The Emmental Cheese Country

The Emmental is the valley east of Bern that gave its name to a cheese most of the world knows and few have tasted properly. This is farm country rather than mountains: steep green hills, timber farmhouses with roofs pulled down almost to the grass, and small village dairies still turning milk into wheels that weigh close to a hundred kilos. The holes come from bacteria producing gas as the cheese ripens, and a well-aged wheel is dry and nutty, nothing like the rubbery slices sold abroad under the name. A demonstration dairy at Affoltern runs through the whole process, and the road linking Langnau, Trubschachen and Burgdorf takes in the best of the landscape.

What you actually see

• The show dairy at Affoltern - the full process from morning milk to a wheel of ninety kilos and more.
• The farmhouses - broad timber roofs and painted fronts, the local building type.
• Village dairies - small producers selling the cheese at several ages over the counter.
• The hill roads - narrow lanes between Langnau, Trubschachen and Burgdorf.

When to go

Late spring through autumn, when the hills are green and the small roads are clear of snow. Cheese making at the demonstration dairy happens in the morning, so arrive before midday if you want to see the vats worked. Winter is quiet, grey and dark early, though the dairies stay open. Village shops keep short hours on Sunday.

Honest expectations

There is no single sight here, only landscape, dairies and a well-organised visitor operation at Affoltern that sits on every coach itinerary. Public transport into the side valleys is thin and a car is close to necessary. The cheese itself is sold in every supermarket in the country, so the trip is about the setting rather than access to anything rare.

Nearby

Bern is under an hour west and Lucerne lies over the hills to the east.