The wonderful world of color, smell, and taste at Maestrani chocolate factory

In a country where chocolate is practically a staple of the basic basket- and I write this without exaggeration- the statistics show that the average annual consumption per capita is between 10 and 12 kg.  But, statistics aside, when living or visiting a country that is recognized worldwide for its chocolate, it becomes almost obligatory to visit the many chocolate shops. Many chocolatiers go even further, taking you beyond the sensory experiences, from visiting their production lines to making your chocolate and, of course, the much desire chocolate tasting.

Some brands developed a concept of marketing their products next to their production halls and factories as a form of attraction.  These factories offer nicely designed visitation areas where families with children can engage in various activities on rainy (or not so rainy) days, on school holidays, or any day for that matter.

Maestrani was founded in 1852 by Ludovico Aquilino Maestrani. The companyis knownfor the production of Minor and Munz chocolates, among others, and exactly two years ago it inaugurated the”Chocolarium,“a colorful, fun,and interactive visit for its charmingchocolate factory. My husband andIimmediately thought of  Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory as we drove up to the factory and the world inside was certainly inspired by it.

How to get there

The factory is located in Flawil, in St. Gall (SanktGallen), reachableby car in50 minutes from the city of Zurich.

Another option is to take the public transport and, depending on the connection, take a short walk along the chocolate path to the factory.

Toggenburgerstrasse 41

9230 Flawil

Opening hours and admission fees

The visiting hours are Monday to Friday, from 10am to 6pm, and weekends, from 10am to 5pm. Always check their website for the times for your specific dates because the“factory”is closed on some holidays.

Entrance fee:

• Adults 14 francs
• children( from 6 to 16 years) 8 francs
• family 34 francs

www.chocolarium.ch

The tour

The experience begins already in the parking lot, where the ground is marked up with“meters to go” until you reach Happiness. A very nice touch!

Upon entering, you will find the ticket office, the store, the café and a small corner of toys for the children, so parents can enjoy a quiet coffee.

Once you have your tickets, you go through the turnstiles and possibly have to wait in line until the next film begins; while you wait, you can look in the Christmas candy cane shaped caleidoscopes, have your picture taken, and unsurprisingly begin your chocolate tasting adventure in the fantastic world of Maestrani chocolate.

The first stop of the visit is the amphitheater where you watch a video about chocolate and happiness; are they synonyms? The video shows the history of the factory, the production process of chocolate, and its relationship to happiness.

The next stop is quite honestly an explosion of color, interactivity, and information. Through explanatory panels, children can smell the aromas, feel the texture and, if you want more information about the whole chocolate manufacturing process, you candownload an application of the tour. It is at this time in the tour that you come across Globi,a character well known to the Swiss. He is your guide through most of thetour of the facility.

From here, we enteranother room full of objects of happiness and joy;after all,chocolate always brings joyand walking through the room you will find your happiness in the form of a cascading chocolate fountain.

We proceed to a very interactive areawhere you can take pictures for Instagram holding different signs and boards. Interestingly, even if the intention was not to end up with a room full of stickers on the walls and ceiling, people took their creativity to a whole other level by putting little stickers literally everywhere.

Our visit turned out to be very long and just before the very end, there are only two very interesting stops.  A catwalk with large windows to let you watch the workers producing the delights of the factory as well as sample some morechocolate.

Leaving this platform behind, we arrive at the bakery, where for an extra CHF 10, not included in the ticket, the children can mold their own chocolate. Even if you do not want to spend more money here, you can watch others’ creations.

The last section of the tour takes us through a long corridor whose walls are decoratedwith the whole history of the company. Kids may not be interested in reading the history of events long past but can pass the time by looking forGlobiin the field outside the window througha telescope.

And, of course, the grand finale is the store, where you can buy chocolates to your heart’s content. Each station is hard to leave, and you are full of experiences. Tired and full of chocolate you set on your way home through the scenic rolling hills.

Pratical Information

• Suitable for wheelchairs and prams/pushchairs
• Cloakroom with lockers
• Dogs not permitted

Love,

Rita