Fun, physics and the God particle: a tour of Cern, Switzerland

Science and art meet on a mind-blowing visit to the European Organization for Nuclear Research, while the fairytale streets of the Swiss capital are a wonder, too

There is something retro and subterranean about the maze of narrow corridors ahead of us. Exposed steel pipes run along the ceilings, the floors are shiny linoleum and the doors are moulded wood. It looks as if it has barely changed since it was built back in the 1950s.

Welcome to the European Organization for Nuclear Research, better known as Cern, home to the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Beyond the design, what is more retro, liable to make you misty-eyed for a bygone era, is how it all came into being.