Itinerary for business school trip to Switzerland
A traveler is planning a 10-day trip to Switzerland in mid-May with 10 college students. They’re looking for advice on modifying their itinerary, especially train connections and whether to visit Matterhorn instead of Geneva. The group hopes to include the scenic Landwasser Viaduct in their travels.
- Check the Swiss Travel Pass for cost-effective rail travel across multiple cities.
- Confirm overnight stays in each city to better plan train connections.
- Use the local train timetable to identify convenient travel routes between your planned destinations.
AI-generated summary-
Reading these forms has made me realize I need to make several changes to my proposed itinerary. Plans are to take 10 college students to Switzerland for 10 days mid-May of 2019.
Here is my draft. I now realize that train connections impact my travel choice and hence if someone can help me tweak that would be of great appreciation. Nothing is final yet, I chose a few hotel options but will really drill this down once I gain some guidance. I think I might replace Geneva with Matterhorn. I would like to figure out how to go through the Landwaser Viaduct at some leg of the trip. Sounds like a 3-day rail pass might fit?
Business, Tourism and Diverse Cultures of Switzerland
Location Switzerland (Zurich, Lugano, Bern, & Geneva)
Program Description Immerse yourself and experience the culture of another country. Tour multiple cities in Switzerland where the prominent cultures range from Swiss French to Swiss German and finally Swiss Italian. Signs, cuisine and the language used in those regions accommodate their native cultures along with the Swiss. Visit Castles, the Alps and gain an appreciation for the historic businesses that are still thriving in today’s global market. Aid your learning by exploring the diverse public transportation systems of rail, cableway, boats, trolleys, and trams, all which tourism depends upon to mobilize visitors across their country.
Course BA 457— Business Study Travel 3 credits Short-Term International Travel
This course applies learning experiences in the global economy. Countries make significant contributions to the U.S. and other regions throughout the world. Industries benefit to understand the unique political and economic dynamics that Switzerland’s business and tourism sectors play in the global marketplace. This international enrichment program includes expert-led tours that will help students as they go forth in their chosen career(s).
May 5, 2019 Depart USA / Travel Day
Sunday Depart en-route to Zurich
May 6, 2019 Arrive Zurich: Cultural Visit
Monday Arrive in Zurich 11am
Upon arrival, group is met by private coach and English speaking assistant for transfer to hotel in Zurich Sorell Hotel Seidenhof
Cultural Tour Limmat River Boat Cruise for views of the old town and Lake Zurich. (cruise tickets included) Zurich is Switzerland’s center of economic life and education. Located in the heart of Europe, the city offers all the modern amenities of a cosmopolitan metropolis, without sacrificing its natural side.
Free Time: Free to explore and hop a trolley or walk to the shops on Bahnhofstrasse Street, one of the most famous luxury shopping streets in Europe, on own
Welcome Dinner included at a local historic restaurant
Zurich: City Overview and Business Visit, off to Lugano
Breakfast: Free at hotel
May 7, 2019
Tuesday City Overview Tour: One-hour English speaking guide, walking tour of Zurich, which for years has ranked among the world’s top cities regarding the quality of life. It is a boutique city that offers everything that implies, albeit in small and exquisite format. The city’s rustic pubs, street food festivals and pop-up restaurants in empty factories are also enjoying a considerable degree of popularity.
Business Visit #1: Socio-economics and public transportation in Switzerland: Opportunities & Challenges; Management presentations and discussions. Meet with a small business banker at the Bank Julius Bär & Co. AG. Squelch the “Swiss bank account theories, or not?” Learn what it takes to open a business in Switzerland and how the Swiss Franc competes globally.
Check out of the hotel and depart Zurich 3-minute walk to the Main Railway Station
Best advise to just to the short section Landwasser Viaduct – How shall we get from Zurich to Chur…then we can take the train to St. Moritz.
Cultural Tour Aboard the Glacier Express train to travel to Lugano, going through the famous Lanwasser Viaduct as seen in many movies.
Arrive and check into Lugano hotel.
The Albula Line with the Solis and Landwasser viaducts and spiral tunnels
Lugano is a city in southern Switzerland’s Italian-speaking Ticino region. Lugano’s Swiss-Mediterranean mix of cultures is closely related to that of Italy’s northern Lombardy region. The area reflects the Italian architecture, language, and cuisine. Lugano has a splashy, zesty, Mediterranean ambiance and is the best spot to enjoy palm trees in Switzerland.
Free Time: Free to explore the villages many shops and cafes by foot while enjoying the scenic views. Piazza della Riforma: This square is Lugano’s living room. With geraniums cascading on all sides, the square hosts an open-air cinema, markets, and local festivals. The giant yellow building is the city hall.
