Final-year school trip to the Alps: Lucerne, Lauterbrunnen, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Aosta, Lake Como, Innsbruck and Neuschwanstein (10 days)

Day 1: Departure from your school and arrival in Lucerne

• Departure from your school early in the morning, at the agreed time, and daytime drive via Luxembourg, Alsace and Basel (about 650 km from Brussels, 7 hours’ driving excluding breaks).
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night; two drivers take turns at the wheel.
• Free lunch during a motorway break.
• Arrival in Lucerne in the late afternoon and first supervised walk on the Chapel Bridge, a 14th-century covered wooden bridge.
• Check-in at the accommodation in or near Lucerne for one night, dinner and quiet evening.

Day 2: Lucerne and the Lauterbrunnen Valley

• The Lion Monument and the old town of Lucerne, on the shores of Lake Lucerne.
• Drive to the Bernese Oberland over the Brünig Pass (about 70 km, 1¼ hours) and free lunch in Interlaken.
• The Lauterbrunnen Valley, framed by its cliffs and waterfalls, with the Staubbach Falls (free admission).
• Visit to the Trümmelbach Falls, which thunder inside the mountain (on request).
• Check-in at the accommodation in the Interlaken area for one night, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 3: Lake Geneva, Chillon and arrival in Chamonix

• Check-out after breakfast and drive to Lake Geneva via Bern and Fribourg (about 160 km, 2 hours).
• Visit to Chillon Castle, a medieval fortress set on the lake (on request).
• Free lunch on the Montreux lakeside promenade.
• Drive to Chamonix via Martigny and the Col de la Forclaz (about 80 km, 1¾ hours).
• Check-in at the accommodation in the Chamonix valley for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 4: Chamonix, facing Mont Blanc

• Cable car up to the Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m), facing the summit of Mont Blanc, weather permitting (on request).
• Free lunch in Chamonix.
• Rack railway up to Montenvers and descent to the ice cave of the Mer de Glace glacier (on request).
• Supervised free time in the centre of Chamonix.
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: The Mont Blanc Tunnel and Aosta, the Rome of the Alps

• Check-out after breakfast and crossing into Italy through the Mont Blanc Tunnel (11.6 km), then drive to Aosta (about 60 km, 1¼ hours).
• Aosta, nicknamed the “Rome of the Alps”: the Arch of Augustus, the Praetorian Gate and the cathedral.
• Visit to the Roman theatre and the cryptoporticus (on request).
• Free lunch, then drive to Lake Como via Milan (about 230 km, 3 hours excluding breaks).
• Check-in at the accommodation in or near Como for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 6: Lake Como and Bellagio

• Walk through the old town of Como: the cathedral and Piazza Cavour on the lakeside.
• Scheduled boat to Bellagio, nicknamed the “pearl of the lake” (on request).
• Free lunch in Bellagio and walk through its stepped lanes.
• Return to Como, then funicular up to Brunate, with its view over the lake and the Alps (on request).
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 7: Through Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the Tyrol

• Check-out after breakfast and drive via Lugano, the San Bernardino Tunnel and Chur (about 230 km to Vaduz, 3 hours excluding breaks).
• Stop in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, below its castle, and free lunch.
• Drive to the Tyrol via Feldkirch and the Arlberg Tunnel (about 170 km, 2¼ hours).
• Check-in at the accommodation in or near Innsbruck for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 8: Innsbruck, capital of the Alps

• The old town of Innsbruck, the Golden Roof and Maria-Theresien-Strasse, facing the peaks of the Nordkette.
• Funicular and cable car up the Nordkette, from the city centre to the Hafelekar (2,256 m) (on request).
• Free lunch, then visit to the Bergisel ski jump, designed by the architect Zaha Hadid (on request).
• Supervised free time in the centre of Innsbruck.
• Dinner and last supervised evening in the Tyrol.

Day 9: Neuschwanstein and overnight stop near Stuttgart

• Check-out after breakfast and drive to Bavaria over the Fern Pass (about 110 km, 2 hours).
• Walk up to Neuschwanstein Castle, the fairy-tale castle of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and guided tour (on request).
• Free lunch in Hohenschwangau, then drive via Memmingen and Ulm (about 220 km, 2¾ hours excluding breaks).
• Overnight stop in the Stuttgart area, dinner and quiet evening.

Day 10: Return to your school

• Departure after breakfast and daytime drive via Karlsruhe, Saarland and Luxembourg (about 600 km to Brussels, 6½ hours’ driving excluding breaks), with regular breaks.
• Free lunch during a break on the way.
• Arrival at your school in the evening.