The 2025 International History Olympiad consisted not only of a week of competitions and field trips throughout Paris and Versailles, but also featured a three-day Pre-Tour to Normandy and Brittany, and a week-long Post-Tour to the South of France. These were organized through our IAC Journeys program, which will next feature two trips in the USA in 2026 (a Civil Rights Tour on Martin Luther King Day weekend, and a Civil War Tour on Labor Day weekend), as well as two tours held in conjunction with the 2026 International Geography Championships (a pre-tour to Bangkok, and a post-tour most likely to Angkor Wat; possibly to Malaysia and Singapore).
Evan and Nathan Chung from Hong Kong visiting Omaha Beach, Normandy on the Pre-Tour.
Tour & Olympiad Staffer Audra Dankwardt at Mont Saint-Michel on the Pre-Tour.
The Pre-Tour to Normandy and Brittany kicked off the Olympiad for 106 tour guests (Competing Students, Family Members, and Friends), 19 staff, and 2 hired tour guides who were experts on the World War II history of Normandy. The Post-Tour was attended by 39 tour guests and 12 staff. The tours featured a mix of historical and cultural sites, as well as various buzzer quizzing, family picture quiz, and scavenger hunt competitions, most of which had a theme that was connected to the regions we were visiting.
The Pre-Tour began with a stop in the historic port of Honfleur, and then spent a day and a half exploring the history of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings. A stop in Bayeux provided an interlude from the Middle Ages as participants had a chance to view the incomparable Bayeux Tapestry. After finishing the World War II portion of the tour at the Utah Beach Museum, we visited Mont Saint-Michel, the corsair stronghold of Saint-Malo, the Brittany Museum in Rennes, and Chartres Cathedral on the way back to Paris.
Post-Tour Participants on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.
Playing the South of France Cultural History Bee on the beach during the Post-Tour.
The Post-Tour began with a TGV train from Paris to Lyon, where we spent the first night, visited museums and did a walking tour in the morning. From Lyon, we traveled by coach bus down the Rhone Valley to Avignon, the Pont du Gard, Nîmes, and Arles. Stops in Les Baux and Saint-Remy provided a chance to see two of the most picturesque villages of Provence. After a lunch stop in Aix and a visit to an olive oil mill, we reached the Mediterranean in Cannes. Stops in Antibes, Grasse, and the Escoffier Museum preceded our final arrival in Nice, where the tour spent the final three nights. From our base in Nice, we then explored the Italian Riviera, Monaco, Eze, and the Chagall and Matisse Museums in Nice. Buzzer competitions took place on the banks of the Rhone in Lyon, on the bus, and on the beach in Nice. A Scavenger Hunt in Old Nice rounded out the competitions. We hope you’ll consider joining us for more fun with IAC Journeys in the coming years!