-Day 1 Start tour
Day 2 Guten Tag Zurich
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Lindenhof hill visit
Day 3 Zurich--Geneva
Travel to Geneva via Bern
Details: Bern tour director-led sightseeing
Charming Bern seems too picturesque to be Switzerland’s capital city. Its medieval core remains almost unchanged since the 1500’s, and the quiet cobbled lanes, winding river, and surrounding woods, coupled with the city’s omnipresent furry bear mascot, bring to mind childhood fairytales. Hard to believe that the earth-changing Theory of Relativity was born here, in the apartment where Einstein lived in 1905. (We suspect he was inspired by the mind-altering local Toblerone chocolate.)
Day 4 Geneva Landmarks
Geneva tour director-led sightseeing
Details: Jet d'Eau
View the Jet d’ Eau, Geneva’s trademark. This beautiful fountain throws water 460 feet into the air and is visible for miles. Continue to the Jardin Anglais, where we will view the world famous Flower Clock, which is made of carefully landscaped beds of flowers, and its keeps perfect time.
Details: St Pierre Cathedral visit
Visit the Cathedral de Saint-Pierre, where in 1536 the people of Geneva gathered in the cloister and voted to make the cathedral Protestant. With a philosophy of austerity, all of the altars, statues and ornamentation in the cathedral were destroyed, leaving only the pulpit and stained glass windows. Highlights of our visit will include Calvin’s Chair, and an Ascent of the North Tower, where will enjoy spectacular views of the city.
Details: International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum visit
A museum experience like none-other, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum presents the history of humanitarian action as well as an in-depth analysis of contemporary issues. The main permanent exhibitions, The Humanitarian Adventure, is separated into three main topics Defending Human Dignity, Restoring Family Links, and Reducing Natural Risks, which represent the main challenges faced in today’s world.
Day 5 Geneva--Lucerne
Travel to Lucerne via Lausanne and Gruyeres
Details: Gruyere cheese factory visit
Switzerland may hold the holy grail of holey cheeses. Tour a factory where the country's most celebrated cheese, gruyre, is made. The Gruyre Valley has been making this cheese since the 12th century, with dairy farmers working together to produce the necessary quantities of milk -- each large wheel of cheese requires about 150 gallons of fresh milk!
Day 6 Lucerne Landmarks
Traditional Swiss dinner
Details: Lucerne tour director-led sightseeing
Before a backdrop of snow-capped Alpine mountains and green, cow-filled pastures, join your Tour Director on a trip to Lucerne’s famous sights. Weave your way through a maze of narrow, winding streets until you reach the River Reuss and the Medieval Kapellbrücke Bridge. Stop to marvel at the bridge walls, decorated with murals that recreate the 14th-century originals destroyed in a fire. Journey down the cobblestone streets in the Old Town to see the Löwendenkmal (Lion Monument), the sombre sandstone wild cat gazing down into a reflecting pool, and ponder this artfully chiseled statue created to honor the Swiss Guards who died defending the Tuileries in 1792.
Details: Löwendenkmal (Lion Monument)
View the Lion Monument, or Löwendenkmal, created in 1820 in honor of the Swiss Guards who lost their lives in 1792 during the French Revolution.
Details: Kapellbrücke
One of the city's famous landmarks is Chapel Bridge, or Kapellbrücke, a wooden bridge first built in the 14th century. It has also been voted as the 5th most popular tourism destination in the world.
Day 7 Lucerne--Zurich
Travel to Zurich
Details: Zurich tour director-led sightseeing
Get out your credit card -- you’re in the capitalism capital of the world. Zurich’s enormous banking system and well-funded residents guarantee fantastic shopping (even if it’s only window shopping!). Explore the city with your Tour Director, who will lead you away from temptation and toward Zurich’s Old Town, a medieval pedestrian zone hugging the Limmat River. On either side of the river stand the Fraumünster and Grossmünster churches, their Gothic towers and amazing stained-glass windows eternally watching over the city.
Day 8 End Tour
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare
- Full European breakfast daily
- Dinner daily
- Full-time services of a professional tour director
- Guided sightseeing tours and city walks as per itinerary
- Visits to select attractions as per itinerary
- Tour Diary™
- Local Guide and Local Bus Driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
- Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
- Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid Tour Director and multi-day bus driver tipping, among other individual and group customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.
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