Switzerland

Upon arrival in Zürich, transfer to the hotel. Join an optional walking tour along the Limmat River with a visit to the National Museum before meeting fellow travelers for a welcome reception.

Set out to explore downtown Zürich on foot. Make our way to Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland’s largest art museum. Take in works by Alberto Giacometti and Edvard Munch as well as objects from the Dada movement, which was founded in Zürich in 1916. Following lunch, travel by public train to Uetliberg, a mountain in the Swiss plateau offering sweeping views of the city; return to town by train with the rest of the day and evening free for independent exploration.

Founded as a public university in 1854, ETH University served as a driving force behind Swiss industrialization. Tour the campus where Einstein Albert Einstein studied and later worked as a professor of theoretical physics. We then depart Zürich for Bern, where we visit the Einstein House. After lunch in the historic center, stop in Zentrum Paul Klee. Designed by architect Renzo Piano, the museum houses the most important collection of Klee’s work.

Ride the cogwheel Wengernalp Railway to the quaint village of Kleine Scheidegg and from there board a second train to the Jungfraujoch, often called the “Top of Europe.” Enjoy lunch looking out over the Swiss Plateau as far as France and the Aletsch Glacier with its 13,000-foot peaks. Descend the mountain on the new, state-of-the-art Eiger Express tricable gondola before returning to Bern by road for an evening at leisure.

Begin the morning at the Einstein Museum, where a resident scholar walks us through exhibits detailing the life of the physicist and his ground-breaking discoveries. We then travel to Gruyères for a traditional raclette lunch. Spend time wandering the streets of the medieval town and see its magnificent castle before continuing to our hotel, situated on the banks of the River Rhône in Geneva.

After breakfast, head to the Museum of the History of Science, which houses a collection of antique scientific instruments from the cabinets of Genevan scholars of the 17th to 19th centuries. Next, take a guided walk through Geneva’s historic center, stopping for lunch in the main square. This afternoon, opt for free time in town or join an excursion to a historic 11th-century wine estate for a private wine tasting.

Today, we venture to CERN, the European laboratory for particle physics and one of the world’s leading scientific research laboratories. Meet with scientists and go underground on a special tour of the Large Hadron Collider and the ATLAS detector. Later this evening, gather to toast our journey at a farewell dinner.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport to begin the journey home.