chemins d'histoire battlefield tours

We recently spent a day touring the Somme battlefields with Olivier. His incredible knowledge and passion for war history in that area was boundless. He was great company and did everything possible to ensure our day was as full and memorable as we'd hoped. Would strongly recommend touring the area with Chemins d'Histoire Batlefield Tours.

It was 1.C and there was a heavy fog that we hoped would lift, as we set off on Olivier's battlefield tour. His knowledge was extensive and his powers of description were very evocative as he had to describe many of the things that we were unable to see through the fog. But somehow the unpleasant weather conditions, along with those descriptions only made the day more poignant!Olivier was able to answer all our questions and his use of technology, further enhanced the tour. Thanks Olivier for the very special day.I would highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in this area.

If you want someone who is very knowledgeable, passionate, and has a family history that goes right back to the Western Front, then Olivier is your man!Be sure to pre book from home WELL IN ADVANCE.Make your way to St Quentin station (we got the train from Gare du Nord, Paris) and you are very warmly welcomed by this polite caring and courteous man.We were made welcome and right at home immediately.Olivier would have forgotten more than other tour guides even know, what he doesn't know is not worth knowing.The highlight of our day was having lunch at the Tommy Café Pozieres, meeting the owner and of course having a look around his extensive museum, and meeting Dominic the owner was a treat.Dominic is SO dedicated to preserving anything remotely to do with the Australian struggle, fighting and ultimate victory, which happened right in his back yard.If you spend a few hours with Dominic, you will come away very rewarded.Same goes for Olivier.The more you talk to this man, the more you will realise how the French fully supported us, respected us, and now thank us for our support to their small towns.A certain must do event is to let Olivier take you on his private tour, and you will see and hear things our boys went through from a truly dedicated and professional tour guide.

We very much wanted to visit the graves of our uncles, and Olivier made this possible. It was a very moving experience and we are so glad we have done it. Olivier is a very good tour guide, very knowledgeable and we learned a lot from him. Thank you Olivier you made it a very special day for us.

I went with my parents for a half day tour, and couldn't have asked for a better way to spend a day. Olivier was helpful, knowledgeable and allowed us to take our time over the parts of the tour that were important to us; all in all he was everything you could ask for in a guide. The tour was so, so interesting, touching on all the key sites involved in the battle of the Somme, and as if this was not enough we were constantly given pieces of information about the battles before, during and after July 1916 - I learned so much! Even better was the use of his tablet to follow our route with GPS along old maps from the imperial war museum, which showed old trenches we were crossing, minefields, and so many interesting things that we just wouldn't have known about without such a talented and enthusiastic guide. He even told us off the top of his head where the regiment closest to our home had been stationed and what battles they fought in! An amazing afternoon that I would happily do all over again.Perfect for those who want to understand more about the Great War for a daytrip, or a great starting point for those (like us) who want to know the general history and the main points of interest before going and discovering more alone. Essentially, I'd highly recommend Chemins d'Histoire to anyone with even a slight interest in World War One - amazing!

I'm lucky enough to travel to Paris once a year for work and I have always wanted to visit the Somme region so after years of putting it off I finally did it this October and it was one of the most memorable moving experiences of my life.A very pleasant 1 hour train ride from Paris, our absolutely fantastic tour guide Olivier picked us up from the station. Olivier was incredibly informative and friendly. He even went well out of his way to express post our mobile phone back to our hotel in Paris after we left in the back seat of his car! It was raining the day we went but that didn't stop us, in fact it made the whole experience a little more sombre and Olivier provided us with our own little poppy umbrella!I would highly recommend to anyone thinking of touring the Somme!

