By Gemma Tedaldi | Published: 9 March 2026 | Updated: 9th March 2026
Switzerland and cheese go hand in hand. Any trip to Switzerland is not complete without trying at least one type of local Swiss cheese, but did you know there are over 500 cheese dairies across the country, ranging from small family run farms to the large well known cheese producers such as Emmental and Gruyere? So basically there are a lot of cheeses to try!
Having lived in Switzerland for a while now, we have of course had our fair share of cheesy goodness, always trying the cheese we find in farm fridges, always saying yes to fondue and even getting our own Swiss Cheese Passport, (yes that is a thing!). So here is our guide to all things cheese in Switzerland, including the best cheese factories in Switzerland, the Swiss Cheese Passport, cheese hiking trails and cheese tours you can do.
Cheese Factories in Switzerland Map
The Best Cheese Factories in Switzerland
There are of course plenty of other Swiss cheeses that you should try if you come across them, including Sbrinz, (which is a Lucerne region speciality but with no official show dairy), but these are the most well known / our favourites. Be sure to check on the Cheeses From Switzerland website for all the options!
🧀 Emmentaler Schaukäserei in Affoltern im Emmental
Our first dairy visit in Switzerland and one that is incredibly informative about the cheese-making process. Ending in the cellar with cheese tasting! (One of the destinations on the Swiss Cheese Passport).
The tour takes around 30 minutes, with the mouse, cow and cheese makers speaking German, French and English, (that sentence does makes sense when you are there we promise!). There are no cheese tastings as you go around the exhibition, but instead you get a variety of different aged cheese to taste at the end overlooking the aging cellar.
Opening times
9am to 5pm daily, with last entry at 4.30pm.
How much does it cost?
CHF 16.50 per adult, CHF 8.50 per child (aged 12 to 17, under 12s are free). You can also get a discounted 2 for 1 entry with the Swiss Coupon Pass.
How do you get to Emmentaler Schaukäserei?
🚌 By public transport – The nearest public transport stop is bus 50, Affoltern im Emmental Dorf, which drops you 50m from the dairy door. This is reachable in 1 hour 30 minutes from Lucerne, 1 hour 40 minutes from Basel and 2 hours from Zurich, all of which include a train to Huttwil then a bus to the dairy.
🚗 By car – 1 hours drive from Lucerne, 1 hour 15 minutes from Basel and 1 hour 30 minutes drive from Zurich.
🧀 Appenzeller Schaukäserei in Stein AR
One of the most well-known cheeses in Switzerland, this dairy is quite large and even gives you the option of creating your own cheese herb mix, alongside tastings of all the cheeses available by Appenzeller. (One of the destinations on the Swiss Cheese Passport).
There is an interactive exhibition, with five cheese tastings included. The exhibition is written in German but can be translated into various languages with the language guide you use on your phone. There is also cheese making daily at the dairy until 3pm, which you can see from various points.
Opening times
9am to 6.30pm daily from May to October, 9am to 5.30pm November to April
How much does it cost?
CHF 13 per adult, CHF 8 per child (aged 6 to 16). You can also get a discounted 2 for 1 entry with the Swiss Coupon Pass plus a serving of Staaner Chaashornli, basically Swiss macaroni cheese.
How do you get to Appenzeller Schaukäserei?
🚌 By public transport – The closest train stations are in St Gallen, (this is the largest and easiest to get to from elsewhere in Switzerland), Lustmühle and Herisau, all of which you will then have to switch to the 180 bus which drops you at Stein AR, Dorf, (pretty much right outside the dairy).
🚗 By car – 10 minute drive from Appenzell, 15 minute drive from St Gallen, 1 hours drive from Zurich, 1 hour 45 minutes drive from Lucerne and 2 hours drive from Basel.
🧀 La Maison du Gruyères in Gruyères (Pringy)
A small show dairy but with a delicious fondue and cheese tasting as you go, all within a short walk from the medieval town of Gruyères. (One of the destinations on the Swiss Cheese Passport).
