War related trips

[brislereg]

I have two teenage ds who are super interested in both world wars. So far we have done the following trips with them which they have loved:

Bletchley Park
Eden Camp in Yorkshire
Cabinet War rooms in Westminster
Museum of flight in East Lothian
Ypres/somme/flanders fields

We have Normandy beaches on the list, and possibly Berlin.

Any other suggestions?

https://www.holocaust.org.uk/

https://www.iwm.org.uk/home-page

Warsaw - for the museums and the old
town which was destroyed and rebuilt

Prague - Jewish walking tour especially was interesting and so sad

Munich (+ Dachau)
Dresden (can be combined with Berlin + Sachsenhausen)

The Atlantic Wall (eg Saint-Nazaire or Bordeaux)

Gallipoli
Thessaloniki

Trieste

Dover castle.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/things-to-do/operation-dynamo-rescue-from-dunkirk/
Operation Mincemeat
www.operationmincemeat.com

Krakow- to include Aushwitz if you feel they are at an appropriate age for it

Amsterdam + Anne Frank annexe

Valletta in Malta, a super interesting ww11 history and loads to see

I went to Gallipoli some years ago. It was incredibly unspoilt.

Malta. Loads of war related bits (and other history)

Imperial War Museums

https://www.iwm.org.uk/

National Army Museum

https://www.nam.ac.uk/

Normandy!

We took DS1 and DS2 (11 and 8) this summer - it was brilliant. They loved Arromanches and Bayeux.

Edit: ah sorry, I see it’s already on the list. I think they’ll love it!

Guernsey/Jersey/Sark only parts of the UK occupied during WW2.
Imperial War Museum
Natinal Maritime Museum
National Tank Museum Norfolk
Muckleburgh Military Collection Norfolk you can book to drive a tank.
Kent Battle of Britain Museum
Battle of Britain Memorial on the B2011 between Dover and Folkstone
RAF Museum, Barnet area

Further afield...

Japan - both Hiroshima and Nagasaki are worth visiting.

Portsmouth D-Day museum.

Although not strictly WW1 &2, Portsmouth also has the Historic Dockyard museums, and Fort Nelson has the Royal Armouries.

Tank Museum in Dorset - could mix with a visit to Tyneham, but check the ranges are open on the day you go.

There is a campsite in Berny Rivière near Paris called Camping La Croix Du Vieux Pont (Eurocamp operate there and they also have lodges as well as tents and caravans). It’s beautiful and you can walk a short distance to a series of tunnels that were used in WW1 called the Soissonais Caves. They’re in the middle of woods, are accessible via a very quiet public footpath and are not staffed at all - you can just wander in. If you Google them you will find a photos and directions.

From the same campsite you can easily visit the clearing in the woods where the Armistice was signed. There are lots of WW1 & WW2 sites in that region. We’ve been twice now. The campsite is the perfect base to explore from, and has great facilities.

Biggin Hill - if only because in the cafe, I had a mini toast spitfire flying over my sausage baguette... (The museum is slso interesting.)

Many years ago I went with my mother to Monte Cassino, the abbey at the centre of very, very major and famous battle during WW2. It's not far from Rome, so you could combine the two. My Dad was there during the war so it obviously had personal meaning to us. It is breathtakingly beautiful and atmospheric and there are thousands of war graves of all nationalities. The mosaic of Jesus with bombs either side of him as you enter the abbey is utterly haunting.

Further afield, I found the hell fire pass museum in Kachanaburi fascinating and moving, as is the cemetery. It’s the real life setting of Bridge over the river Kwai.

The Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire

In London, the Royal Hospital Chelsea is right next to the National Army Museum and it has just opened a small museum in the old stable block (you can just walk in) and also has bookable tours which I think include the older museum.

There's also the Guards Museum on Birdcage Walk

And the Cabinet War Rooms (just off Whitehall)

In Scotland there's Scotland's Secret Bunker in Fife
Scotland's Secret Bunker – Visitor attraction of Scotland's best kept secret

Edited to add: if you're in France, I found visiting Oradour Sur Glane really moving
Oradour-sur-Glane - Wikipedia

Chemin des Dames and the Caverne du Dragon near Laon. La Coupole in the Pas de Calais.

Hartmannswillerkopf in Alsace.

Arnhem.

Amsterdam, Anne Frank House.

Compiegne near Paris. The site is not big but the museum is very interesting.

Paschendale Museum
Ypres and the Flanders Museum
There are several war cemetries all around the area as well. You can also search for any family members in their database.

Amsterdam - the Resistance Museum and the National Holocaust one, Anne Frank House, the Jewis quarter

Prague -the Jewish quarter

Berlin - you can go by public transport to Sachsenhausen

Munich - Dachau is nearby

Auschwitz

Nuernberg - the big Nazi party ralley remains and the Nuernberg trials museum

Oh so many great ideas thank you!

I have actually been to Berny Rivier and did the armistice clearing at Compienge by both the other bits.

Rovereto in the Trentino: bonus is lots of non WW1 related things for the rest of the family!

www.trentino.com/en/highlights/sights/the-bell-of-peace-maria-dolens/