My brother and I recently took our father for a day tour of the battlefields and what a wonderful and poignant day it was !!Olivier was a magnificent tour guide and took us to all the sites we had asked to visit. He was very informative and very pleasant !! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Hubby announced as soon as we decided to go to Europe for 5 weeks with our son & daughter and their partners, that we were going to find my great uncles grave. He was killed at Messines in Jun 1917, the day Hill 60 blew. Oliver picked us up in Lille and away we went. It was the best day of our trip. He went above and beyond in finding hubby a trumpet so hubby could play the Last Post as part of two mini "Anzac Services" we did at two graves. We had asked to see around Messines/Hill 60, but we just packed soooo much into our day. Our daughter was on crutches after an accident and nothing was a problem in making sure she was managing. In hindsight we wished we had booked a 3 day trip with him and gone further afield. His knowledge was endless, he was so pleasant to get on with and spoke very very good English and a bonus, he is a good driver in his comfy van. I think all of us will be back, just maybe not together again. It was Jan 2013 when we were there... sorry its taken me so long to post this Oliver and the offer of a bed if you ever make it to NZ still stands! A day with Oliver is money well spent.

Spent a wonderful day with Olivier on the Somme. Having previously discussed areas which were of particular interest to us Olivier prepared a schedule which enabled us to visit these sights. His extensive knowledge made our day both informative and enjoyable. Pick up and drop off at railway station proved a boon. Would not hesitate to recommend Olivier for either private or organised tours.

My Grandfather served with the Royal Field Artillery during WW1 and was seriously injured during the German Offensive ‘Operation Michael’ which started on 21st March 1918. My Grandfather was injured on 25th March 1918 and Olivier tailored the tour to follow the progress and effects of the offensive up to and following the 21st March 1918. The tour was very detailed and informative and we were able to visit locations he had fought in and additional sites affected by the offensive. Olivier was very attentive and nothing was too much trouble. His knowledge of the actions of WW1 is extensive and the additional benefit of photographs and maps made the whole situation much clearer. In addition, and what is important, we were given time at each location to take in what had happened making the visit even more rewarding. We would highly recommend the services provided by Olivier – excellent!

I cannot recommend Olivier highly enough. We did a one-day tailor-made tour with him in September this year. I was interested to see the places where my grandfather had served as a chaplain with the 9th Battalion in 1916. He had mapped out a tour wihich took us to these locations, including the various cemeteries in and around Fromelles, as well as to Fromelles itself. He then finished the tour with a visit to the moving Canadian monument and trench reconstruction at Vimy. With his trench maps and extensive knowledge, Olivier was able to show us exactly where the Australian forces were located at different times and to explain the movements of the troops, as they had been recorded in my grandfather's diary. Olivier is extremely personable and it was a delight - and extremely informativve - to spend a day in his company.

Hi, thank you for your review, the little Canadian pin that you have put on the bench is still on it, I saw it yesterday ;) All the best, Olivier.

Our tour with Olivier has been the highlight of our trip to the battlefields of the Western Front. From our first contact with Olivier he was very helpful with giving us all the information we required for our trip.Olivier's extensive knowledge of the area and his passion for the history of WWI make the tour a truly remarkable experience. With our own family connections to the battles in the area Olivier had researched everything possible about my great uncle and his involvement in the conflicts. Olivier tailor made our tour to include all the areas of interest to us. His photographs of before and after the various battles and the WWI trench maps of the area really brought the area alive for us.It was an unforgettable experience which I would recommend to everyone with an interest in the Western Front.

We took a Somme day tour with Olivier in September, 2014. From the first moment of greeting we knew this would be a great day! Olivier's knowledge and passion is reflected in his every word. Each question was answered with detail and insight and punctuated with photos of 'then and now', as well as trench maps which mapped our GPS position en route. We found this an invaluable addition, as it enhanced our overall experience and aided the visualisation of the battlefields.We would highly recommend taking a tour with Olivier - you will not be disappointed in any way!

We booked a tour with Olivier at the last minute and were so glad that we did. The tour that we did was a fairly standard one, I suspect, as we booked so late. But Olivier brought the place alive so that you really got a good feel for how it must have been like during WW1. His passion and knowledge is amazing. I would highly recommend a tour with Olivier - it might seem a bit expensive, but it is definitely worth it.