Day trip to Verdun from Paris

[Collishaw]

Hello forum members,

 

I am a Canadian with a keen interest in The Great War & will be in Paris from the 16th til the 21st of September, 2016. I hope to take a day trip to Verdun (probably on Monday the 19th) & would prefer to take a guided trip versus renting a car & navigating on my own. (the wife will be in line at the Louvre.) I am happy to take the train to Verdun if need be. Can someone recommend a good guide? I have googled, checked this forum & own a copy of "Walking Verdun". I have benefited from your help in the past when I visited Canadian Great War sites in 2006. Thanks & many regards,

 

Brendan

Edited 30 August , 2016 by Collishaw

[Michelle Young]

The author of Walking Verdun, Christina Holstein, is a member here. Might  be worth sending her a PM to see if she can help, or knows someone who can help.

Michelle 

[Sly]

Hello,

 

There are companies offering day trip from Paris to Verdun but I believe it's more aimed for "tourists".

To get the most of it I would reccommend to catch the train to Verdun and contact a specialised guide there.

The Meuse Toursit Board has a list of the registered & official guides here:

http://www.tourisme-meuse.com/fr/nos-guides.html?a=1&elcriterio[]=818000007&modalidad[]=818000026&minimo[]=&maximo[]=&elcriterio[]=818000005&modalidad[]=818000021&minimo[]=&maximo[]=&calctot=1&limitstart=0&chkjelm_819000041_1=1&chkjelm_819000065_5=1

If you have the opportunity go to the "Bute de Vauquois", it's an amazing site !

 

Sly

[healdav]

On 29/08/2016 at 23:13, Collishaw said:

Hello forum members,

 

I am a Canadian with a keen interest in The Great War & will be in Paris from the 16th til the 21st of September, 2016. I hope to take a day trip to Verdun (probably on Monday the 19th) & would prefer to take a guided trip versus renting a car & navigating on my own. (the wife will be in line at the Louvre.) I am happy to take the train to Verdun if need be. Can someone recommend a good guide? I have googled, checked this forum & own a copy of "Walking Verdun". I have benefited from your help in the past when I visited Canadian Great War sites in 2006. Thanks & many regards,

 

Brendan

I would offer to help, but I am unfortunately (well, for you) in the south of France until October. The weather is lovely, by the way!

 

If you are going to get the TGV to Verdun, once you have found a guide, book a seat. The earlier you do the cheaper it is (I don't agree with this pilicy, which is a straightforward rip off, but all transport seems to do it these days; probably because its a nice simple rip off). The TGV station bears little relation to Verdun being some kilometres outside the city, but it is just off the Voie Sacré, so you see that and Pétain's HQ on your way in (the battlefields are on the othe side).

Make sure you have clothing suitable for ploughing around in the mud, and wet weather gear.

[Collishaw]

Thank you Sly & healdav for the replies! Appreciate the tips & you both taking the time. Yes I've heard the  "Bute de Vauquois" is a must. I have contacted a guide via that link Sly, thank you very much. Might see you in the Riviera healdav, as we are heading there on the 21st. Cheers!

[Collishaw]

On 8/31/2016 at 23:10, Michelle Young said:

The author of Walking Verdun, Christina Holstein, is a member here. Might  be worth sending her a PM to see if she can help, or knows someone who can help.

Michelle 

Thank you Michelle!!

[healdav]

Ingrid Ferrand is a guide at Verdun. She's German, but speaks Excellent English and is a first rate guide to that area. I have been with her many times.

She has a website:

ingrid-tourisme-verdun.com/

 

[Collishaw]

Thanks everyone! We are booked with Ingrid Ferrand on Sept 18th. Will post some pics when I return to Canada.

[Collishaw]

Ok .. So trip to Verdun back in September 2016 was fantastic! Ingrid was great! She is truly an expert on the subject as she has not ventured far from this area over many years. Her energy is amazing & she was completely booked up in the coming months. The itinerary went as follows: La Voie Sacree with a stop in Souilly to the headquarters of Petain, Nivelle & later Pershing, a drive & quick stop through Verdun town, Fort Douaumont, The Douaumont Ossuary with a jog to the top & watched the movie as well, Fort Vaux, a quick stop at Bayonet Trench then drove West to Butte de Vauquois where we met some real live Poilus! It really added to the atmosphere. Ingrid sped us back in her Smart car with 15 mins to spare for our 6pm TGV high speed train to Paris. I believe she pick us up on the early train arriving at 0815am at The Meuse station. I would obviously recommend more time in this area, (I could easily spend a week here) but for a day trip with my wife it was suffice. We had perfect weather & we are both very happy we made the effort. I want to thank everyone on here for their guidance & hope this thread helps others wanting to do the same in the future. Here are some pics: