On The Trail of Chocolate in Geneva

Guilty pleasure or out-and-out passion, taste sensation or plain greed, chocolate in its many forms brings all kinds of happiness. Right from childhood, it punctuates our existence with solitary and shared experiences.

For the Mayas, chocolate was nectar of the gods and kings; the Aztecs considered it a super-food and aphrodisiac. Chocolate arrived in Europe in the sixteenth century and quickly became popular among the nobility. In the nineteenth century the lower classes began to enjoy chocolate, which then became an industrial product.

Today, the Swiss are the world’s biggest consumers of chocolate! Geneva Tourism has put together this list of chocolate shops and themed activities, some surprising, but all delicious.

CHOCOLATE SHOPS
Whether it’s dark, white, milk or fondant, many of the chocolate confections created in Geneva’s chocolate shops are based on closely-guarded, centuries-old secrets still known only to "maîtres chocolatiers". The transformation of cocoa into chocolate lies somewhere between science and magic. It follows processes that the master chocolate makers will only disclose in the vaguest terms.

Arn Chocolaterie
Specialities: Pavés de Genève, truffles, pralines, ice cream
Bourg-de-Four, 12
1204 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 310 40 94
Fax +41 22 312 18 25
www.swisschocolates.ch

Chocolaterie de l’Arve
Specialities: Daily home-made chocolate, pastries, tearoom
Place de l’Octroi 13
1227 Carouge
Tel. +41 22 343 45 00

Chocolatier Auer
Specialities: Almonds Princesse, pavés glacés de Genève, truffles made by traditional method
Rue de Rive 4
1204 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 311 42 86
Fax +41 22 312 07 24
www.chocolat-auer.ch

Chocolaterie des Bergues
Specialities: Chocolate-stuffed dates, pavés glacés, tearoom
Quai des Bergues 27
1201 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 731 54 85

La Bonbonnière
Specialities: Pavés de Genève, 100 percent cocoa fine chocolates made by traditional method
Rue de Rive 11
1204 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 311 61 96
Fax +41 22 311 63 28

Pâtisserie Confiserie Chocolaterie Cartier
Specialities: Chocolate, pastries, ice cream, tearoom, caterer
Route de Suisse 38
1290 Versoix
Tel. +41 22 755 10 05
Fax +41 22 779 12 45
www.cartier-swiss.ch

Chocolaterie Stettler
Specialities: Pavés de Genève, truffles, almond chocolates, Stettler ovales
Rue du Mont-Blanc 5
1201 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 732 17 44
www.chocolaterie-stettler.ch

Chocolats Rohr SA
Specialities: Truffles, pralines, candied chestnuts
Pl. du Molard 3
1204 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 311 63 03
www.chocolats-rohr.ch

Chocolaterie du Rhône
Specialities: Chocolate, truffles, candied fruit, tearoom
Rue de la Confédération 3
P.O. Box 480
1204 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 311 56 14
Fax +41 22 781 47 55

Godiva
Specialities: Truffles, pralines
Rue de la Confédération 5
1204 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 810 07 15
Fax +41 22 810 07 19

Jacques Castello
Chocolate, tearoom
Rue de la Corraterie 20
1204 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 310 52 32

Martel
Specialities: Pavés de Carouge, Viennese pastries, pastries, tearoom
Rue du Marché 8
1227 Carouge
Tel. +41 22 342 00 45
Fax +41 22 342 37 00

Micheli
Specialities: Dark chocolate, pralines
Rue Micheli-du-Crest 1
1205 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 329 90 06

Confiserie Teuscher
Homemade specialities: champagne, truffes, pralines
Rue du Rhône 2
1204 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 310 87 78
Fax +41 22 310 87 79
www.teuscher.com

Zogg
Specialities: Pavés de Genève, truffles and pralines, segment of orange
Rue du Mont-Blanc, 3
1201 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 741 32 20
Fax +41 22 741 32 22

Chocolats & Cacaos Favarger SA
Specialities: Avelines, Nougatines. Only on order; no visit is allowed
Ch. des Moulins 27
1290 Versoix
Tel. +41 22 775 11 01
Fax +41 22 755 60 03
www.favarger.ch

TASTINGS "La Maison du Cacao” Chocolate tastings on the premises Pâtissier-chocolatier “Desplanches” Rue de Coutance 16 1201 Geneva Tel./Fax +41 22 732 45 14

TECHNICAL VISITS
Visit to the chocolaterie Stettler
Chocolatier Stettler
49, avenue Blanc
1201 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 733 44 67
www.chocolaterie-stettler.ch
Contact: Marc Stettler

Visiting hours: Monday to Friday: 9 to 11am
Duration: Between 30 minutes and 1 hour
Language(s) of the visit: French and German (English)
Maximal group capacity: 20 persons
Rates: CHF 5

Visit to the chocolaterie Auer
Rue de Rive 4
1204 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 311 42 86
Fax +41 22 312 07 24
www.chocolat-auer.ch

