WWII Memory Tour – Alsace

WWII Memory tour

In Honor of Courage
and Sacrifice

A deeply moving journey through Alsace’s most significant WWII sites, offering a profound insight into the region’s wartime history, as you embark on a guided experience with your private driver-guide, an expert in WWII history and local culture.


Begin with a visit to Struthof-Natzweiler, the only Nazi concentration camp on French soil, where you’ll learn about forced labor, resistance, and human suffering. Continue to the Alsace-Moselle Memorial in Schirmeck, which explores the region’s complex history between French and German control. Then, visit the Maginot Line fortifications, such as Fort de Schoenenbourg, to understand France’s pre-war defensive strategy. End the day reflecting at Saverne, a key site in the liberation of Alsace, or Mont Sainte-Odile, a place of spiritual significance. This immersive experience offers a profound understanding of the human cost of war and the enduring legacy it left on the Alsatian landscape.

  • 1-2 Days
  • Private guided experience
  • Alsace, France
How we design your journey

Every journey is designed as a Signature or Premium Experience, shaped around your preferred level of comfort, personalization, and exclusivity.

We arrange seamless transfers, private chauffeurs, and expert local guides, along with curated hotel, restaurant, and activity reservations. Learn more in Our Concept.


ITINERARY

01

Arrival and The Maginot Line

Enjoy a private pick-up from your hotel in Strasbourg or another location in the region, and set off on a scenic countryside drive.

With a dedicated local guide, expert in WWII history, visit the preserved Maginot Line forts—part of France’s pre-war defensive system, stretching over 700 km along France’s eastern borders. Explore underground bunkers and artillery posts, often buried up to 30 meters deep, and learn how these sophisticated defenses shaped early war strategies, despite ultimately being bypassed during the 1940 invasion.

    02

    Struthof-Natzweiler Concentration Camp

    Visit the only Nazi concentration camp on French soil, Natzweiler-Struthof, where over 50,000 prisoners from across Europe were deported between 1941 and 1944, and more than 20,000 lost their lives. This powerful site offers insight into forced labor, resistance, and human suffering under Nazi occupation. On the way, learn about life in Alsace during WWII, including its annexation by Nazi Germany, widespread repression, forced conscription (Malgré-nous), and the role of local resistance movements.

      03

      Lunch

      Pause for lunch at a traditional Alsatian restaurant, where you can enjoy regional specialties such as choucroute, baeckeoffe, or tarte flambée in a warm and authentic setting—offering a moment to reflect before continuing your journey.

        04

        Alsace-Moselle Memorial in Schirmeck

        Explore a unique museum tracing the complex history of a region that shifted between French and German control multiple times between 1871 and 1945, illustrated through personal stories and immersive multimedia exhibits. During WWII, its annexation into Nazi Germany led to forced conscription of around 130,000 Alsatians and Mosellans.

          05

          Saverne or Mont Sainte-Odile

          Reflect at Saverne, a key site in the Allied “Breakthrough of the Vosges” that helped liberate Strasbourg, or take in the peaceful atmosphere and sweeping views at Mont Sainte-Odile, a place of spiritual and symbolic significance perched 750 meters above the Alsace plain .

            06

            Deeper into Alsace’s WWII Memory

            Stay overnight in the region and extend your WWII memory journey with a second day exploring the sites of the Colmar Pocket, the last major battle fought on French soil, and the villages as Kaysersberg and Turckheim, which witnessed intense fighting during the harsh winter of 1944–45. Visit the Sigolsheim National Necropolis, where Allied soldiers are laid to rest overlooking the battlefield, offering a powerful moment of remembrance.

            Return or extension. Return to Strasbourg, from there take an evening train back to Paris or choose to extend your stay in Alsace.

              07

              Optional Themed Tours in Alsace

              WWI Memory Tour. Explore the battlefields of Le Linge and Hartmannswillerkopf, walk through preserved trenches and memorials, and discover additional historic sites across the Vosges Mountains, where the legacy of WWI still shapes the landscape.

              Jewish Heritage Tour. Discover Alsace’s rich Jewish history through its synagogues, historic quarters, cemeteries, and long-standing communities, and pay tribute to the victims of fascism at Natzweiler-Struthof.

              Genealogy Experience. Trace your Alsatian roots with personalized research and visits to ancestral towns, bringing family history to life in a meaningful way.

              Alsace Wine Tour. Explore the Alsace Wine Route through picturesque villages like Riquewihr and Eguisheim, with visits to local estates for tastings of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris, while discovering the region’s unique terroir and traditions.

              Christmas Markets Tour. Experience the magic of Alsatian villages during the festive season, with their enchanting Christmas markets, traditions, and seasonal specialties.

