Geneva & CERN Discovery Classes | School Trips Abroad

Geneva & CERN with your class

Geneva is unlike any other school trip destination in the portfolio, a city built around ideas rather than history or culture, though it has both in abundance. The anchor experience is CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, where the Large Hadron Collider, the world's most powerful particle accelerator, runs in a circular tunnel 27 kilometres in circumference beneath the Swiss-French border. CERN offers genuinely exceptional educational visits for school groups, including a guided tour of the accelerator complex, hands-on physics workshops, and the Microcosm exhibition, all free of charge. The physics content connects directly to A-Level and IB curricula in a way no textbook or simulation can replicate. Beyond CERN, Geneva is the seat of more international organisations than any other city on earth, the UN's European headquarters, the International Red Cross, the WHO, the WTO, the UNHCR, and dozens more, making it the most concentrated location for international Citizenship and Politics curriculum content available anywhere. The Palais des Nations offers guided visits to the General Assembly hall where the League of Nations once met, and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum is one of the most thoughtfully designed humanitarian institutions in Europe. Lake Geneva, surrounded by the Alps, adds a geography and environmental science dimension that is hard to find elsewhere at this quality.

CERN particle accelerator visitor experience and Lake Geneva landscape on a science school trip

Trip highlights

01 CERN, a guided tour of the world's largest and most complex scientific instrument, including the accelerator complex, the detector exhibitions, and Microcosm; one of the most genuinely educational experiences available to secondary school Physics students anywhere in the world, and offered free of charge

CERN, a guided tour of the world's largest and most complex scientific instrument, including the accelerator complex, the detector exhibitions, and Microcosm; one of the most genuinely educational experiences available to secondary school Physics students anywhere in the world, and offered free of charge

02 The Palais des Nations

The Palais des Nations, the European headquarters of the United Nations, housed in the former League of Nations building; guided visits include the General Assembly hall, the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilisations Room, and the extraordinary art collections donated by member states

03 The Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum, one of Europe's most intelligently designed humanitarian institutions, exploring the origins and principles of international humanitarian law through powerful multimedia exhibitions that connect directly to Citizenship, Ethics, and Politics curricula

Curriculum links

Physics particle physics, the Standard Model, antimatter, the Higgs boson, directly curriculum-linked for A-Level and IB Physics

Citizenship & Politics UN institutions, the Red Cross, international humanitarian law, global governance

History the history of international cooperation, Geneva Conventions, the League of Nations

Geography Lake Geneva, the Alps, Swiss urban geography

French Language

Practical information

TransportTravel arranged to suit your school's location.

Accommodationcentrally located youth hostel or hotel in Geneva, with good public transport access to both CERN (on the Swiss-French border) and the Palais des Nations (in the international quarter)

Meals: breakfast included; lunches at CERN cafeteria (open to visiting groups and remarkably good value for Switzerland); group dinners at local restaurants
Local currency is Swiss Franc (CHF); Geneva is one of Europe's most expensive cities, spending money recommendations should reflect this; most major sites are free of charge
CERN visits must be booked several weeks in advance through the CERN public engagement office; school group visits are free but heavily subscribed
The UN Palais des Nations also requires advance booking; visits are free for educational groups
A Geneva Transport Card is provided free to hotel guests, covering all public transport within the canton
On the Move is the officially accredited school trips provider for the European Schools in Belgium; every trip has a dedicated project manager with 24/7 emergency support.

A day by day

Day 1

Arrival & Lake Geneva Arrive in Geneva and make your way to the accommodation. After check-in, the afternoon is given over to a first orientation walk, the old town on the hill, the Jet d'Eau (the famous 140-metre water jet on the lake), the Flower Clock, and the quays of Lake Geneva with the Alps reflected in the water. A group dinner at a Swiss restaurant introduces students to fondue or raclette, Switzerland's most sociable meals, before a briefing on the CERN visit the following day.

Day 2

CERN A full morning and early afternoon at CERN. The guided visit typically includes Microcosm, the permanent interactive exhibition covering the physics of the Standard Model, antimatter, and the Higgs boson, followed by a guided tour of the accelerator complex, including the ATLAS or CMS detector (depending on operational schedule), and a hands-on workshop facilitated by CERN physicists and science communicators. This is a genuinely transformative experience for Physics students, meeting the people who discovered the Higgs boson in the building where the discovery was made. Return to the city in the afternoon for free time by the lake. Group dinner in the old town.

Day 3

Palais des Nations, Red Cross Museum & Old Town A morning guided visit to the Palais des Nations, the UN's European headquarters, followed by the Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum, whose permanent exhibition on the principles of international humanitarian law is one of the most powerful curriculum experiences available for Citizenship and Politics students. After lunch in the international quarter, the afternoon is given over to Geneva's old town, the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre (where Calvin preached during the Reformation), the Maison Tavel (the oldest house in Geneva, now a city history museum), and the Place du Bourg-de-Four, the oldest public square in the city. Group farewell dinner before departure the following morning.

Day 4

Departure (3 nights) / Day 3 Departure (2 nights) For 2-night programmes, CERN and the Palais des Nations are visited on the same day, this is feasible given the proximity of both sites to central Geneva.

✏️ This is an example timetable — we can adapt the destination, programme, duration and budget to suit your group.

Students come home with…

a direct engagement with cutting-edge particle physics in the place where it happens; a concrete understanding of how international institutions operate and why they matter; and the particular satisfaction of having visited a city that is seriously engaged with some of the most important questions facing humanity.

In pictures

Discovery Classes - your questions

Popular themes include space and aerospace, zoology, natural sciences, industrial heritage and urban regeneration, and technology. We tailor each itinerary to your subject and year group.

Yes. We arrange guided, expert-led visits and hands-on workshops at science centres, museums and research sites wherever possible.

Münster (Zoo School, planetarium) is designed for P5 (ages 10–11). Our other discovery destinations suit secondary years with content adapted to the group's level.

Return travel, accommodation, all entries and workshops, supervision, insurance and your On the Move coordinator.

Discovery trip to Geneva & CERN