Visit the World’s Best Chocolate Cities

Vacations are supposed to be an indulgence time. You’ve heard about adventure and wine tours; well, why not chocolate tourism? With these fabulously decadent destinations, you need to visit these chocolate cities!

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It’s simple to make chocolate, but making excellent chocolate is an endless quest for perfection. Lucky for us, when there’s so much around us, there’s no need to create the chocolate.

From exploring hidden cacao plantations in Asia’s jungles to learning how to create our chocolates in South America, the world is full of incredible cities with chocolate-filled centers. Here are seven chocolate cities you need to visit on your next holiday.

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Chocolate Cities
Dine in at the best chocolate cities in the world. Photo credits to: http://aspire.sharesinv.com/28880/fifthperson-how-we-made-65-returns-in-seven-months-investing-in-cocoaland-holdings/.

Tokyo, Japan

Japan has a wide selection of chocolate products. Photo credits to: https://grandenapoli.it/evento/arriva-chocolate-days-la-festa-del-cioccolato-artigianale/.

Japan’s cultural obsession with the future, long recognized as an innovation hub, also applies to chocolate. The bean-to-bar chocolate culture is alive and very well across the nation, much like Japan’s highly developed coffee culture.

In specific, Tokyo is home to a lot of chocolate makers and a few dozen very prominent chocolatiers, as well as a significant annual festival of chocolate. It is very feasible to discover quality chocolates from Sapporo to Okinawa and even other products based on cacao, such as cocoa liquor.

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Tokyo is known to be home to the Craft Chocolate Market and the Tokyo Salon du Chocolat, held every January at the same time. Chocolate makers from all over the globe flock to the town to show off their commodities and bring their brand to a market that seems to be getting it.

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels is also known as the Chocolate Capital of the World. Photo credits to: https://www.brussels.com/blog/2017/10/31/3-famous-chocolate-shops-brussels/.

For people with a sweet tooth, Brussels is a must-visit destination. Also known as the “Chocolate Capital of the World,” Belgium’s capital and biggest city is filled with chocolate stores.

Brussels is also home to Godiva and Leonidas, two of the world’s largest chocolate businesses. Some of the favorites are Passion Chocolat, Jean Galler, Wittamer, and Pierre Marcolini, although there are many lesser-known but at least as excellent creative, independent chocolate masters.

While you’re here, you should not miss the Musee du Cocao et du Chocolate, the Cocoa and Chocolate Museum. Here, you can learn about this delightful sweet’s history and how it is created. Mary, established in 1919, is another unmissable place as Belgian chocolate’s grand dame.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Vietnam planted cocoa centuries ago that paved way to their wide selection of chocolate products. Photo credits to: https://saigoneer.com/eat-drink/eat-drink-categories/saigon-food-culture/2706-video-marou-chocolate-s-quest-for-vietnam-s-best-cacao.

If you’re a chocolate enthusiast, Vietnam is undoubtedly one of the most significant countries to visit. Here, the culture of chocolate is homemade and increasing. Vietnam has been growing cacao for millennia, but thousands of more hectares of cacao have been planted and harvested in the last twenty years. You can even visit some of Vietnam’s cacao farms.

Madrid, Spain

Madrid, Spain has a unique variation of its chocolate products. Photo credits to: http://blog.barcelonaguidebureau.com/7-ways-to-spend-a-sunday-in-barcelona/.

It is no wonder that chocolate plays such a significant role in Spanish culture, as the nation that initially brought cacao from the Americas to Europe. There are chocolate stores in the town and even a few chocolate makers, but what makes Madrid unique is how it takes its chocolate.

Just visit a local chocolate store or chocolate shop to drink your chocolate in such a manner. There you can order “a la taza” chocolate in a variety of ways, as well as pick up some candy and perhaps munch on a few churros while you’re at it.

Bariloche, Argentina

Argentina is also known as the the Little Swiss Chocolate City. Photo credits to: https://www.authenticfoodquest.com/bariloche-argentina-little-switzerland-and-chocolate/.

Bariloche, a town in the Rio Negro province on the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake, attracts travelers not only with its breathtaking scenery and Swiss-like atmosphere.

The artisanal food and dessert trend began here almost half a century ago. During that time, some local people realized that they had access to a nearly infinite range of ingredients that had not yet been reflected in the gastronomy of the area.

Today, it’s a real paradise for any cocoa connoisseur, from standard chocolate bars to all kinds of fruit-filled chocolate.

Cologne, Germany

Cologne, Germany has a several chocolate museums. Photo credits to: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/cologne-perfume-chocolate-god.

Cologne is the capital of Germany and home to the Stollwerck Chocolate Company, once America’s second-largest chocolate supplier. The Imhoff Stollwerck Museum, locally known as only the “chocolate museum,” was the consequence of Hans Imhoff’s lifelong dream.

He worked with chocolate for almost his entire career, opening the museum in 1993. Featuring a gigantic chocolate fountain, interactive displays, and samples, it celebrates the history of chocolate around the globe.

Hershey, Pennsylvania

Hershey, Pennsylvania is named after the chocolate brand, Hershey. Photo credits to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr4V85mjvAA.

Hershey, known initially as Derry Church, was renamed in 1906 because of Hershey’s popularity as chocolate. It’s also recognized today as Earth’s “Sweetest Place.”

You can find the Reese’s Candy Company here. Visitors can see Hershey’s chocolate at Hershey’s Chocolate World in this chocolate heaven. You can also visit the Hershey Story Museum and stay at the Hershey Hotel.

Conclusion

One of the few unique ways to experience a culture is through food. The chocolate culture around the world has provided us with a lot of options to choose from, especially for those with a sweet tooth.

Visit these chocolate hubs on your next travel! Visit these food destinations to start your gastronomic adventures. Click here for more information.