Lindt Home of Chocolate

The Lindt Home of Chocolate is a chocolate museum, research center, and visitor attraction located in Kilchberg, in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, adjacent to the headquarters of Lindt & Sprüngli. Opened in 2020, the building was developed by the Lindt Chocolate Competence Foundation and designed by the Swiss architecture firm Christ & Gantenbein.

The Lindt Home of Chocolate was designed as a monumental yet minimalist structure inspired by industrial forms. The museum's centerpiece is a light-filled atrium measuring 64 meters in length, 15 meters high, and 13 meters wide, supported by mushroom-shaped concrete columns. It features dramatic spiral staircases and a nine-meter-tall free-standing chocolate fountain, the largest of its kind in the world.^[1]

Over 3,000 m² of Statuario Altissimo porcelain stoneware slabs by the Italian ceramics company Ariostea were used in the museum's interior. These high-performance ceramic surfaces, inspired by Carrara marble, provide durability, hygiene, and elegance in high-traffic areas such as floors and staircases.^[2]

The museum offers an immersive multimedia exhibition tracing the history of chocolate, from its Mesoamerican origins to the rise of Swiss chocolate-making. Interactive exhibits, digital storytelling, and sensory installations engage visitors of all ages. It also features:

• The world’s largest free-standing chocolate fountain
• A 500 m² Lindt retail store
• The first Lindt Café in Switzerland
• Chocolate-making workshops
• Educational guided tours
• A research and development center for chocolate innovation

Visitors can participate in hands-on experiences, such as creating personalized chocolate bars or taking part in chocolate tastings. The museum also hosts workshops and special events for children and schools.^[3]

Since its opening, the Lindt Home of Chocolate has grown to become one of the most popular museums in Switzerland. In 2024 alone, it welcomed 817,163 visitors and hosted 1,900 guided tours, including approximately 300 school classes.^[4]

Visitors primarily come from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and India, drawn by the museum’s unique combination of cultural storytelling and sensory experience.

Architects Emanuel Christ and Christoph Gantenbein describe the project as a balance of classical grandeur and industrial production, with a goal of creating "an exaggeration of industrial production with a certain tension."^[5]

The project successfully elevates the idea of chocolate beyond consumption, turning it into an object of cultural appreciation and education. The museum has since become a landmark in Zurich and a must-visit for both tourists and chocolate enthusiasts.

Bus route 163 links the museum with Kilchberg railway station, which is a stop on the Zurich S-Bahn network. Another bus line, 165, links it with Zurich, Bürkliplatz.^[6]

• List of museums in Switzerland

• Lindt Home of Chocolate – Official website