              Cross-border & Black Forest excursions. Extend your journey beyond France with day trips to Germany and Switzerland, visiting destinations such as Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Freiburg im Breisgau, or Basel, or explore the natural beauty of the Black Forest.

                08

                Other Optional Experiences

                Wine, beer & culinary workshops. Participate in a wine pairing experience or an Alsatian beer crafting workshop, and join a hands-on cooking class to prepare regional specialties such as choucroute garnie, tarte flambée, or baeckeoffe.

                Local traditions & craftsmanship. Visit Vosges mountain farms to discover the traditional production of Munster cheese, and explore local craftsmanship by creating Alsatian ceramics in workshops in Soufflenheim and nearby villages.

                Biking, hiking or hot air-balloon ride. Explore the vineyards of the Alsace Wine Route on an e-bike tour, enjoy guided hikes through the Vosges Mountains or the Black Forest, or take to the skies with a hot air balloon ride or tandem paragliding over breathtaking landscapes.

                Waterways & boat tour. Discover the charm of Alsace from the water with a guided boat tour through the canals of Colmar or Strasbourg, offering a different perspective on the region’s picturesque scenery.

                Professional photo shoot. Capture your journey with a professional photo shoot set among Alsace’s fairytale villages, vineyards, and scenic countryside, creating timeless memories of your stay.

                Extend your journey. Combine your Alsace experience with a wider exploration of France, including Paris, Normandy, Champagne, Burgundy, or other iconic regions.

                  Practical information

                  Each journey is fully tailored to your pace and can be designed as a Signature or Premium Experience, depending on your preferred level of comfort, personalization, and exclusivity. Learn more in Our Concept.

                  A professional driver and expert local guide accompany you throughout, while we handle all reservations and logistics — accommodations, transfers, restaurants, tastings, and activities — for a seamless experience.

                  Benefit from 24/7 English-speaking support during your travels and a flexible cancellation policy. Learn more in our FAQ.

                  View of the Mont Sainte-Odile monastery and surrounding forested landscape in Alsace, France.
                  The Mont Sainte-Odile Monastery

                  Curated Alsace Journeys

                  Aerial view of Kaysersberg, Alsace, along the Alsace wine tour — showing vineyards, historic rooftops, and the green hills of the Vosges Mountains.

                  Alsace Wine Route Exploration

                  • 1-3 Days
                  • Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Eguisheim, Colmar, Kaysersberg, Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, Mont Sainte-Odile

                  Embark on an unforgettable Alsace wine journey, exploring scenic villages and tasting the rich blend of French and German winemaking heritage.

                  Christmas decorations in Alsace

                  Christmas Magic in Alsace

                  • 1-2 Days
                  • Strasbourg, Obernai, Colmar, Alsace Wine Route villages

                  Discover festive markets, storybook villages, wine tastings, and seasonal traditions on a refined winter escape through Strasbourg and the Alsace Wine Route.

                  Jewish wedding ring from 14th-century Colmar, Alsace — a rare medieval artifact featured on the Alsace wine tour, symbolizing the region’s rich heritage.

                  Jewish Heritage in Alsace

                  • 1-4 Days
                  • Strasbourg, Rosenwiller, Obernai, Colmar

                  Embark on a meaningful exploration of Jewish life, history, and culture in Alsace, where communities have been present since the Middle Ages. Visit synagogues, centuries-old cemeteries, and historic sites that reflect the region’s enduring heritage.

                  Picturesque view of a canal street in Colmar, France, with colorful flowers along the water and half-timbered houses.

                  Alsace Curated Experience

                  • 1-5 Days
                  • Strasbourg, medieval villages and castles, Alsace wine route and World Wars sights

                  Embark on a curated private journey through an authentic region, where French charm meets German tradition, and war scars neighbour with fairytale villages, vineyards and majestic castles.

                  Interior view of a tunnel in the Maginot Line, with arched ceilings and dim lighting.

                  WWII Memory Tour – Alsace

                  • 1-2 Days
                  • Maginot Line, Struthof-Natzweiler Camp, Alsace-Moselle Memorial, Saverne or Mont Sainte-Odile

                  Embark on a deeply moving journey to WWII history —where haunting sites, heroism, and remembrance come alive.

                  View of the Hartmannswillerkopf Memorial and Museum surrounded by greenery on a sunny day.

                  WWI Memory Tour – Alsace

                  • 1-2 Days
                  • WWI memorials, museums and battlefileds, Vosges mountains, Alsace

                  Walk the front lines of history in Alsace—where mountain trenches, heroic stories, and powerful memorials bring WWI to life.