Chocolate and cheese

Posted by cgprice01 on 07/20/19 02:33 PM

Hello,

We are traveling with our children in August and will be staying with relatives near interlaken. We will be renting a car. Is is reasonable to do a day trip to Broc to see the Cailler factory, visit the town of Gruyeres and possibly the chateau de Chillon as a day trip?

Also, the Rick steves Switzerland book says there are no reservations taken at the Cailler factory but it looks like you can make them on the website. We want to make the most of our time and not wait the up to 3 hours it says in the book. Thanks for your help!!

Posted by Nigel

Northamptonshire, England

07/20/19 04:41 PM

33821 posts

Things may be different now, but a few years ago I just walked in. We were the only car in the carpark. A well planned day should work out as you desire, just be flexible.

Posted by Connie

Everett, WA

07/21/19 07:29 PM

1299 posts

I think that is a reasonable day. We visited the Chocolate factory last September and we were able to get right in. However, on a previous visit, (2003) we had to wait a couple of hours. The difference? If the day looks at all rainy, they are much busier. The person told us in 2003, that if rain is in the forecast, tour buses that were not planning on stopping will call ahead to get in. If you are on a tight schedule, I would make a reservation. (The crowds are much bigger now than 2003 and August is a busy month. On a positive note, the tour is much better than it was in 2003.) Be sure you leave a few hours for the Chateau as it does take some time to walk all the way through.

Posted by Robert

Portland, Maine

07/22/19 08:46 PM

2916 posts

It sounds like a long day, but you could probably do it. We stopped at Chillon and Gruyeres this spring (on different days), and spent a couple of hours at each. I don't know how long the chocolate visit would take. The drive itself looks like 4-5 hours round trip.