An approximately one-hour interactive tour of the Cailler Chocolate Museum in Broc ends with a tasting. The tour traces the history of chocolate from the time of the Aztecs to contemporary innovations. If you would like to make chocolate yourself, you can take part in a workshop after making a reservation. Check the booking details in advance.
Chocolate, energy and cultural history
Electrobroc, inside the Broc hydroelectric power station, offers another way to explore technology and regional history. The interactive information centre takes visitors on a ten-stop “electro-cultural” tour through energy, history and geology. Broc thus offers a glimpse into two distinct subjects: the history of chocolate at Cailler and energy at Electrobroc.
Château de Gruyères takes visitors through eight centuries of art, history and legends. It houses medieval stained-glass windows, frescoes from the Ancien Régime and paintings by Corot; the knights’ hall is designed in the Troubadour style. From the French Garden and the ramparts, views stretch over the rooftops of the medieval town to the Fribourg Pre-Alps. The garden is open seasonally. Due to the stairs, access to the château is difficult for people with reduced mobility; check the practical accessibility information before your visit.
Other museums in the medieval town of Gruyères each offer their own perspective. The HR Giger Museum is housed in Château St-Germain and contains the largest existing collection of works by HR Giger. The Tibet Museum displays one of the world’s largest collections of sacred Buddhist art from the Himalayas, including sculptures, paintings, ritual objects and manuscripts. With the museum app, you can explore the exhibition room by room using a floor plan and access information about individual works of art.
Lakeside trails and rocky landscapes
Lac de la Gruyère is a 13.5-kilometre-long reservoir offering opportunities for hiking and water sports. The well-marked Sentier du Lac de la Gruyère circles the lake in three varied stages. For a different landscape, take the Chemin du panorama alpin, which winds through the wild Jogne gorges, over wooden bridges and through galleries carved into the rock. Check current trail conditions before your visit.
For geological insights, the eight-kilometre Gastlosen circular trail passes twelve information panels explaining how the limestone cliffs and their rock layers formed. Another hike, the summit trail to Dent de Broc, is intended for experienced hikers who are comfortable with heights. In winter, Moléson also offers tobogganing, skiing, snowboarding, winter hiking, ski touring and freeriding; conditions and operations vary.
Alpine season and cheese culture
The traditions of the alpine season include moving livestock to the mountain pastures, making alpine cheese, building chalets, crafting everyday objects, singing and gastronomy. At least 600 alpine cheese chalets have been recorded in the Gruyère part of the regional park; more than a third are entirely roofed with wooden shingles. Le Gruyère d’Alpage AOP is made on the alpine pastures in the regional park area. Le Gruyère AOP is associated with artisanal skill and a tradition passed down from generation to generation since 1115. The Swiss cheese Gruyère also takes its name from the La Gruyère region in the canton of Fribourg, where it originally comes from.
In the Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut Regional Park, agritourism includes farm stays, tastings, demonstrations and guided tours focusing on terroir and local know-how. This lets you encounter regional traditions not only in museums and on hiking trails, but also by exploring production and craftsmanship.
Discover more destinations
Bulle, Crésuz, Jaun, Grandvillard, Montbovon, Echarlens, La Roche Fr, La Tour-De-Trême, Broc Fr, Pringy, Le Pâquier, Pont-La-Ville Fr, Morlon, Châtel-Sur-Montsalvens, Corbières Fr, Gruyères Fr, Bas-Intyamon, Haut-Intyamon, Pont-En-Ogoz, Vuadens, Villarvolard
For the broader travel overview: Fribourg.
