coach. Seats on the transfer coaches to and from the U.K. port are not allocated.
Hot and cold drinks are served on the main tour coaches. Prices are approximately £1 or 1.25 Euro per drink. Prices will be confirmed by the driver. Drinks may also be served on the transfer coaches but this is not guaranteed.
Transfer vehicles are routed approximately 2-3 weeks before departure and will depend on where passengers are booked to travel from on any particular date as to which route is taken. If you require further detailed information regarding the route to the port you can contact our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 two weeks before you are due to travel.
With regard to the route taken by the main tour coach, this is determined by the driver.
All main tour coaches have on-board toilets. Transfer vehicles to and from the U.K. port may not have on-board toilets. When non-British coaches are used on transfers and tours (air holidays only) an on-board toilet may not be available. However, comfort stops will be made during long journeys.
All coaches feature air-conditioning. Should the air-conditioning system break down for a period exceeding 12 hours, compensation will be awarded up to a maximum of £10 per fare-paying passenger per tour.
Depending on the location of your pickup point, you may be picked up by coach (not necessarily the on you are touring on), minibus, taxi, National Express or Megabus service. You may then be taken to another centralised pickup location or service station. We operate a passenger interchange at Stop 24 Services, where you will meet the tour coach you are holidaying on and then continue on with your outbound journey. Similarly, on the way home, you may also change transfer vehicles at another location, to take you to your final drop off point.
One medium sized suitcase per person, which should weigh no more than 20kg when full. We may refuse to carry larger or heavier cases. Hand luggage can be stored in the overhead racks aboard the coach.
It could be either - This will be confirmed in your travel documents.
When it comes to getting to the Battlefields, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you choose from.
Silver Service Coach
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Silver Service Features
- Sit back and relax in specially-designed, deluxe reclining seats, with leather headrests, footrests and more legroom than standard coaches.
- Enjoy the perfect temperature onboard with climate control.
- Relax and have a chat in the spacious rear lounge.
- Servery on board offering a range of refreshments.
- Porterage* at most hotels, so you really don’t have to lift a finger.
- Time flies with our onboard entertainment system.
- With free personal headphones you can tune into the music channel, listen to the radio or watch DVDs.
- Onboard toilet
Silver Service Seating Plan
Silver Service Virtual Tour
Luxuria Coach
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Luxuria Features
- Deluxe armchair-style seats with leather exterior, central arm rests with cup holders and retractable calf rests give you a more comfortable journey.
- Every seat has its own, fully interactive, touch screen T.V. offering a wide choice of entertainment so you can control what you want to watch and when.
- There’s also a selection of double and single seats, including four seats face-to-face with tables. And with a total of 7 single seats available, these are ideal for passengers travelling independently.
- Plug sockets and USB points at each seat mean you can keep your devices fully charged throughout your journey.
- Onboard toilet.
Luxuria Seating Plan
Luxuria Virtual Tour
Travel Extras
With an overnight stay, a Door-to-Door pick up or the option to meet us at the interchange, our travel extras allow you to create a travel experience to suit your needs...
Join coach at Interchange
+ Find out moreJoin your tour coach at the interchange.
On most tours if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Stop 24 services, you can park your car in the car park which is accredited by the Park Mark safer parking scheme and is monitored 24 hours a day by CCTV. Payment for the parking is made on arrival using the self-service machines.
Excludes tours to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.
Door-to-Door service
+ Find out moreOn Battlefield tours of 7 days’ duration or more, you don’t even have to think about getting to your local joining point. Our Door-to-Door Service collects you from your home and takes you to meet your transfer vehicile, then brings you back at the end of the holiday. Door-to-Door Service is available within a 20-mile radius of one of our free joining points and is from £90 per car, return (up to 4 passengers per vehicle).
If you live a little further afield, you can also take advantage of this convenient option for an additional charge – please enquire at the time of booking.
