Calling All Choc-o-Holics to Geneva

Remember that kiddy dream where chocolate grew on trees and a chocolate river ran down from an ice-cream mountain? Oh! How we wished that could come true. Luckily, something comes close in the pretty little town of Versoix near Geneva where every year a chocolate festival is held to celebrate the gooey goodness of chocolate in every form. The Festival du Chocolat is also a premier platform for bean-to-bar chocolatiers and independent chocolate makers to strut their stuff and tom-tom their superior chocolate-making techniques. 

Photo Credit: Jespahjoy / Flickr

So, there’s going to be chocolate and the festival is free to attend and those are reasons enough to book your tickets to this beautiful lake-side town near Geneva, Switzerland, find a hotel and sit salivating till the festival draws close.

What’s on at the Festival?

Since chocolate is supposed to be a big mood enhancer, expect the whole crowd to be on a constant sugar high! But if you really want to get a glimpse of the sinful life, pop in at the Salon de Artisans at Lachenal Space – a 1000 Sq. Mt. tent – to see more than 20 specialty chocolatiers selling all kinds of chocolates. Taste the delicious varieties, buy some and if you don’t want to feel too guilty just gawk at the awesome chocolates displayed there. Expect to see chocolate bunnies, chocolate monkeys, mountains of chocolate bombs, even chocolate cows with daisies! Other than the festival favourites – Favarger and Cartier Chocolatier – Versoix’s very own chocolatiers, you can sample or buy this dream confection from other chocolate houses like Albert Pougnier, Stettler Chocolate and Rody Chocolate. You can also visit the Favarger factory in Versoix to see the process of turning cocoa into chocolate. Crowds are expectedly humongous so make hotel reservations before you land in Geneva and take the special ChocoTrains to the venue (these are special free trains for tourists!)

Photo Credit: Jespahjoy / Flickr

All for the Kids

The Chocolate Festival in Versoix is an especially cool event for kids because, well, there is chocolate everywhere and because there are special workshops for kids where they can learn to make little chocolate animals. If that sounds like fun, get this – on the final day of the festival there will be an egg hunt just for kids! Finally, there is a Village Fete on both days of the festival where other than the usual refreshments and a place for tired parents to relax, there will also be dozens of rides to get your kids gleefully tired and out of your hair when you try your hand at some local cuisine in the evening. Some good restaurants to pick from are: Cartier, which is on the lakeside, Atlantico de Patricia, which is close to the festival venue, Supatra if you’re craving for some Thai food in Switzerland and for great food, lots of colour and Karaoke, try Artist’s Pub.

With the promise of chocolate’s luxurious, gooey, sweetness melting in your mouth, this is one choc-invasion you cannot afford to miss. So plan your Swiss vacation right away and start counting the days!