Full Day Private New Zealander Battlefields Tour from Arras

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Arras is blessed with a very rich architectural heritage as its two Flemish Baroque style squares : « La Place des Heroes » and « La Grand Place » will confirm. It is also a place full of history going from Roman times and across the centuries including the first world war. During these 20 minutes, your guide will take you on a journey through time.

   20 minAdmission included

2. The Wellington Quarry in Arras is a remarkable network of underground tunnels built, mostly by 500 miners from the New Zealand Tunnelling Company in 1917 before the Battle of Arras. This network of tunnels will accommodate 24,000 soldiers before the surprise assault on the 9th of April. The tunnels are accessed via a glass-walled lift down the twenty meters to the quarry floor. The tour consists of both guided and audio-guided tours on a planned path accessible for wheelchairs.

   1.5 h

3. Although never captured by the enemy, Mailly-Maillet was in continuous use by troops resting from the front line. When the Germans launched their massive Spring Offensive, the New Zealand Division was hurried to the Somme and fought near the village. Our visit will take us by La Signy Farm and the Dressing Station in Mailly-Maillet.

   30 min

4. The Newfoundland Memorial Park is the largest battlefield site in the Somme and a memorial dedicated to all Newfoundlanders who served during the First World War. The Battle of the Somme was the first major engagement of the regiment where they suffered staggering losses on the 1st of July 1916. The ground, purchased in 1921 by the women of Newfoundland and their government has become the symbol of sacrifice and a source of identity of the island.

   45 min

5. The “Memorial of the Missing” The “Memorial of the Missing” is the largest British War Memorial in the world. This imposing monument overlooks the surrounding rolling countryside. On its walls are engraved the names of over 72 000 soldiers who are rather missing or whose bodies were found but not identified. Here we will talk about military tactics and also about the notion of being “missing” and what it meant for all the families of those soldiers.

   45 min

6. The cemetery is named after Caterpillar Valley which was the name of the the long valley which rises eastward. In 2004, the remains of an unidentified New Zealand soldier was exhumed from this cemetery and is now resting in Wellington. This site is also the site of the New Zealand Memorial to the Missing , recording the names of 1205 New Zealand soldiers who were killed during the Battle of the Somme and have no known final resting place. From this point you will see the ground from which the New Zealand Division started during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette and an ideal place for your guide will tell you all about it.

   30 min

7. From this point you will see the ground from which the New Zealand Division started during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette and an ideal place for your guide will tell you all about it.

   15 min

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 2 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Arras

• Its from-price is close to the median of the 15 day trips we list in Arras.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 11 of 15.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Arras

Arras, in northern France, is known for two grand arcaded squares of Flemish-style gabled houses, a tall belfry and its First World War history.

Arras sits in the chalk country of Artois, in northern France, and has been a centre of trade and cloth since the Middle Ages, when its woven hangings were so celebrated that the word arras came to mean a wall hanging in English. The Grand'Place and the Place des Héros, two linked squares, are lined with arcades and tall gabled houses in the Flemish Baroque style, rebuilt faithfully after the First World War.

Top-ranked sights in Arras: Wellington Quarry (Carrière Wellington).

See all 33 experiences in Arras