Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider is a ring-shaped particle accelerator located in an underground tunnel near Geneva that crosses both sides of the border between France and Switzerland. The facility consists of multiple interconnected sections where charged particles are guided and accelerated through magnetic fields.

Planning for this facility began in the 1980s when physicists needed a more powerful accelerator for their experiments. Construction was approved in the mid-1990s and took over a decade before the first tests occurred in 2008.

Visitors can observe control rooms where teams from different countries work together, monitoring collision results on large screens. The atmosphere combines focused attention with exchanges between researchers discussing their observations and measurements.

Visitors must book guided tours in advance as access to the underground facility is limited and security controlled. Tours include surface information centers and sometimes areas where you can view the equipment up close.

The particle beams travel in separate tubes that only merge at specific points where detectors capture the collisions. These crossing points lie deep underground and contain enormous instruments that record every reaction.

Location: Canton of Geneva

Location: Ain

Official opening: October 21, 2008

Website: https://home.web.cern.ch/fr/science/accelerators/large-hadron-collider

GPS coordinates: 46.23500,6.04500

Latest update: December 2, 2025 21:27