25 European Destinations for World War History Buffs

If you could only make it to one destination on the list, Normandy should be the one. This scenic coastal region of northwest France was the setting for the D-Day Landings and today, you can contemplate the heroics that happened here and pay your respects to the fallen at its solemn cemeteries and dramatic stretches of sand. Among the most notable places to visit are the Normandy American Cemetery (you may recognize this one from Saving Private Ryan), Omaha Beach, the village of Arromanches-les-Bains (the location of the famed artificial harbor that allowed the Allies to transport equipment ashore) and the moving & informative Caen Memorial Museum. 

After the First World War, French Minister of War André Maginot spearheaded the building of an impressive system of concrete defenses and other bulky barriers meant to stop the Germans from ever invading France again. Needless to say, the so-called Maginot Line was ineffective,  and at this sight, you can see remnants of the fortifications and learn all about the line and its place in World War II history.

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were shot by an assassin in Sarajevo, triggering a chain of events that led to World War I. Visit the city today to stand at the north end of the Latin Bridge where assassin Gavrilo Princip fired his shot heard around the world and dive deep into the history of this fascinating city. 

World War II started when this city on the Baltic Sea was invaded by Germany and a visit to the place where the first shots of the struggle were fired is as symbolic as it is engrossing. Sights like the Museum of the Second World War and the Museum of the Polish Post Office in Gdansk both tell the story of the heroic early Polish resistance to German aggression.  

This handsome Belgian city is the best base for exploring Flanders Fields—a series of major World War I battlefields—and paying your respects to the soldiers who fell during those especially bloody conflicts. Visit the Flanders Fields Museum and nearby Sanctuary Wood Museum (home to a nearly intact World War I trench) before watching the moving nightly Last Post ceremony at Menin Gate memorial. 

The capital of the UK was bombed mercilessly during The Blitz, but Londoners famously did their best to “keep calm and carry on” with their lives and the modern city holds treasures for those interested in World War II history. Simply taking a ride on the Tube will bring alive visions of Londoners sheltering from bombs in the stations and visits to the Imperial War Museum and Churchill War Rooms (the actual bunker Winston Churchill & his cabinet strategized in) alongside the HMS Belfast—a historic warship that took part in the D-Day invasions—will enthrall all history lovers. 

This beautiful Bavarian town was the setting for many sinister acts during the reign of the Third Reich. Most notably, it was the scene for massive rallies and speeches by Adolph Hitler himself, and the grounds where these took place can be visited and contemplated today, with the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds being a must-visit to learn more. The city also hosted historic trials after World War II that saw Nazis face justice for their crimes and the Nuremberg Trials Memorial provides rich insight into the events.  

The Treaty of Versailles—the agreement that brought a formal end to World War I—was signed in this opulent palace's Hall of Mirrors on June 28, 1918. The beauty of this hall was the perfect backdrop for the belief that a lasting peace had just been achieved, while in reality the terms and language of the treaty are thought by many to have sowed the seeds of World War II.

The city’s Dutch Resistance Museum will walk you through the story of the courageous citizens of the city who fought back against the Nazi occupation and is often considered to be one of the most impressive museums of its kind in Europe. Most famously though, Amsterdam is the home of the Anne Frank House where you can walk through the actual home where Anne and her family hid from the Nazis. 

This idyllic Italian port town was the landing point for American and British troops during Operation Shingle in World War II and today it holds many historical finds for World War history buffs like the Anzio Beachhead Museum, which tells the story of the landings. The most important sight here is the Sicily–Rome American Cemetery and Memorial, which is the final resting place of thousands of American troops who fell during the Italian Campaign.

The Somme Region of France witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting and highest casualty totals in all of World War I during an engagement that involved troops from numerous nations. Tour the Remembrance Circuit from Péronne to Albert to follow in the footsteps of the soldiers who waged the fighting and visit memorials, cemeteries and other fascinating points of interest along the way. Highlights include the Historical Museum of the Great War, the Lochnagar Crater (the site of a massive explosion that began the British troops' engagement) and the Thiepval Memorial.  

The German capital presents a unique opportunity to explore sights connected to the rise of the Nazis through the fighting of the Second World War on to the division of the city after the end of hostilities. The Reichstag is a great place to start, as the fire that broke out here in 1933 helped Adolf Hitler seize more power and today the building once again is the home of the German Parliament and an impressive glass roof that symbolizes transparency in government. Other sights here include the moving Memorial To The Murdered Jews Of Europe (a poignant space full of hundreds of concrete blocks over undulating ground) and the Topography of Terror exhibition, which is located on the former site of SS and Gestapo headquarters. And of course, the remnants of the Berlin Wall offer a lesson in the Cold War that began shortly after World War II. 