May 9, 2019 Lugano: Cultural Tour, off to Interlaken
Cultural Tour & Business Visit #2: Infrastructure and cultural diversity within a country. Management presentations and discussions. Tour the Monte Brè, located in the Cassarate suburb in the east of Lugano. Take a clattering ride up the mountainside on a funicular railway that has a maximum incline of 60.5. At the summit, 925 meters above sea level, there are two restaurants. You can survey Lugano and the landscape as far as Italy. Monte Brè is touted as Switzerland’s sunniest mountain, and the abundance of sunlight nourishes the Christmas rose, a flower that usually only thrives in Mediterranean climates. We will learn about the infrastructure challenges of living on a mountainside in a region that follows aneighboring country’s native language and culture from a local community business leader .
Depart by train to Interlaken, then check into Bamers Tent Village Hotel.
Thursday Interlaken: Cultural Tour
May 10, 2019 Cultural Tour: Venturing back from Lugano, spend the day taking acable car ride or hike to the Harder Kulm, whereby you can stand on the famous suspended viewing deck for views of Interlaken as well as the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains.
Free Time: Visit the quaint village shops with traditional Swiss chocolate, watches, and cheese. Embrace your night’s stay with breath-taking views of the Alps as we get casual staying at the Balmers Tent Village Hotel.
Friday Bern: City Overview, Governmental Visit & Cultural Tours
May 11, 2019
Diplomatic Visit #1: Less than an hour from Interlaken, we will visit the capital of Switzerland that sits on a sandstone ridge, encircled on three sides by the Aare flowing through a valley. High-level bridges link the city with the high ground on the right bank and with the newer parts of the city. Houses and shops, with their street-level arcades and projecting roofs, reflect the prosperity of the citizens of Bern in the 17th and 18th centuries. Known as the City of Fountains from the 16th century, this region you will find a heavy German Influence. We will visit the Renaissance-style Bundeshaus (Parliament building), where we will meet with embassy leaders to learn about trade, tourism, global healthcare and more. Learn first-hand why the Swiss government chooses not to be a part of the European Union and does not use the Eurodollar.
Cultural Tour City walking tour with a stop at the Albert Einstein Museum where he lived and visit the 800-year-old clock tower that inspired him to develop the theory of relativity. Optional tour of Gurten mountain (864 meters) with a 360-degree view.
Return for a final evening at the Tent Village, and depart for Geneva in the morning.
Saturday Geneva
Diplomatic Visit #2: Geneva lies at the southern tip of expansive Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). Surrounded by the Alps and Jura mountains, the city has views of dramatic Mont Blanc. We will visit the headquarters of Europe’s United Nations. The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) is the second-largest of the four major office sites of the United Nations (second to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City). It was constructed for the League of Nations between 1929 and 1938. Besides United Nations administration, it also hosts the offices for a number of programmes and funds such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE). The United Nations and its specialized agencies, programmes and funds may have other offices or functions hosted outside the Palais des Nations, normally in office spaces provided by the Swiss Government. UN specialized agencies and other UN entities with offices in Geneva hold bi-weekly briefings at the Palais des Nations, organized by the United Nations Information Service at Geneva.
We then will venture off to the International Red Cross; where we come to understand the importance of global humanitarian efforts. The French influence is widespread, from the language to cuisine and bohemian districts. Core global business, diplomacy and humanitarian impact on organizations.
Free Time: Free to explore the villages many shops and cafes by foot while enjoying the scenic views.
May 12, 2019
Sunday Geneva
Cultural Tour: Tour the Castle of Gruyères which has stood atop a verdant hill on the threshold of Fribourg’s imposing Alpine foothills since the 13th century. Today, the medieval fortress houses prestigious collections that bear witness to its long and eventful history. Visitors discover view remarkable treasures: the intricate stained-glass windows dating from the Middle Ages and Charles the Bold’s capes of the Order of the Golden Fleece; the wall decorations commissioned by the bailiffs under the Ancien Régime; the paintings by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot; and the troubadour decorations of the Knights’ Room, created at Gruyères in the 19th century by a colony of passionate artists.
Business Visit #2: visit the Maison Cailler Chocolate Factory and learn about the chocolate-making process. As a team-building exercise we will make our own chocolate.
Core Business, Team Building, Business sustainability within the chocolate confectionary industry; Management presentations and discussions.
Farewell Dinner included at local restaurant in Geneva
May 13, 2019 Return to the USA
Monday
Depart en-route to the USA
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Hi Proffrutley,
I moved your post out of the Trip Report forum (it is just for people who have completed their trip)
I’m Just trying to read through your post for travel dates…correct me if I am wrong:
- May 6: arrive Zurich and overnight here
- May 7: Go to Chur? overnight?
- May 8: ?
- May 9: Be in Lugano to explore city. Overnight here?
- May 10: Interlaken? overnight here?
- May 11: Bern overnight?
- May 12: Geneva overnight
- May 13: Fly out from Geneva
Is that correct?
If you can confirm which towns you want to overnight in we can help you sort out the train timetable. If you’d like to explore your train options between any town or mountain you can use the timetable here: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
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