The Paths of Remembrance: The battle of the Somme

Not at all. This trip is classified as ‘leisurely walking’, the most accessible level in the Normandie Rando catalogue. The daily distances are moderate and consistent: 17 km on Day 2, 14 km on Day 3, 18 km on Day 4, 19 km on Day 5, 14 km on Day 6 and 14 km on Day 7. The terrain is generally flat: the Somme valley, the towpaths along the canal, the Artois plains and the Picardy countryside present no technical difficulties. You’ll walk for 3 to 5 hours a day, leaving plenty of time for museum visits, moments of reflection at memorials and exploring the villages. If you are able to walk for 3 to 4 hours at your own pace with breaks, this tour is for you.

This 8-day tour is the complete version of the ‘Paths of Remembrance’ collection. It combines the two themed tours into a single trip: the ANZAC route (Amiens, Corbie, Villers-Bretonneux, Albert, Pozières) from Days 1 to 5, and the Canadian route (Thiepval, Beaumont-Hamel, Arras, Vimy) on Days 6 and 7. The “ANZAC” tour (6 days, €620) focuses on the Australian sector. The “Tribute to the Canadians” tour (4 days, €420) focuses on Vimy and the Somme from Arras. This 8-day tour at €920 covers all nationalities and all major sites, from Amiens to Arras, in a journey of universal remembrance. If you don’t want to miss a thing and have a full week available, this is the tour for you.

Day 1: arrival in Amiens, Notre-Dame Cathedral (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest in France), the hortillonnages and the Saint-Leu district.
Day 2: walk along the Somme towpath past the hortillonnages, arriving in Corbie and its former 7th-century Benedictine abbey.
Day 3: loop to Villers-Bretonneux, the fields of the Australian counter-offensive of April 1918, the Australian National Memorial and the Victoria School Museum.
Day 4: walk between the Somme and Ancre canals, small military cemeteries in the countryside, arrival in Albert and its underground Somme 1916 Museum.
Day 5: Pozières and the eastern front of the Battle of the Somme, British, German, Welsh and New Zealand cemeteries, the South African Memorial at Longueval, the 1st Australian Division Memorial.
Day 6: the Albert Canal, the British Memorial at Thiepval and its museum, the Ulster Tower, the Newfoundland Memorial and park at Beaumont-Hamel with a Canadian guide in the trenches, transfer to Arras.
Day 7: transfer to Vimy Ridge, the Canadian National Memorial and the restored trenches, a 2–3-hour walk to Arras along the River Scarpe. Six days of walking, eight nationalities honoured, two UNESCO cities, a comprehensive journey of remembrance.

Yes, that is the unique richness of this 8-day tour. You will visit the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux and the 1st Australian Division Memorial at Pozières. The Canadian National Memorial at Vimy and the restored trenches. The British Memorial at Thiepval, the most imposing of the Western Front memorials. The Belfast Tower dedicated to the Irish Ulster Battalion. The Newfoundland Memorial and Park at Beaumont-Hamel. The South African Memorial at Longueval. Welsh, New Zealand, German and French cemeteries along the route. This is the only walking tour in the catalogue that pays tribute to all nationalities in a single trip. Anyone searching for traces of an ancestor, whatever their nationality, will find the relevant sites here.

Yes, it is one of the most moving moments of Day 6. At the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park, a young Canadian guide can accompany you through the preserved trenches. These guides, often Canadian students, recount the individual stories of the soldiers and describe the conditions in the trenches. The view from the park is striking: you can see the positions of the trenches still visible in the landscape. The page describes this experience as unforgettable, and it is a moment that leaves a lasting impression on every walker.

Yes, both. You have two nights in Albert (Days 4 and 5) to visit the Somme 1916 Museum, housed in an underground shelter that served as an air-raid shelter. This museum traces the daily lives of soldiers during the First World War. In Arras (Days 6 and 7), the Wellington Quarries offer an impressive insight into the preparations for the Battle of Arras in 1917. Above ground, the Grand’Place, the Place des Héros, the belfry (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the café terraces round off a visit to this remarkable city. The base camp format (2 nights in Corbie, 2 nights in Albert, 2 nights in Arras) leaves free time each evening for sightseeing and exploring the towns.

