Sweet Tips from Sweet Tooths
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| High in the Swiss Alps, the milk is fresh, and the chocolate is worth hiking for. |
What's the best place for a chocoholic to die and go to heaven? Here are some favorite spots chocolate addicts have posted on our Graffiti Wall.
Great Britain
"Cadbury chocolate bars are awesome. The Dairy Milk, Crunchie, and Whispa bars are fantastic. In London, visit Charbonnel et Walker for the best chocolates anywhere (28 Old Bond Street, near Kensington). Also, in London, try the hot chocolate — tastes just like a liquid Dairy Milk bar."
"If you're a chocoholic, you must tour the Cadbury factory (train to Birmingham, then local train to Bournville, then a 10-minute walk). Upon entering, you're greeted with the most heavenly smell, a lively tour, and an entire chocolate bar! As you munch, you walk through the history of chocolate, then of Cadbury."
Switzerland
"Take a free tour of the Lindt factory in Kilchberg, near Zurich (Wed–Fri, S-1 or S-8 from Zurich Hauptbahnhof to Kilchberg, walk three minutes)."
"One word: Sprüngli, Zurich, Bahnhofstrasse...O.K., that was three words, but when in Zurich, go to the Sprungli shop on Bahnhofstrasse and enjoy...mmmm... makes my mouth water just thinking about it."
Germany
"I lived in Germany for twelve years and couldn't get enough of their chocolate. Milka and Ritter Sport are great! The Kinder Überaschung (Kid's Surprise) eggs are very popular. Also, during Christmas, look for the Advent calendars that have chocolate hidden behind the door for each day. These make the wait for Christmas bearable."
"The chocolate factory alone is reason enough to visit Köln, Germany. They offer tours with a history of chocolate-making and a great look at all the machines in action. This was one of my favorite tours during my two months in Europe last summer (listed in Rick's Germany guidebook)."
"My favorite European chocolate: Ritter Sport. It's German but sold all over Europe. This square bar comes in a million varieties. My favorite is praline (dark blue wrapper)."
Italy
"For a totally decadent chocolate gelato experience in Rome, try tartufo at the Tre Scalini café in the Piazza Navona. Tartufo is rich chocolate gelato embedded with chunks of chocolate, served with whipped cream and a cherry. Buy it at the counter and eat it while sauntering around checking out the street artists in the square."
Belgium
"A good friend from Brussels explained that 'Mary's' had the best chocolate in Brussels (and thus the world). He noted that there are two stores of every type which are appointed by the King. One is a large, commercial place (Godiva in this case) and one is a small place, where the King actually buys his goods. Mary's is that place."
"After returning with gifts of Belgian chocolate for friends — that never made it to my friends — I contacted the store I bought the chocolate from. They were glad to send me chocolate directly from their store. My tip: Never order chocolate by mail in the summer. I got one giant $52 piece of chocolate. Happy ending though...I ate it."
"I met a man on a plane who told me he was the chocolate taster for Hershey's and his job was to travel the world tasting chocolate. His favorite: Belgian."
"After many years of Swiss chocolate adoration, I now bow to the Belgians. They are the masters. Shop after shop of little pieces of brown gold piled high are waiting for us chocoholics. In Bruges, visit the Verbeke family's shop just of the Markt. It's in Rick's book and he was right again — the best place in town! If a shop offers two prices for the same-sized box, spring for the more expensive one. The cheaper ones come in a white box and the premiums come in a colored box, usually gold."
"We did the equivalent of a pub crawl in Bruges, sampling truffles at all the small chocolate shops. By noon we were on a major sugar buzz. The best was at Depla's."
France
"Try the hot chocolate in Paris to truly experience it the way it was meant to be. The best place is Angelina near the Louvre, across from the Tuileries on Rue de Rivoli. Order the Africain, a pot of liquid pleasure. We love Angelina so much that we named our cat after it."
"After two trips to Paris, walking everywhere and tasting along the way, we've found our favorite chocolatier: Puyricard, on Avenue Rapp in the 7th Arrondissement."
For lots more tips, check out our best-selling Europe Through the Back Door travel skills guidebook.