Visiting hours: Monday to Friday: 10am to 12pm, excepted November, December and January
Duration: Between 30 and 45 minutes
Language(s) of the visit: French and English
Maximal group capacity: 15 persons
Rates: CHF 30 per person

Visit to the chocolaterie du Rhône
Rue de la Confédération 3
P.O. Box 480
1204 Geneva
Tel. +41 22 311 56 14
Fax +41 22 781 47 55

Visiting hours: Beginning of March to mid-September: Monday to Friday, mornings
Duration: 1 hour
Language(s) of the visit: French (English on request)
Maximal group capacity: 20 persons
Rates: CHF 2 per person

Visit to the chocolaterie Rapp (Lake Geneva Region)
6, Rue des Alpes
1197 Prangins
Tel. + 41 22 361 79 14
Fax +41 22 362 09 84
www.confiserie-rapp.ch
rapp-confiserie@bluewin.ch

Visiting hours: By appointment every day of the week except Wednesday
Duration: 1 hour to 1 hour 30
Language(s) of the visit: French and English
Groups only: Minimum 10 persons - names of participants to be given 4 days in advance for diplomas' preparation
Rates: CHF 15 per person Week days / CHF 25 per person Weekends

Chocolate school “Rappsodie” at the chocolaterie Rapp
Visit hours: by appointment on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Duration: about 1 hour 30 minutes
Rates: CHF 15
Complete course: about 3 hours 30 minutes. Rates: CHF 110 to 160 per person

CHOCOLATE CAULDRONS AT THE FESTIVAL OF THE ESCALADE
The festival of the Escalade, celebrated on the closest weekend to the night of 11-12 December, commemorates the defeat of the Catholic troops of the Duke of Savoy in 1602. According to tradition, it was the presence of mind and bravery of a Mère Royaume that prevented victory by the assailants. Legend has it that she threw a cauldron of boiling soup over the soldiers scaling the walls. Today, the people of Geneva recall these heroic deeds by making chocolate cauldrons filled with marzipan vegetables, which they smash open while crying "Death to the enemies of the Republic!"

CHOCOLATE BATHS AT “AFTER THE RAIN”  Here, you don’t eat chocolate, you enjoy its warmth on your skin with a scrumptious chocolate bath or an exhilarating chocolate wrap.

DESSERTS AND CHOCOLATE LOVERS PACKAGE, MANDARIN ORIENTAL DU RHONE
The Mandarin Oriental du Rhône has a range of succulent chocolate desserts prepared by Chef Franck Feerigutti.

The hotel also has a "Tic Toc Swiss Choc" package on a chocolate theme, with a chocolate bath at the spa After The Rain and a candlelit gourmet dinner. Every dish on the menu, from nibbles to dessert, is made of chocolate. The dinner can also be ordered without the bathing experience (min. 2 people).

Contact: Mandarin Oriental du Rhône
www.mandarinoriental.com 

Tic Toc Swiss “choc”
Valid until 31 December 2005

 • Accommodation
• Swiss VIP amenity
• Swiss Buffet Breakfast
• Entrance to the Patek Philippe Museum
• Service charge and VA
• Chocolate Bath for two at the “After the Rain” spa
• Little Mermaid Cruise (mid may to mid October) or visit to the Maison Tavel and the Saint-Pierre Cathedral

Valid only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Rates are CHF 470 to 750 and does not include city tax.
Minimum 2 nights stay

ASSOCIATIONS AND CLUBS
Club des passionnés de chocolat
Rue de la Cité 19
1204 Geneva
Tel. Fax +41 22 311 69 17
www.passionnes-chocolat.ch
Contact: Nicole Falony-Leiber

This chocolate-lovers club, formed in Geneva in 1997, brings together chocolate enthusiasts who want to learn about and promote quality chocolate in any suitable way. The club organizes visits to factories and trips on the theme of the love of chocolate.

Employers’ association of confectioners, pastry makers, chocolate makers and ice cream makers of Geneva
c/o FER Geneva
98, rue de St-Jean
P. O. Box 5278
1211 Genève 11
Tel. +41 22 715 34 12
Fax +41 22 715 32 13
Contact: Mme Olivia. Guyot, Secrétaire

OUTSIDE GENEVA
Schoko-Land Museum, “Le monde du chocolat”
The only museum of chocolate in Switzerland has a superb presentation of the history of cocoa. Nothing is missing from this unique museum, which boasts utensils, antique vending machines, sacks of beans and old machinery!

Schoko-Land Musée “Le monde du chocolat”
6987 Calsano-Lugano Switzerland
Tel: +41 091 71 66 66

For more information contact:
GENEVA TOURISM
Department Medias Markets
Rue du Mt-Blanc 18
P.O. Box 1602
CH – 1211 Geneva 1
Tel.: +41 22 909 70 82
Fax: +41 22 909 70 69
hesse@geneva-tourism.ch

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