Stunning mountains, cable cars, alpine meadows and glaciers; the French Alps are easily accessible by coach or air. This is an ideal location for your students to study glacial and fluvial processes, the interrelationships between climate, soils and vegetation as well as to assess how the Alps may react in the future to potential climate change.
Seven kilometres long and 200 meters deep, the stunning Mer de Glace snakes down Mont Blanc’s northern slopes of the at the rate of over 100 meters each year. Students will enjoy scenic views from the rack and pinion railway. Descend by cable car into a man-made ice grotto, to observe glacial features including terrifyingly deep crevasses and assess the causes and extent of glacial retreat. Take a cable car to the Emosson Dam, investigate the impacts of tourism in alpine settlements, enjoy a boat trip on Annecy or study HEP and river processes on the Rhone.
For groups wishing to study plate tectonics, traverse the deep Rhone valley towards the volcanic terrain of the Massif Central. Visit Vulcania for interactive displays and explosive rides demonstrating the power of tectonic activity. Rest assured, the eighty volcanoes in the surrounding national park are all extinct!
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Key Study Areas
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Location Click here to view map
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Geography Excursions
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Our best value sample itinerary from £409
7 Days to the French Alps
Day 1:
Depart from school for your channel crossing and travel overnight to the French Alps.
Day 2:
Arrive in the Alps and spend the afternoon in the village of Chapelle d’ Abondance before checking in to your accommodation.
Day 3:
Depart for Chamonix. Catch a cable car up the Aiguille du Midi and take in the magnificent views of Mont Blanc, and visit the ‘Mer de Glace’ glacier.
Day 4:
In the morning, visit the Emosson Dam and visitor centre. Spend the afternoon at the Gruyere cheese factory or the Nestle Swiss chocolate factory.
Day 5:
Day trip to Geneva. Visit CERN and the International Red Cross museum, time permitting take a boat trip on lake Geneva.
Day 6:
Check out of your accommodation and depart for your return journey stopping at the lakeside town of Annecy. Travel overnight to meet your early morning channel crossing.
Day 7:
Arrive back in the UK.
