Hi all. We will be in BO, Zurich and Lucerne, as well as Salzburg, Vienna and Munich. Looking for a good cheese factory where we can see it being made and of course sample. :)
Any recommendations?
Extra credit for thoughts on the Linder chocolate factory tour impressions.
I should probably go have lunch now. Lol
We were actually disappointed in the cheese factory tour we took. I think there were two possibilities, one in Moleson, which I think may be the best. We arrived about noon and found the tour was at 10:00 am. We went to Gruyere and walked around the castle. Gruyere was a cute village and probably would be great for fondue or raclette. The cheese tour was less authentic.
The one we were on was very automated. We just walked through on a raised walkway behind glass and read information and looked down at the process. I can't really remember samples, but I suspect there were some.
As far as the chocolate factory tour, that was very good. We went to the Swiss village of Broc, which had a wonderful smell of chocolate in the air. Then we went to the Calliers/Nestle Chocolate Factory, watched a video on "The Love of Chocolate". There is also one on the making of chocolate, but we missed it and didn't feel like going back. We had a short English tour. After the tour we were ushered into a room where we could eat all the chocolate we wanted. All kinds; dark (my favorite), milk, white, with all kinds of nuts, fillings, etc. It was wonderful!
I have no personal experience but I remember this Samantha Brown episode. https://samantha-brown.com/episodes/season-1/switzerland/ It has a cheese cave!
We stayed in Murren and did the North Face trail, where we ended up in a field of cow poop (lol). I believe it was Gimmewald where we passed a farm building--it was off season so it was not open.
see also https://jungfrauregion.swiss/en/summer/see-and-do/tradition-culture/village-experiences/alpine-cheese-tour-schiltalp/
Extra credit for thoughts on the Linder chocolate factory tour
impressions.
My sister and I were there in Sept. We enjoyed it. Lunch at the café was super good. Our one disappointment was we thought there would be different flavors of the chocolate balls. All the flavors were ones we had seen before at other lindts in Switzerland and Austria. But, that didn’t stop us from buying 200 CHF worth to take home. 😊
For a cheese factory tour there is one in Gruyères. I haven't been on the tour for many years, but remember liking it (above Joy said that she didn't like it). Many people combine this with a visit to Cailler in Broc.
https://www.gruyere.com/en/fabrication/visit-a-cheese-dairy
There is also this one in the Emmental
https://emmentaler-schaukaeserei.ch/en/
More info on it here:
https://www.bern.com/en/detail/emmental-show-dairy
You can also visit alpine cheese makers.
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/search/?q=cheese%20making Including the one in Moléson (mentioned above) https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/experiences/moleson-alpine-cheese-dairy/
There IS a cheese hut in Gimmelwald if you take the loop path around the village. I believe it is on the side facing the Jungfrau.
Go for the genuine article - the cheese with the holes:
Awesome ideas. Thanks everyone. Love the Bern idea. Might be able to swing that in the itinerary!
I've lived in Zürich for 5+ years. The most notable cheese factory I've visited was La Maison du Gruyère. If you're already there, Cailler is a natural choice and very well done. I feel like there's more opportunity to visit chocolate places than cheese places. (My favorite is made high up in the mountains anyway.)
In Zürich, the Lindt visitor's center and tour finally opened, I think in 2020. If you can't get to Cailler, I think the Lindt tour here is almost as good if not as good. Like Cailler, unlimited chocolate tasting at the end. I think it will be a standard visit for our houseguests going forward.
Thanks so much everyone. Super helpful!
Dont do it! I came back from a trip to the Netherlands with 15 pounds of gouda.
I think there was a small cheese operation on the trail between Grütschalp and Mürren. It wasn't open when we were there, but I think Rick mentions it in his book, or at least in one of his shows. Also the bigger operation in Ettal Germany, near Garmisch if you're around there.