The slow pace of walking (14 to 19 km a day) lends itself perfectly to reflection. On a bike, you simply ride past the memorials. On foot, you stop, read the engraved names and listen to the silence. The walker’s stride becomes a form of meditation. You cross the same fields that the soldiers traversed, climb the same hills and descend into the same valleys. The peaceful landscapes still bear the scars of the past: shell craters, reconstructed trenches, contested hills. The contrast between the tranquil beauty of the surroundings and the violence of their history gives the walk an emotional depth that cycling cannot offer. The ‘14-18’ cycling tours in the catalogue are excellent for covering long distances, but this walking tour is designed to be experienced.

Normandie Rando transfers your luggage between each stage throughout your stay. The base camp format (2 nights in Corbie, 2 nights in Albert, 2 nights in Arras) simplifies logistics with just three main luggage transfers. The price includes three private transfers: on Day 5 to Pozières (15 minutes), on Day 6 to Arras after Beaumont-Hamel (40 minutes), and on Day 7 to Vimy Ridge (20 minutes). GPX tracks and a mobile navigation app guide you along each route. You’ll travel light with a small rucksack. All the logistics are designed so that you can focus on walking, sightseeing and reflection.

Both cities are very well connected to Paris. Paris Gare du Nord to Amiens: 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes, several trains daily. Hotels are a 10-minute walk from the station, next to the cathedral and the Saint-Leu district. Free public parking is available if you’re travelling by car. On the return journey, from Arras to Paris Gare du Nord: around 50 minutes for the fastest TGVs, generally 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. If you need to collect your car in Amiens, a direct Arras-Amiens train takes 45 minutes. The proximity of both stations to Paris makes the return journey very straightforward.

The price includes 7 nights in hotels with breakfasts featuring fresh, local produce, daily luggage transfers between each stage, three private transfers (to Pozières, to Arras, to Vimy), GPX tracks, access to the mobile navigation app and detailed route descriptions with tips. On a per-night basis, this works out at around €131 per person all-inclusive: accommodation, breakfast, three private transfers, luggage logistics and guiding. For an 8-day trip covering Amiens (UNESCO cathedral), Villers-Bretonneux, Pozières, Thiepval, Beaumont-Hamel, Vimy and Arras (UNESCO belfry), including memorials to eight nationalities, this is a fair price given the scale of the experience.

The Standard package offers 2- and 3-star hotels: Le Prieuré in Amiens, Hôtel La Caroline in Corbie, Hôtel de la Basilique in Albert, and a B&B in the centre of Arras. The Comfort package upgrades to 4-star accommodation: the Mercure Cathédrale in Amiens (opposite the cathedral), the Boutique Hôtel Le Macassar in Corbie, Le Royal Picardie in Albert, and the Hôtel de l’Univers in Arras. The €345 difference is spread over 7 nights, amounting to approximately €49 more per night. During an emotionally intense 8-day trip, the setting of each evening directly contributes to your well-being and your capacity to absorb the next day’s experiences. Waking up facing Amiens Cathedral at the Mercure, or in the refined setting of the Macassar in Corbie, transforms the quality of every day.

No. The rate is the same all year round, from March to November, with no surcharge. Departures are available every day. For groups of four or more, a discount of €50 per person applies. If you prefer to carry your own luggage, a discount of €80 per person is available (not combinable with the group discount). The absence of a high-season surcharge is a significant advantage, particularly around commemorative dates (25 April for ANZAC Day, 1 July for the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, 9 April for Vimy, 11 November).

The tour runs from March to November, with daily departures. 25 April (ANZAC Day) allows you to experience the dawn service in Villers-Bretonneux. 1 July marks the anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1916), the bloodiest day in British military history. 9 April commemorates the Battle of Vimy Ridge (1917). Spring brings poppies blooming across the former battlefields. Autumn casts a golden light over the memorials. Each season lends a different tone to the atmosphere of remembrance. The 8-day itinerary is long enough to coincide with one of these symbolic dates whilst allowing you to enjoy the entire route.

Fill in a quote request directly on the tour page. The Normandie Rando team will contact you to tailor your tour: choice of accommodation, departure dates (particularly to time the trip to coincide with a commemoration date), an extra night in Amiens or Arras, and any other adjustments. You can also call 02 31 65 74 08 for a personalised discussion. The quote request is free and non-binding. This is the most comprehensive remembrance tour in our catalogue: eight days walking across the battlefields where 20th-century history was written, from Amiens Cathedral to the belfry of Arras, from the canals of the Somme to Vimy Ridge, in a tribute that leaves no one behind.