Learning expeditions from Switzerland

Where you leave from

Your departure station decides which destination is closest. Geneva and Lausanne look towards Paris and Marseille, Basel towards Freiburg and Germany, Zurich towards Milan through the Gotthard. Berlin and Vienna are reachable from Zurich by night train.

Geneva : Direct TGV Lyria to Paris in 3 h 11 and, from April to early November, to Marseille in 3 h 36; EuroCity to Milan via the Simplon; Zurich in 2 h 51 by direct train.

Lausanne : Direct TGV Lyria to Paris in 3 h 41 via Vallorbe; the seasonal TGV Lyria to Marseille also stops here; Geneva and its meetings are under 45 minutes away.

Basel : Paris in 3 h 04 by TGV Lyria, Freiburg in 35 to 45 minutes: the gateway to Germany, with ICE trains to Berlin.

Zurich : Paris in 4 h 04 by TGV Lyria, Milan in 3 h 17 through the Gotthard Base Tunnel, Freiburg in about 1 h 50; Nightjet night trains to Berlin and Vienna.

Destinations within reach

• Geneva: radical neutralitiesLeading in the 21st century, over 1 to 4 days: HEAD, which trains tomorrow’s designers, Panatere, which recycles metal offcuts from the Jura watch industry, and Métabief, the ski resort preparing for life after skiing. · Direct train from Zurich to Geneva, 2 h 51 at best; from Lausanne, under 45 minutes.
• Zurich: closing the loop on making and buildingFreitag and its bags cut from old truck tarpaulins, an industrial hall extended with reused parts in Winterthur, and Climeworks and its CO2 capture: for any company that makes, buys or builds. · Direct train from Geneva to Zurich, 2 h 51 at best; from Basel, about one hour.
• Paris: new places, new linksThird places, temporary urbanism and rooftop farms, 1 to 3 days from €700 excl. VAT per person, the lowest price in the catalogue. · Direct TGV Lyria: 3 h 04 from Basel, 3 h 11 from Geneva, 3 h 41 from Lausanne, 4 h 04 from Zurich.
• Milan and Turin: Europe’s new workshopsStellantis, the Brioni workshops and La Scala: how Italian industry is reshoring and manufacturing in Europe again. · Direct EuroCity from Zurich to Milan in 3 h 17 through the Gotthard; from Geneva, about 4 h 20 via the Simplon, with fewer trains until 2028 while the tunnel is renovated; Turin is 45 minutes from Milan.
• Freiburg: the solar cityA city aiming for climate neutrality by 2035: the Vauban district, the energy-plus homes of the Solarsiedlung and Fraunhofer ISE. · Direct train from Basel in 35 to 45 minutes; direct ICE from Zurich in about 1 h 50.
• Marseille: European capital of resourcefulnessDoing more with less: a former convent turned into a jobs hub for young people in the northern districts, and Les Beaux Mets, a restaurant run as a work-integration project inside Les Baumettes prison. · Direct TGV Lyria from Geneva to Marseille, 3 h 36, from April to early November; the rest of the year, with one change.
• Berlin: the impossible is temporaryThe Floating University, Olafur Eliasson’s studio and the company that brought Polaroid back: three ways of restarting what looked finished. · From Zurich, direct ICE in 8 h 39, or the Nightjet overnight (departs 19:59, arrives 07:22).
• Vienna: the city that houses everyoneOne in four Viennese lives in municipal housing: for a landlord, a local authority or an HR team trying to house its staff, a city that treats housing as infrastructure. · From Zurich, daily Nightjet (departs 20:32, arrives 07:58) or a direct daytime Railjet, just over 8 h.

In practice

Prices and quotes are in euros, excluding VAT, per person: from €700 excl. VAT in Paris to €4,000 excl. VAT in Geneva, depending on the destination. Each destination page shows its starting price.

Programmes run in French or in English, as the group prefers.

A learning expedition is designed for a group of at least 10 people.

Everything starts with a 15 to 45 minute call with an in:Expeditions journalist, by video or phone: your constraints, your expectations, your goals. in:Expeditions then recommends 2 to 4 destinations. All the preparation happens remotely.

If you need it, journalists and expedition leaders travel with the group: they run the discussions, introduce each topic and share their analysis at the end of the day.

Write to bonjour@inexpeditions.com or use the Contact page.

Start with a brief

Send a briefDesign it with Agent A\lex

Questions

Can we do a learning expedition without leaving Switzerland?

Yes. The catalogue has two Swiss destinations: Geneva, on governance and neutrality, 1 to 4 days from €4,000 excl. VAT per person, and Zurich, on the circular economy and reuse, 2 to 4 days from €2,800 excl. VAT per person.

Which destinations can we reach by train from Geneva or Lausanne?

Paris by direct TGV Lyria (3 h 11 from Geneva, 3 h 41 from Lausanne), Marseille direct from April to early November (3 h 36 from Geneva), Zurich in 2 h 51 and Milan in about 4 h 20 via the Simplon. SBB is running fewer trains on that last line until 2028 while the tunnel is renovated, so check your date before booking.

And from Zurich or Basel?

From Zurich: Milan in 3 h 17, Paris in 4 h 04, Freiburg in about 1 h 50, Berlin and Vienna by night train. From Basel: Paris in 3 h 04 and Freiburg in 35 to 45 minutes.

Are quotes in Swiss francs?

in:Expeditions prices and quotes are in euros, excluding VAT, per person: from €700 to €4,000 excl. VAT depending on the destination, for at least 10 people.

Can programmes run in German?

Programmes run in French or in English. For a team that brings together French and German speakers, English keeps everything in one language; the language is chosen at the first call.