Visiting a cheese factory is a great way to experience an important part of Swiss culture. Fromagerie des Franches-Montagnes in western Switzerland is one of the few dairies to produce Tête de Moine AOP, a delicous Swiss cheese traditionally served by scraping rosettes off the top of the cheese.
This dairy has a visitor center where you can view the factory floor with live cheese production. They also have informative interactive displays and films that teach you about the cheese making process and dairy farming traditions in this region. Plus you get to sample eight of their cheeses so you know exactly what you want to buy and take home. This was a great addition to our weekend in the region.
Note: Thanks to Jura 3 Lakes Tourism for hosting our visit.
| Location: | Jura 3 Lakes region, western Switzerland |
| Address: | Rue de l’Avenir 2, 2340 Le Noirmont |
| Car: | From Bern 1hr, Basel 1hr20, Zürich 2hrs |
| Train: | Train station: Le Noirmont + 15 mins walk From Bern 1hr50, Basel 2hr10, Zürich 2hr35 |
| Open: | Tues – Fri: 8:00-12:00 and 15:00-18:00 Weekends & holidays: 8:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00 |
| Price (2022): | Adult CHF 8, Child CHF 6, under 6 free |
| Services: | cheese shop, WC |
| More info: | fdfm.ch |
How to get there
This cheese factory is located in western Switzerland, north of Neuchatel.
By car: Drive to Rue de l’Avenir 2, 2340 Le Noirmont. There is free parking outside the dairy.
By public transport: Take a train to Le Noirmont. Then a 15 min walk to the dairy (see walking map).
Opening times
The cheese factory is open year round:
- Tues – Fri: 8:00-12:00 and 15:00-18:00
- Weekends & holidays: 8:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00
I would plan about 1 hour for your visit. See more activities in the Jura region.
Ticket prices
Entrance costs CHF 8/adult, CHF 6/child 7-17, under 6 free. This includes entrance to the visitor center and a small cheese tasting platter. You can upgrade your package to include bread, meat and wine with your tasting platter.
They offer a small discount for families and if you have a JURA-Pass, the free guest card if you stay overnight in the region.
Photo story
You enter through their cheese shop and pay the entrance fee at the cheese counter.
Then you walk down a corridor into this room where you have big windows into the cheese factory floor.
When we were there on a Friday morning, the workers were busy filling cheese molds.
These Tête de Moine cheese rounds are aging in the temperature and humidity controlled room.
They also make Gruyère AOP cheese, which is aging here.
This map shows the very small region where Tête de Moine AOP may be produced according to the AOP rules.
The room has a variety of interactive displays with films and games to help you learn about cheese making and this specific dairy. Everything is available in English, German and French.
This game has you collect cheese as you visit various farms, learning info and answering questions.
One display has a fun game for small children that walks them through the steps of making cheese.
At the end of the tour, you get a little tasting platter with 8 different cheese that they produce here. You can eat this at the picnic tables outside. If you like the cheese, you can purchase any of them at the cheese counter. Some are not easily available for purchase in other parts of Switzerland, so make sure to get your favorites.
If you are here as part of a group tour, they have larger platters and can serve wine, bread and meat as part of an apero.
Their shop also sells the traditional Girole machine used to scrape rosettes off the Tête de Moine AOP cheese wheel.