This is the one of the smaller of the main cheese show dairies in Switzerland, only taking around 30 minutes to complete, but it is still worth a visit to learn about how this cheese is locally made, and how much the local cows have to eat to make it! Three cheese tastings are included in the entry. Cheese making happens every day from 9am to 12.30pm, 2 to 4 times a day depending on the time of year and can be seen from the exhibition.
Opening times
9am to 6pm daily from October to May, 9am to 6.30pm June to September
How much does it cost?
CHF 8 per adult, CHF 6 for children aged 12 to 16. You can also get a discounted 2 for 1entry with the Swiss Coupon Pass as well as 2 for 1 local cheese fondue serving.
How do you get to La Maison du Gruyères?
🚌 By public transport – Gruyere train station stops directly outside the dairy, so it is one of the easiest to reach via public transport!
🚗 By car – 45 minutes drive from Lausanne, 1 hours drive from Bern, 1 hour 50 minutes drive from Basel, 1 hour 55 minutes drive from Lucerne and 2 hours drive from Zurich.
🧀 Milchmanufaktur Einsiedeln in Einsiedeln
A lesser known cheese dairy, but one worth visiting just for the local town it is situated in, with its famous monastery and local hiking routes. (One of the destinations on the Swiss Cheese Passport).
You can only visit this dairies shop and restaurant, there is no access into the main dairy, or any kind of exhibition, unless you book onto a tour which runs on Saturdays and only in German, more information here, so don’t expect to see much cheese action in this location! We recommend instead grabbing a few of the local cheeses to take with you, the Schwarz Madonna is especially nice, and one we haven’t seen anywhere else, (the Einsiedeln monastery is famous for a black marble statue of the same name).
Opening times
8am to 6pm daily, with the restaurant kitchen open until 5pm.
How much does it cost?
As there is no exhibition to see the cost is free, but with the Swiss Coupon Pass you can get a 2 for 1 on the local mountain cheese fondue.
How do you get to Milchmanufaktur Einsiedeln?
🚌 By public transport – Take the train to Bahnhof Einsiedeln, around 45 minutes from Zurich, just over an hour from Lucerne and around 2 hours from Basel, then it is a short 15 minute walk to the dairy.
🚗 By car – 40 minutes drive from Zurich, 1 hours drive from Lucerne and 2 hours 15 minutes drive from Basel.
Other Swiss cheese dairies that are worth a visit if you are in the area and have time to spare are:
🧀 Maison de la Tête de Moine in Bellelay
Famous for its shaved rosettes of cheese, the Tête de Moine AOP, (which literally translates as Monks Head), is well known across Switzerland for its small cyclindrical cheese and the cheese curler that cuts it too. It is produced from milk in 10 local villages before being matured on spruce boards, all of which makes it one of the more unique cheeses in Switzerland.
Opening times
Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm from February to December
How much does it cost?
CHF 6 per adult with students CHF 4 and children up to 12 free.
How do you get to Maison de la Tête de Moine?
🚌 By public transport – Nearest public transport stop is bus 41 Bellay, Le Domaine which you can connect to in 1 hour from Biel / Bienne, 2 hours from Basel, 2 hours from Zurich and 2 hours 30 minutes from Lucerne, all with multiple changes to trains and buses.
🚗 By car – 30 minutes drive from Biel / Bienne, 1 hour 10 minutes drive from Basel, 1 hour 30 minutes drive from Lucerne and 1 hour 45 minutes drive from Zurich.
🧀 Bergkäserei Marbach between Bern and Lucerne
Located in the Entlebuch UNESCO Biosphere, this dairy is surrounded by incredible landscapes perfect for the cows and buffaloes to roam. (This is the first dairy in Switzerland to use not only cow milk but also buffalo milk too!). Not only can you visit the buffalo farm, but you can also visit the cheese dairy and learn to make Mutschli, mozzarella or fondue. For a little known dairy it is well worth visiting!
Opening times
Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 8am to 5pm and Sunday 8.30am to 5pm. Closed during seasonal holidays. The Buffalo Farm is only open from April to October.
How much does it cost?
