A £379 million chocolate-themed tourist park is set to open in Switzerland.
The Callier chocolate factory attraction in Broc will “promote the unique cultural and industrial heritage of the site and the production of Callier chocolate”.
The factory’s former mechanical workshops, a reconstructed production line, a new gallery and cocoa bean-shaped greenhouses will take visitors on a “journey through the cultivation of cocoa trees and Gruyere milk”.
For the grand finale, visitors will be able to try the Cailler range in the Chocolate Emporium.
The Broc factory, the oldest operating chocolate factory in the world, is recognised in Switzerland’s Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS).
Subject to planning permission, investors aim to open the site’s first phase by 2030.
According to the Association of Gruyere Chocolat, the project has a budget of 400 million Swiss francs (£375m).
The chocolate park aims to preserve the site’s “strong identity” and “modernise and develop the cultural and tourist uses”.
Developers aim to welcome up to one million annual visitors.
Demolishing the current Maison Callier museum will create space for a smaller building with a restored Neo-Renaissance facade and the factory’s forecourt will be lowered to its original level.
Here, cooking workshops for visitors will be led by master chocolatiers.
The project officially launched four years ago, with preliminary review procedures initiated at the end of 2023.
The municipality of Broc has now submitted the Callier Chocolate Park project for public consultation.
An amendment to the Local Development Plan and ten building permit applications are required to move forward with the project.
Direct rail connections from Bern to the Broc-Chocolaterie stop will attempt to alleviate visitor traffic, while a cable lift will connect the park to an off-site underground parking garage.
Read more: The free museum named the UK’s most-visited tourist attraction
Is it safe to travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi? Latest UAE travel advice
Runaway catering vehicle slams into plane at one of India’s busiest airports
Is it safe to travel to Turkey? Latest Foreign Office advice amid US-Iran ceasefire
Everything you need to know about new EU entry-exit system as plans unravel
Woman gives birth mid-flight as plane nears New York City
Delta becomes latest US airline to raise checked baggage fees
