Final-year school trip to Lyon and the Alps: Old Lyon, Fourvière, Annecy and Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (6 days)

Day 1: Departure from your school and arrival in Lyon

• Departure from your school early in the morning, at the agreed time, and daytime drive to Lyon via Luxembourg and Burgundy (about 7 hours from Brussels, excluding breaks), with two drivers on board.
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night.
• Free lunch on the way.
• Arrival in the late afternoon and check-in at the accommodation, in or around Lyon, for two nights; dinner and a quiet evening.

Day 2: Fourvière, Old Lyon and the Croix-Rousse

• Funicular ride up Fourvière Hill: the basilica, the panorama over the city and the Roman theatres of Lugdunum.
• Walk down to Old Lyon, the UNESCO-listed Renaissance district, and discovery of its traboules, secret passageways between the buildings.
• Free lunch, then across the Presqu’île via Place Bellecour and up to the Croix-Rousse, the former silk workers’ district, to the Mur des Canuts mural.
• Visit to the Musée des Confluences, devoted to science and societies, at the tip of the Presqu’île (on request).
• Dinner and a supervised evening.

Day 3: On to Annecy, the “Venice of the Alps”

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and drive to Annecy (about 1 hr 45 min).
• Walk through the old town: the Thiou canals, the Palais de l’Isle, the Pont des Amours and the Jardins de l’Europe.
• Free lunch, then a guided cruise on Lake Annecy, between mountains and lakeside villages.
• Check-in at the accommodation for three nights, dinner and a supervised evening.

Day 4: A day in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

• Drive to Chamonix (about 1.5 hours) and first views of the Mont Blanc massif, the highest summit in the Alps (4,805 m).
• Cable car up to the Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m), facing Mont Blanc (on request).
• Free lunch in the centre of Chamonix.
• Cogwheel train up to Montenvers and discovery of the Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in France (on request).
• Return to Annecy, dinner and a supervised evening.

Day 5: The Fier Gorges and Lake Annecy

• Drive to the Fier Gorges at Lovagny (about 20 min) and walk along the walkways suspended above the torrent (on request).
• Return to Annecy and free lunch.
• Bike ride on the cycle path along the west shore of the lake (on request).
• Supervised free time by the lake, with a beach and picnic possible depending on the season.
• Dinner and last supervised evening.

Day 6: Return to your school

• Rooms vacated after breakfast, luggage loaded onto the coach.
• Departure early in the morning and daytime drive back to Belgium (about 8 hours to Brussels, excluding breaks), with two drivers on board.
• Free lunch on the way and regular breaks.
• Arrival at your school in the evening.