The price varies depending on how much you want to do and eat there. A visit to the cheese dairy with 7 apero cheese tastings costs from CHF 23 per adult, if you want to include the buffalo farm tour as well it costs from CHF 75 per group. You can see the full costs here.
How do you get to Bergkäserei Marbach?
🚌 By public transport – The closest public transport stop is bus line B 251 at Marbach LU, Bergkaserei, which takes around 1 hour from Lucerne, 1 hour from Bern, 1 hour 40 minutes from Zurich and 2 hours from Basel.
🚗 By car – 40 minutes drive from Thun, 1 hours drive from Bern, 1 hours drive from Lucerne, 1 hour 30 minutes drive from Zurich and 1 hour 40 minutes drive from Basel.
🧀 National Dairy Museum in Kiesen, Bern
Also known as the Milchwirtschaftliches Museum Kiesen, this is less of a show dairy but instead a reconstructed valley dairy which is now a museum showing how cheese was made in Switzerland over the last 150 years. It is only small, but if you are interested in Swiss cheese history, then it is worth a visit.
Opening times
Wednesday 2pm to 5pm, and Sunday 1pm to 5pm, from April to October only.
How much does it cost?
It is free to enter!
How do you get to the National Dairy Museum in Kiesen?
🚌 By public transport – The nearest train station is Kiesen, around 15 minutes walk from the Cheese Museum, which is around 10 minutes from Thun, 30 minutes from Bern and 1 hour 40 minutes from Basel, Lucerne and Zurich.
🚗 By car – 10 minutes drive from Thun, 20 minutes drive from Bern, 1 hour 15 minutes drive from Basel, 1 hour 30 minutes drive from Lucerne and 1 hour 30 minutes drive from Zurich.
The Swiss Cheese Passport
Did you know that Switzerland has a Cheese Passport?
This little-known, and let’s be honest, very unique souvenir is a great way to explore Switzerland and try a load of cheese whilst doing so! You can get it for free in person at all of the participating cheese dairies (Appenzeller Schaukäserei, Milchmanufaktur Einsiedeln, Emmentaler Schaukäserei or La Maison du Gruyères) or online through the Swiss Cheese Passport website.
With every visit to one of the cheese dairies you get a stamp in your Cheese Passport, and once you have received a stamp at each, you will get a Grand Tour Picnic box, a Swiss Army knife (the dedicated cheese one) and of course more cheese! The Cheese Passport also lasts for up to two years, so if you can’t visit all of the dairies in one trip, then you still have another couple of years to return and complete it.
Swiss Cheese Hikes
As well as the cheese dairies that are on the Swiss Cheese Passport there are also numerous other cheese dairies and cheese experiences that you can have in Switzerland. One of which is hiking a cheese trail between local farms or farm fridges and tasting all the cheese as you go!
You can even use the Swiss Cheese Finder to find your favourite cheeses and how to taste / visit the farms that make them!
🧀 Engelberg Alpine Cheese Trail – Engelberg is a great place to visit throughout the year, with numerous mountain peaks and hiking trails as well as some wonderful small dairy farms and farm fridges to visit too. The official Engelberg Alpine Cheese Trail starts at the Engelberg Monastery show dairy and loops up and around the surrounding mountains, with over 46km of hiking trails in between the 7 cheese locations, so well worth doing over a couple of days and staying in mountain huts along the way.
🧀 Gruyères Cheese Dairy Path – Gruyère is well known for its cheese, but as well as the main cheese dairy you can also walk by a number of smaller dairies between La Maison du Gruyère in Pringy, and the alpine cheese dairy in Moléson-sur-Gruyères. This route takes around 4 to 5 hours to complete, so can easily be done in a day whilst visiting the area.
🧀 Gstaad Fondueland Cheese hikes – Gstaad may be more well known as a ski resort for the rich and famous, but the area surrounding Gstaad is home to some of the most delicious cheese in Switzerland. As well as delicious cheese you can also walk from dairy to dairy or even just on various hiking trails within the region visiting giant fondue pots / caquelons and mini fondue chalet cabins as you go. We did this in February one year after hiring a fondue hiking backpack and didn’t see another person so had the whole giant fondue pot to ourselves!