Located a short distance from Berlin, this city was the place where the Potsdam Conference—a meeting between the leaders of the United States, United Kingdom and Soviet Union to discuss the postwar shape of Europe—took place. Today, the country-style palace called Cecilienhof where the meetings took place is open to visitors. 

This city in southern Poland was the site of Oskar Schindler’s famous enamel factory, the subject of the acclaimed film Schindler’s List. The building is now part of the Krakow Historical Museum, a series of historical sights located throughout the city, several of which tell the story of Krakow’s Nazi occupation and resistance by local citizens. Krakow is also considered the best base from which to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, the most infamous Nazi concentration camp in Europe. 

The Dolomites mountain range of northern Italy is renowned for its natural beauty, but during the First World War, it bore witness to bloody fighting in brutal conditions between Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops. Today, a series of outdoor museums near the Sasso di Stria, Lagazuoi and 5 Torri areas allow you to walk in their footsteps and learn their stories. Best visited in summer. 

Four days after D-Day, this village in central France was destroyed and hundreds of its citizens were massacred by the Nazis as retribution for acts of resistance. Instead of being rebuilt, the village has been left as it was, serving as an eerie and moving memorial to the atrocities that took place here in 1944.

This Dutch city is the best place to explore the history of the ill-fated World War II operation by the Allies called Operation Market Garden. Top sights include the Hartenstein Hotel Museum, which details the battle for Arnhem, The Arnhem Bridge and the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery.  

This small town in eastern Poland is the best spot to base yourself in order to explore the sprawling complex of bunkers and buildings where Adolf Hitler based himself during much of World War II. In addition to bearing historical witness to the place where evil deeds were plotted and overseen, the so-called "Wolf's Lair" was the site of the failed attempt to assassinate Hitler, which was documented in the film Valkyrie. 

The City of Light was occupied for almost all of the war and the sights here are mostly connected to Paris resident’s resistance to the Nazi regime. Most prominent is the Museum of the Liberation of Paris, which tells the story of the brave souls who worked tirelessly against their Nazi oppressors. Other fascinating sights connected to World War Two are the Shoah Memorial Holocaust Museum and the Order of the Liberation Museum, the latter dedicated to Charles de Gaulle’s Free France government and its most recognized freedom fighters.

Sicily was the first place in Europe to be liberated by the Allies and you will find military cemeteries and moving memorials all over the island. In Catania, which was the site of heavy fighting, the Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia (The Historical Museum of the Landings)walks visitors through the fight for the island.  

This region of southern Belgium full of rolling hills and forests was the scene of fierce fighting during Germany’s last major offensive of the war, a conflict that became known as the Battle of the Bulge. Visitors can tour the ultra-informative Museum of War and Peace in the Ardennes—which links together the Franco-Prussian War, World War I and World War II—the Bastogne War Museum & Mardasson War Memorial (the latter dedicated to the American soldiers who fell in the Battle of the Bulge) and the Battle of the Ardennes Museum, which is located in a chateau in the town of Clervaux.

Bavaria’s capital city was the site of some of the Nazi party’s earliest notable actions, including the “Beer Hall Putsch'', and many sights like the Feldherrnhalle are still here today. Munich serves as a great base for exploring the region as it’s in the idyllic countryside a day trip outside of the city where you’ll find the most notable World War II sights. Most notably the Eagle’s Nest complex near the town of Berchtesgaden and the Dachau Concentration Camp, which was one of the very first established by the Nazis. 

  The Battle of Verdun was one of the longest conflicts of World War I and resulted in France retaining control of the city of the Meuse River. Both the French and German sides sustained heavy losses and the town and surrounding are full of memorials like the Douaumont Ossuary where you can learn about the conflict and pay your respects to the fallen.

The Polish capital was nearly completely destroyed in World War II but the city has proved resilient and offers up many sights today that tell the story of the war. The Warsaw Uprising Museum is renowned for shouting visitors how brave Poles fought occupation by the Nazis while other sights like the Mausoleum of Struggle and Martyrdom and Memorial Route of Jewish Martyrdom and Struggle in Warsaw will also interest those enthralled by the history of World War II. 

Located a short train journey from London in Milton Keynes, Bletchley Park was once a secretive facility where codebreakers worked tirelessly toward cracking the German enciphering machine nicknamed "Enigma". In the end, their heroic efforts succeeded and today you can visit and learn all about Alan Turing and the other codebreakers whose stories were brought to life in the film The Imitation Game.