Lindt Home of Chocolate - Museum & Tasting

Rodolphe Lindt invented conching in 1879, the process that turned chocolate from something gritty into something that melts. His company has been making it in Kilchberg, on the shore of Lake Zurich, ever since. Walk in and the atrium is dominated by a nine-metre chocolate fountain, pouring 1,500 litres of real chocolate through a golden whisk suspended from the ceiling. It sets the tone. The exhibition follows the bean from tropical plantation to Swiss factory floor, with original machinery and the story of how a small Alpine country came to dominate an industry built on a crop it cannot grow. An audio guide is included. Then the part everyone remembers. In the tasting zone you help yourself, without limit, across the full Lindt range, including lines that never reach the shops. Afterwards the largest Lindt shop in the world sits between you and the exit, stocked with factory-fresh and seasonal bars you won't find elsewhere. Optional chocolatier workshops run in the Chocolateria, where you temper, fill and take home a bar of your own. Weekend sessions fill early, so book ahead. Twenty minutes from central Zurich by bus, or by lake steamer in summer. Suitable for all ages.