🧀 Alp Cheese Pass at Stoos – Stoos is well known for its beautiful ridge hike and incredibly steep funicular railway, but it also has a little known Alp Cheese Pass that you can do in the summer months, where you can taste cheese along the route as well. You can purchase your Alp Cheese Pass for CHF 16 at the funicular valley station to Stoos as well as at the mountain cable car station, allowing you to taste alpine cheese at any 3 of the 6 stops along the route.
Swiss Cheese tours
As well as visiting various cheese dairies and farms independently, you can also take a Cheese Tour from various locations in Switzerland. These are some of the best:
🧀 The Fondue Train – the half day Fondue Train combine a trip to Gruyères with a fantastic train journey to the nearby Pays-d’Enhaut, all with traditional fondue and the locally famous meringues and cream on board.
🧀 Swiss Cheese Tasting in Basel – perfect for those wanting try to a variety of Swiss cheeses in Basel.
🧀 Cheese and Chocolate Tasting in Lucerne – 2-3 hours of alpine cheese tasting, Swiss chocolate tasting and all paired with local wines! Plus you get a mini walking tour too.
🧀 From Zurich: Chocolate & Cheese in Appenzell – cheese, chocolate and waterfalls is what you get on this full day trip from Zurich. This one is 7 hours and includes Maestranis and Appenzell. Whilst this one is 12 hours and includes the above, plus a visit to the Rhine Falls.
🧀 From Geneva: Chocolate, Cheese and Golden Train – This full day tour takes you from Geneva to Maison Cailler, La Maison du Gruyere, Gruyere, Montbovon and Montreux. So it is well worth the price!
Cheese Factories in Switzerland FAQs
How many cheese factories are there in Switzerland?
There are around 600 cheese factories/dairies in Switzerland, ranging from little family run farms to the big cheese producers that are well known across Switzerland as well as elsewhere. Not all are open to the public though.
What are the best cheese factories to visit in Switzerland?
The best cheese factories in Switzerland, not just because they are on the Swiss Cheese Passport, but because they are really informative, you get plenty of cheese tastings and they are in beautiful areas of Switzerland have to be Appenzeller Schaukäserei, Milchmanufaktur Einsiedeln, Emmentaler Schaukäserei and La Maison du Gruyeres.
Is visiting a cheese factory in Switzerland worth it?
100% visiting a cheese factory in Switzerland is worth it! Even if you don’t like cheese, the history and method behind the cheese manufacturing is a great thing to learn, especially if you are visiting Switzerland for the first time.
Who is the largest producer of cheese in Switzerland?
Officially Emmi Group in Lucrene is the largest producer of cheese in Switzerland, making around 19,000 tonnes every year! The top produced cheese in Switzerland is Le Gruyere AOP, with around 32,000 tonnes sold yearly, (it was just crowned ‘the worlds best cheese’ at the World Cheese Awards too!).
Where can you find Alpine cheese?
You can find Alpine cheese on pretty much every mountain, it just depends if there is a cheese fridge or local farm that is selling the Alpine cheese, as well as in local village or town dairies. Basically be sure to bring cash with you on any hike you do in Switzerland, as there are more often than not small fridges along the route where a local dairy has stocked it with their produce – think yoghurts, cheeses and milk, as well as seasonal fruits, vegetables and cured meats in some too.
Conclusion: The Best Cheese Factories in Switzerland
So there you have our guide to the best cheese factories in Switzerland and various cheese hiking trails you can find across the country. Switzerland may be well known for its cheese, but the sheer number of cheese related experiences you can have in this country we call home is incredible! Visit hungry!
Gemma Tedaldi
Gemma is the owner and author of The Travelling Tedaldi, a travel blog helping travellers to discover the best road trips and travel itineraries throughout the UK and Europe. When she isn’t writing about her favourite travel destinations, she can often be found out exploring local hikes or planning future trips.