Paris, Switzerland and Munich

This itinerary is the starting point for your tour, but it’s not set in stone. If there are days you would like to change, or specific places you’d like to go, we can work with you to create a personalized program that fits the needs of you and your students.

Day 1: Overnight Flight

Depart from the USA.

Day 2: Paris

Your ACIS Tour Manager greets you with a Bienvenue! Paris, known as the “City of Light” for its role as a center of education and culture during the Enlightenment, greets you today. Discover the Métro and try a café au lait.

Day 3: Paris

Morning sightseeing shows you the city's most impressive monuments, from the magnificent Arc de Triomphe to the massive Les Invalides to the Gothic wonder of Notre Dame. Later, breeze by the crowds with your timed entrance to the Louvre and discover the many famous masterpieces that call it home. Insightful commentary from your local guide highlights the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo and more as you wander through the galleries. From its beginnings as a royal fortress to its current status as the world's most visited art museum, the Louvre has long been at the center of Parisian culture and home to a collection of 35,000 works of art from around the world. Enjoy time this afternoon to perhaps visit the Centre Pompidou or the Rodin Museum. Then ascend to the top of the iconic Eiffel Tower for breathtaking views of Paris. In the evening, see the “City of Light” from a totally different perspective on a boat cruise on the Seine.

Day 4: Paris

Today is a full-day excursion to Louis XIV's palace at Versailles, including Marie Antoinette's Hameau and Petit Trianon. These “small” cottages are delightful for their scale and grounds. After wandering about the exquisite and intensely manicured gardens on two feet, hop on two wheels and experience Versailles by bike, exploring the palace's surroundings beyond the gardens. Tonight you may choose to enjoy an optional French dinner at the famous brasserie La Coupole. Classic French cuisine and gorgeous Art Deco style will whisk you back to its time as a cultural hub of Parisian high society in the Roaring 20s, a favorite haunt for Paris' most stylish authors, artists and socialites.

Day 5: Engelberg

Journey on the fastest train in Europe, the high-speed TGV, to Lausanne, Switzerland. Drive to Bern, the capital of Switzerland, to stretch your legs as you admire its stately buildings and historic charm. Then continue to the Alpine town of Engelberg for dinner.

Day 6: Engelberg

Conquer the Alps today. This morning ascend 7,000 feet by cable car and the world's steepest cog railway to the breathtaking heights of Mount Pilatus. In the afternoon, explore Lucerne and take in the Altstadt (Old Town), Lion Monument and famous Chapel Bridge. Later in the evening, travel up into the Alps again for a special Alpine Hut dinner including Alpenhorn lessons.

Day 7: Munich

Drive to Vaduz, capital of tiny Liechtenstein, then continue to Neuschwanstein. King Ludwig's fairy tale castle is literally the stuff of legends (and Disney dreams). The famous castle, with its many turrets and towers was opened to the public in 1886 and clings to the top of the surrounding cliffs. You may want to linger in this magical place, but Munich, the capital of Bavaria, beckons this evening.

Day 8: Munich

In the morning, we learn more about Munich with an expertly guided sightseeing tour to sites like Marienplatz with its famed Glockenspiel, the Viktualienmarkt food and flower market and the surfers on the Isar River in the Englischer Garten. In the afternoon, we head to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. This former prison camp was technically not one of the “death camps” but is still a vivid reminder of Nazi atrocities during World War II.

Day 9: Munich

Today's full-day excursion into Salzburg will highlight many of the city's Sound of Music sites including the lovely, manicured gardens in front of the Mirabell Palace, the Sound of Music Churchyard and the stunning Baroque Dom Cathedral. Next, visit Mozart's Birthplace Museum on the crowded shopping street, the Getreidegasse. In the afternoon, we take you out to the Hallein Salt Mine, where you journey deep beneath the ground to learn more about how this precious mineral deeply influenced Salzburg's (or, literally, Salt Town) history. Besides, you get to slide down the long wooden slides the miners used and traverse a dark lake deep inside the mountain mine. Return to Munich for a final evening in Bavaria.

Day 10: Departure

Depart for the USA.