Geography School Trips & Tours to the French Alps
The French Alps is a fantastic location for a geography field trip. The awe and wonder of the Alpine landscape around Chamonix, with the permanent snow-capped peak of Mont Blanc towering over the town, is sure to inspire your pupils. The region offers excellent geography visit opportunities to study glacial features and processes.
On a geography tour to the French Alps many NST school groups choose to study the impact of skiing on the fragile landscape, along with taking hands-on measurements of rivers, sediments and vegetation and learning about how alpine hazards are managed to create a thriving economy.
Our French Alp based geography school trips include the services of an NST Subject Expert who will assist you throughout your stay.
This trip is just one of a wide selection of French school trips that we offer. Please contact us for more information.
Prices start from£999pp
Price Shown includes
- 3 nights’ full board accommodation
- Services of an NST Subject Expert
- Visits including: Aiguille du Midi & Mer de Glace Day, The Bassons Glacier investigation & Chamonix exploration, Le Bettex half day exploration
- Executive coach transport from & to school & throughout your stay
- Extensive group travel insurance
- Generous free place ratio of 1 in 8
Price shown is based on 40 paying passengers from selected departure points and is subject to availability.
On-tour support
On-tour support includes...
- Services of an NST Subject Expert
Accommodation
Popular options in the French Alps
French Alps
Top visits for geography trips in the French Alps
Mer de Glace
Take a rack railway through classic Alpine vegetation, alongside the melt water channel of the glacier. A small cable car travels down to the ice front and a tourist tunnel gives students a unique viewpoint of what happens underneath the glacier. This is an excellent location to look at features and processes directly related to the ice and to consider weathering and erosion; possibly the ultimate location for a case study specific ‘field sketch’.
The Bossons Glacier
The Bossons is the steepest European glacier and as a result has the lowest ice front. It has been used by scientists for decades as a key indicator of climate change. A chairlift takes you to 1,400m. From its terrace, there is a fabulous view of the glacier’s terminal tongue and the ice-pinnacles of Plateau des Pyramides. An exhibition in the form of an interpretative walk relates the glacier’s fascinating history with panels along the path explaining the life of the glacier, the Little Ice Age and the evolution of the glacier.
Aiguille du Midi
Take the highest cable car ride in Europe to 3,842m at the top of the Aiguille du Midi and take in the incredible view. A lift travels through the rock to the topmost balcony where views extend across the glaciers and mountain pass into Italy and Switzerland.
Chamonix Exploration
Chamonix is the winter sports capital of the Alps. More recently it has rebranded itself as a summer adventure destination and the gateway to southern Europe via the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Students can gather information on a number of different topics and present their results. Conduct a settlement comparison between Chamonix and Courmayeur on the south side of the tunnel. The tunnel itself and the surrounding landscape provide good examples of hazards associated with the Alps and their management. (An additional road toll may apply)
Le Bettex
Take your group on a half day visit to Le Bettex, which is a small village with ski slopes that make up part of the vast St Gervais-Mont Blanc and Megeve ski area. This half day module allows groups to consider the impacts of tourism on the natural alpine vegetation.
The Emosson Dam
The Emosson Dam provides a stunning example of management of the Alpine landscape for both hazard control and economic advantage. The view from the front of the dam across the Mont Blanc Range is stunning. The dam can be reached by local coach or by taking the ride of a lifetime on Europe’s highest funicular railway.
The Mont Blanc Tramway
An amazing piece of engineering which travels 12.5km through spectacular scenery to the Nid’ d’Aigle overlooking the Bionnassay glacier. This location provides a good introduction to the Alpine landscape.
Col des Montets
The Col des Montets on the Swiss border provides an excellent opportunity for some practical river study measurements. Sediment analysis investigations to examine the possible origin of deposits beside the river can also be carried out. A short drive into Switzerland provides excellent views of farming, settlements and industry in the Rhone Valley.
Annecy
Take a full day visits to Annecy, which is often described as the Venice of France, and is situated next to what is claimed to be the cleanest lake in Europe. From the monastery high above the town you can get an overview of the layout of the settlement. This is an excellent and safe place to carry out studies looking at land-use zonation and service provision. Later in the day there is time to take a boat cruise around the lake.
Bex Salt Mines & The Rhone Valley
Bex is in the heart of the Rhone Valley, 30 minutes drive from Sion. An audiovisual presentation and exhibition relates the fascinating story of salt mining over three centuries and is shown in an old reservoir that was dug in 1826. A narrow-gauge train takes you on a journey 400m below the earth. A guided walk through caverns allows your pupils to discover the effort that went into searching for salt sources and into breaking up the rock to extract the salt. This option provides a good industry case study and can be used to introduce some basic geology. This is a full day visit.
Evening activites
- A visit to the cinema
- Bowling
- Swimming
- Quiz
- Disco
- Mystery trail
Study themes
Human Geography:
- Alpine settlements
- Impacts of skiing
- Hazard management
- Impacts of climate change
- Renewable energy
- Land use zonation
- Farming
Physical Geography:
- Glacial processes & landforms
- Hydrological studies
- Changing vegetation
- Sediment analysis
- Climate change & micro-climates
- Natural hazards
- Landscape formation, including tectonics
Study levels
A-level
GCSE
Educational resources
FREE Educational Resource Pack
We understand that you want a study visit that delivers the curriculum. To help you achieve this, our free French Alps Educational Resource Pack - developed by experienced geography teachers - contains a wealth of highly relevant information for you to use before, during and after your tour.
You will be able to use its contents as a pre-visit planning aid, print off full-colour pupil activity sheets for your group to use at each site whilst away, or even refer to its contents post-visit to assist with case study completion.
Transport
Available from any location in the UK, our executive coaches are fitted with seatbelts, toilet facilities, air conditioning, DVD and reclining seats.
Coach
Rail is a convenient travel option for small groups, with ideal for connections to Eurostar, major airports and travel to many city destinations.
Train
From the heart of London straight to Paris in 2 hours 15 minutes and Brussels in under 2 hours, plus other Continental destinations too. Eurostar is ideal for small groups.
Eurostar
We can arrange for your group to fly from a range of UK airports and we’ll work with you to plan your route at the best value possible.
Flight
Giving you full support throughout
Before your tour
- Your own dedicated NST contact
- Bespoke tour itineraries
- Unrivalled local knowledge & expertise
- Curriculum linked visit programmes
- Great value for money - no hidden costs
- Free group leader inspection visits
- Risk assessment guidance
- Safety assured, transport, accommodation and visits
Whilst you're away
- Free educational resources
- Group-friendly accommodation
- Exceptional standards of coaching
- On-tour support from our reps on the ground
- Support & assistance from our specialists throughout your tour
- 24/7 support just a call away
- Extensive group travel insurance
On your return
- Priority rebooking services
- Rewarding your loyalty with our reward scheme
- You say, we listen - we're committed to continuously improving our tours
- School travel company of choice since 1967
Expert's comment
The French Alps provide an excellent opportunity to study both human and physical aspects of geography. In the Chamonix Valley pupils can experience both glacial and fluvioglacial processes while visiting the Bossons Glacier and Mer de Glace. The valley is also an excellent location to investigate the impacts of tourism on an Alpine environment. A field trip to the French Alps will provide pupils with a genuinely unforgettable experience.
Mike, NST Subject Expert