★★★★★
Shared day from Paris, Australian sites
School had taught Gallipoli; this day finally explained why Villers-Bretonneux matters, from Amiens Cathedral through Thiepval, Pozières and Le Hamel.
Kym W. · December 2025
Somme Battlefields Day Trip from Paris, with the Australian Memorial
Paris, avenue des Ternes, 7 am1916 front and AustraliansMax 8 guests
The day to book if you are staying in Paris, want the Somme in a single day and would rather not drive. You meet outside Café Dada Ternes at 7 am and ride in a minivan of eight at most. You get about five hours at the memorials, half of them on the Australian trail, and you stop at Amiens Cathedral on the way home.
Seven o'clock in Paris, five hours on the ground
A 7 am kerb in the 17th
You meet outside 12 avenue des Ternes, and the day ends back at the same door.
Eight people at most
One driver-guide and an air-conditioned minivan for the whole day.
The three sites of 1 July 1916
The Thiepval Memorial, Lochnagar Crater and the trenches at Beaumont-Hamel.
The Australian trail
Pozières, Villers-Bretonneux and an hour in the Sir John Monash Centre.
Nothing to buy at the gate
Every stop on the route is free to enter, so you pay nothing at a gate.
4.9 from 278 reviews
With a Badge of Excellence, and families with children from seven.
Café Dada Ternes at 7, the Somme by 9
This is the Somme for people who have one day and a bed in Paris. You meet your driver-guide outside Café Dada Ternes, 12 avenue des Ternes, a quarter of an hour before the 7 am start. The drive north takes about two hours, so you reach the first memorial in the middle of the morning.
That drive is the price of a Paris start: about four of your eleven hours are on the road. Your guide uses them. You get the background to the battle on the way out, so the first stop makes sense the moment you step out of the van. Still weighing up every Somme Battlefields guided tours option? The fares sit side by side, from Paris and from the towns on the battlefield.
Thiepval, Lochnagar and the Newfoundland trenches
The morning covers the ground of 1 July 1916, the first day of the battle. At the Thiepval Memorial you stand under Lutyens' arch, which carries the names of more than 72,000 men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died on the Somme and have no known grave. You get about half an hour there.
Next is Lochnagar Crater at La Boisselle. The mine went up at 7:28 am on 1 July 1916, two minutes before the infantry attacked. The crater it left is 100.5 metres across and 21 metres deep. You get half an hour there.
Then you walk the trenches at Beaumont-Hamel. The Newfoundland Memorial keeps 30 hectares of the 1916 battlefield, with its bronze caribou above the lines. Wear shoes that can take wet grass.
Villers-Bretonneux and an hour in the Sir John Monash Centre
The afternoon follows the Australians. You pass the memorial at Pozières, where the Australian divisions fought from 23 July 1916. Then you drive to Villers-Bretonneux, which Australian brigades took back from the Germans on 25 April 1918.
You spend half an hour at the cemetery and the Australian National Memorial, then about an hour in the Sir John Monash Centre. Entry is free, and earphones for the self-guided displays cost EUR 3. More than 18,000 Australians are still missing in France and Belgium, and the centre's video testimonies and interactive displays tell the soldiers' own stories.
Lunch at Le Tommy, and Amiens Cathedral on the way home
Lunch is an hour at Le Tommy, a restaurant in Pozières, and you pay for your own meal. Bring euros or a card for it.
On the way back to Paris you stop for twenty minutes at Amiens Cathedral. It is a short look, not a tour, and a quiet way to close a hard day before the drive south.
How the eleven hours run
- 6:45 am, avenue des Ternes. Your driver-guide pulls up outside Café Dada Ternes in a grey minibus.
- 7 am, north to the Somme. About two hours on the road, with the story of the battle on the way.
- Thiepval Memorial, 30 minutes. The memorial to the missing of the Somme.
- Lochnagar Crater, 30 minutes. The mine crater of 1 July 1916 at La Boisselle.
- Beaumont-Hamel, 30 minutes. The Newfoundland trenches and the caribou.
- Pozières, then lunch. The Australian memorial, and an hour at Le Tommy at your own cost.
- Villers-Bretonneux, 1 hour 30. The cemetery, the memorial and the Sir John Monash Centre.
- Amiens Cathedral, 20 minutes. A short stop, then the drive back to the café.
Who this suits: one day, from Paris, with the Australian story
Book this if
You are based in Paris, have one free day and want the main memorials without driving yourself. It suits Australians following family or school history, first-time visitors who want the 1 July sites, and families: children from seven can come, and families with teenagers have found the day holds them.
Book something else if
You want more hours at the sites and less on the road: take the train to Albert for the private half day from the museum or the half day that meets off the train in Albert. You want a car from your own hotel: the private day from your Paris hotel or the private Paris day that adds Vimy. You want the Australian story in more depth: the private Australian day from Amiens or the Australian shared day from the Lido. You are Canadian: the Canadian day from Ypres gives Vimy three hours. Every Paris start sits on Somme battlefield tours from Paris.
What the fare covers and what it doesn't
In the fare
- Driver-guide
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- All taxes, fees and handling charges
Not in the fare
- Food
- Gratuities
The meeting point: Café Dada Ternes, Paris 17e
Meet your driver-guide outside 12 avenue des Ternes, 75017 Paris, where Café Dada Ternes stands. Be there 15 minutes before the 7 am start: the guide arrives in a grey minibus and leaves on time. The address is near public transport.
There is no hotel pickup. The day ends back at the same café, about eleven hours after the start, so plan dinner in Paris rather than an early train.
Know before you go
- Lunch is on you. Food is not in the fare; bring euros or a card for Le Tommy.
- Dress for the fields. The day runs in all weather; bring a coat and boots with grip.
- Ages seven and up. The minimum age is 7, and children follow the same long day.
- Not for wheelchairs. The minivan and the trench walk are not wheelchair accessible.
- A closed centre swaps. If the Monash Centre is closed, the Historial in Péronne replaces it; the centre closes in February and on 1 May.
- Tips are extra. Gratuities are not in the fare; tip your guide if the day earned it.
What travellers say about the day from Paris
★★★★★
Shared day from Paris, Australian sites
Thoughtful, respectful and educational. It held a family with children aged 14 to 21 for the whole day.
Kate O. · January 2026
★★★☆☆
Shared day from Paris, Australian sites
A skilled and considerate guide, but twelve hours squeezed into a small minibus took the edge off the day.
Jeff R. · October 2025
Frequently asked questions
Is lunch included?
No. You stop for about an hour at Le Tommy in Pozières and pay for your own meal. Bring euros or a card.
How long is the day?
About eleven hours from the 7 am start on avenue des Ternes. Roughly four of them are the drive there and back, and about five are at the memorials.
Do I need to buy any tickets?
No. The memorials, the crater and the Sir John Monash Centre are all free to enter. The only extra is EUR 3 for the centre's earphones, if you want them.
Can I visit a particular grave?
The shared day follows a fixed route, so a detour for one grave is not promised. For a relative's grave, book a private day such as the private Australian day from Amiens, and send the name and unit ahead.
Can children come?
Yes, from age seven. The day is long, so it suits children who can manage eleven hours and a walk in the trenches.
What if I cancel?
You get a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start. Inside those 24 hours the fare is not refunded.
Other ways onto the Somme battlefields
Ready for the Somme from Paris?
Check dates for the 7 am start on avenue des Ternes, with free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Check availability