Discover Switzerland’s chocolates
Chocolate is a Swiss delicacy you shouldn’t miss. You can choose from many activities: from multi-media museum tours to simple shopping trips in a nearby supermarket. They're all perfect for rainy days. Whether or not you’re a chocolate fan yourself, it’s interesting to learn about this iconic Swiss product.
Visit chocolate museums and factories
Many of the larger Swiss chocolate brands offer museums, exhibitions, (outlet) stores, workshops and other chocolate activities. The main ones are:
- Maison Cailler in Broc. There’s an interesting multi-media museum tour. You can see part of the factory, enjoy free sample tasting and try even more products from the confectionery and the shop. Workshops are available too;
- the Lindt Experience in the Museum of Transport in Lucerne. This is an educational and fun attraction including the tasting of a few famous round Lindor truffle balls. You can visit the Lindt shop as well;
- the Lindt Home of Chocolate in Kilchberg near Zurich. This modern building hosts the world’s largest Lindt shop, a chocolate fountain, a beautiful area for workshops and a large interactive exhibition;
- Aeschbach Chocowelt in Root near Lucerne, which is a fun activity for the entire family. You’ll learn about the chocolate making process, watch chocolatiers from up close and create your own personalized chocolate bar;
- Maestrani’s Chocolarium in Flawil, where products of the Munz and Minor chocolate brands are manufactured. It offers a discovery tour and several courses for visitors of all ages;
- Läderach, with the 'House of Läderach' in Bilten, offering factory tours and workshops. A showroom and tasting sessions are available in Vevey, and regular shops can be found all over the country;
- the Felchlin factory shop in Ibach/Schwyz;
- the Kambly Experience: a visitor centre and huge shop with regular and outlet products, connected to the Kambly factory. Kambly produces all sorts of cookies, sweets and savory snacks and isn’t an actual chocolate brand. We still think it deserves being listed here, as chocolate lovers may appreciate cookies too.
Shop in specialized chocolate stores
It's easy to plan a chocolate shopping tour in larger Swiss towns, as you'll encounter lots of specialized chocolate shops and boutiques there. The list below is not exhaustive, but includes some of the more prominent shops.
- Läderach, which is pricey and exquisite, but absolutely worth it. Tip: buy a package with a sample selection of small chocolate plate parts in several flavors. You’ll find shops in larger towns throughout the country.
- Lindt, to be found on several tourist hotspots such as the Museum of Transport in Lucerne and at Jungfraujoch, but also in the other towns such as Interlaken, Olten and Basel. The shiny Lindor truffles balls in many flavors are highly recommended. You can also pay a visit to the factory outlet store in Kilchberg (near Zurich).
- Sprüngli, with beautiful shops to be found on many locations in Zurich and in a few other larger cities lake Basel, Bern and Geneva.
Here are some tips per town:
Find chocolate products in supermarkets
You’ll find many chocolate products in any Swiss supermarket, from exquisite truffles to affordable bars. There may also be locally and regionally produced chocolates. The flat bars make for excellent souvenirs, as most of them can be kept for months. Swiss chocolate is used in other supermarket products too, such as cookies, cakes and ice creams.
Apart from the major brands like Lindt, Cailler and Frey, these are some of the other brands you may encounter:
- Toblerone, which is famous for its mountain-shaped bars with the iconic Matterhorn painted on the package. The yellow bars are most common. They consist of milk chocolate with honey and almonds. Tip: break the individual chocolate triangles by pushing them towards the inside (in the direction of the adjacent triangle), not to the outside;
- Milkboy, available in Switzerland and the US. They offer bars in several traditional flavors;
- Munz, creating crunchy bars with a cookie, caramel or fruit core and a chocolate layer;
- Minor, offering regular and soft chocolate bars, mostly with hazelnuts;
- Gottlieber, mostly known for its “Hüppen”: thin, crepe-like cookie rolls filled with chocolate or gourmet cream;
- Ragusa, presenting soft chocolate bars with hazelnuts and almonds;
- Villars, from the canton of Fribourg. Their range includes biological chocolate and liqueur bars;
- Torino, one of the brands offering blond chocolate, which consists of caramelized white chocolate.
Explore vegan chocolate options
Many Swiss chocolate products include Swiss dairy, and are therefore not vegan. But there are vegan options:
- Many dark chocolate bars are vegan. Check the ingredients to make sure.
- Look for biological supermarkets (in German: ‘Reformhaüser’ or ‘Bioläden’). Examples are ‘Alnatura’ and ‘Portanatura’. A larger selection of lactose free and vegan chocolates can be found there. You can locate such stores at www.biopartner.ch.
- Most larger supermarkets have at least some vegan brands and products. Look for ‘Veganz’ in Coop supermarkets for example, and for ‘Alnatura’ in Migros stores.
- Order from this Swiss Schoccolatta webshop, offering raw and vegan Swiss chocolates.
Order Swiss chocolate online
Can’t wait to have some Swiss chocolate at home? Some chocolate webshops offer international shipping. The options and costs differ per shop, so check the terms and conditions first. Examples are:
Enjoy the Chocolate Train
The chocolate facotry Maison Cailler can also be visited by Chocolate Train. This is a fully arranged train and bus trip from Montreux to the chocolate factory in Broc and the cheese factory near Gruyères.
Visit the annual chocolate festival
The "Festichoc" festival is a must for chocolate lovers. It's held in Versoix along Lake Geneva. Dates are in late March or early April.
Participate in guided chocolate tours
A guide can teach you a whole lot about Swiss chocolate. You can book several guided chocolate tasting tours. Please find options below.
