Everyone always says to do as the locals do when traveling. Well, in Switzerland, people eat a lot of chocolate! In fact, the Swiss eat more chocolate every year as a nation than any other country worldwide. The average person in Switzerland consumes 9 kilograms (about 20 pounds) of chocolate a year, or the equivalent of about 210 chocolate bars (As a comparison, the average American eats only 4.3 kilograms, or 9.5 pounds, of chocolate in a year). Historically, the Swiss were confectionery pioneers in perfecting the art of chocolate, and today Swiss chocolate is renowned around the world for its smooth and creamy texture and excellent ingredients and taste.

Switzerland is home to chocolate giants Nestlé and Lindt, as well as numerous other high-end chocolate brands. Sampling chocolates along the way as you travel across this gorgeous country, and chocolate empire, is a fun and simple thing to add to your itinerary and can give your trip a unifying focus as you travel from town to town. A visit to Switzerland inevitably involves a stop in Zurich, the country’s chic and sophisticated capital, so here’s a list of some of the top chocolate stops to make throughout the city in between walking along Lake Zurich, wandering the cobblestone streets, sampling the fantastic cuisine, and exploring the numerous historic landmarks.

Big Names in Swiss Chocolate:

Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland —This chocolatier was founded in 1932 by Dolf Teuscher Sr., who spent years experimenting and searching for the world’s finest cocoa and best natural ingredients to create his now famous recipes. Today, Teuscher is run by his son, Dolf Teuscher Jr., and the confectioner continues to hand manufacture more than 200 varieties of chocolates and pastries using Dolf’s original recipes.

Teuscher’s signature confection is their champagne truffle—made with Dom Perignon champagne, butter cream, and dark cream ganache, surrounded by milk chocolate with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar or dark chocolate dusted with unsweetened cocoa powder. They are truly something not to be missed! Teuscher’s main store is on Zurich’s famed Bahnhofstrasse, the city’s main downtown street, and the flagship store is a few blocks away in Zurich’s old city center on Storchengasse.

Confiserie Sprüngli—This family-run business is one of the two independent businesses derived from David Sprüngli and his son, Rudolf. The pair opened their confectionery shop in Zurich in 1845 and quickly became known as pioneers of chocolate production in Switzerland. Rudolf’s son, David Robert, took over ownership of the shop in 1892 when Rudolf retired, and since then Confiserie Sprüngli has remained a family business, focusing on the confectioner’s craft of superior chocolates. Confiserie Sprüngli’s flagship store has occupied the same premises since 1859 on Zurich’s Paradeplatz and consists of a shop, restaurant, café, and bar. Sprüngli has fourteen outlets in and around Zurich, as well as several others throughout Switzerland.

While visiting, sample the numerous varieties of heavenly chocolate truffles made daily and the company’s trademarked Luxemburgerli, light and airy minimacaroons. The macaroons have become a sort of symbol for Sprüngli, and even the city, and come in flavors such as pistachio, chocolate, Bourbon vanilla, and champagne.

Lindt & Sprüngli—The origins of Lindt began when Rudolf Sprüngli divided his company between his two sons at his retirement. Rudolf gave his son, David, ownership of his confectionery shop and his other son, Johann Rudolf, control of his chocolate factory. Just a few years later in 1899, Johann Rudolf’s company, “Chocolat Sprüngli AG,” acquired the small, famous chocolate factory and manufacturing secrets of Rodolphe Lindt, combining the two companies to become the industrial enterprise of Lindt & Sprüngli.

Visitors can head to the town of Kilchberg, 15 minutes outside the city and right along Lake Zurich, to check out the Lindt Chocolate Shop on the grounds of the Lindt & Sprüngli facility. Travelers will want to come here to stock up on the countless kinds of Lindt chocolates and many hard-to-find varieties, such as the Lindor champagne truffles. Also make sure to head to the back of the shop, where chocolates with minor packaging issues or other defects are offered at discounted prices.

Boutique Brands:

Honold—This family-owned confectionery and chocolate shop was founded in 1905 and continues to thrive today. You’ll find every assortment of chocolates at Honold, and the store also includes a Tea Room, where visitors can sit, relax, and enjoy a cup of thick hot chocolate or even a full meal.

Aeschbach Chocolatier—This chocolatier is a favorite with the Swiss. Based in Lucerne, Switzerland, but with shops in Zurich, Zug, and Steinhausen, this brand is known for their attention to detail and creativity. Their shops carry 100 varieties of chocolates, truffles, bars, and liquor chocolate sticks, among them their most popular chocolate, Grappalinos— plump chocolate squares filled with grappa, cookie, and light, airy chocolate.

Truffe—When visitors enter this simple yet chic shop, the owner, named Elizabeth, is usually there to show them around her store, pointing out favorites and explaining how the various chocolates are made. You’ll find some fun-flavored chocolates here, such as green tea chocolate bark and chili pepper chocolate. And it’s possible you may run into some celebrities here…according to the owner, Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the shops biggest fans.

While this list will give you a great place to start in sampling some of the best chocolates in Zurich and across Switzerland, also make sure to ask locals about their favorite, tucked-away chocolate shops and, above all, have fun exploring the world of Swiss chocolate on your own and discovering new favorites!

A Brief History of Chocolate

1521 the Spanish encounter chocolate during the conquest of Mexico in 1521 and begin shipping cacao seeds back to Spain where it is introduced to the Spanish court

1615 Drinking chocolate is introduced to the French court.

1657 the first chocolate house opens in London.

1819 François-Louis Cailler opens the first Swiss chocolate factory, establishing the oldest brand of Swiss chocolate still in existence today.

1845 David Sprüngli and his son, Rudolf, open a chocolate shop in Zurich, the first in the German-speaking region of Switzerland to manufacture chocolate in solid form.

1875 Daniel Peter, a Swiss, succeeds in blending chocolate and milk, after 8 years of experimenting, to create milk chocolate.

1879 Rodolphe Lindt of Switzerland invents a machine, the conche, to churn the paste from cacao seeds into a smooth blend, creating a creamier chocolate. His “melting chocolate” greatly contributes to the worldwide fame and reputation of Swiss chocolate.

1892 Rudolf Sprüngli retires and divides his company between his two sons. David Robert is made owner of the confectionery shop, Confi serie Sprüngli, and Johann Rudolf is put in charge of the chocolate factory.

1899 Johann Rudolf Sprüngli’s company, “Chocolat Sprüngli AG,” acquires the small, famous chocolate factory of Rodolphe Lindt, becoming the united Swiss chocolate superpower of Lindt & Sprüngli.