From Brie to burrata, fans go wild for fromage the world over. If you're a cheese lover, try working your passion for this creamy concoction into your travels. There's a storied history behind the good stuff and a network of talented and passionate artisans that know how to get the job done right. Whether you pursue mouthwatering dairy deep in the mountains, explore caves and monuments, wander through cheese-themed theme parks, or do the milking and straining yourself, these are the world's premier destinations to celebrate your love for cheese.
01 Amsterdam Cheese Museum
Located just a two-minute walk from the Anne Frank House, this spot is a must-visit for cheese-obsessed tourists rolling through town. The Netherlands boasts some of the world's best cheese, and there's no better place to take home its most famous, gouda. Learn the ins and outs of the dairy trade in the museum portion, then head up to the specialty cheese shop to explore the country's finest, including one-of-a-kind varieties such as truffle cheese.
02 Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake
Get your adrenaline pumping at this eclectic event, which features participants chasing after cheese in charming Brockworth, Gloucestershire. A local tradition, the race began back in 1826 when villagers celebrated their fresh crops by rolling cheese down the 200-yard Cooper's Hill. Today, the Master of Ceremonies wows the crowd by releasing a nine-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese from the peak, with participants racing after it as it reaches speeds of 70+ miles an hour. The first to the bottom scores the crown, with winners visiting the annual event from across the globe.
03 Tillamook Creamery
At least 170,000 pounds of cheese are produced daily at this mini-cheese empire, along with one million pounds of milk. You might not expect it from a tiny spot in rural Oregon, but this creamery has its own visitors' center, complete with a historic butter churner, cheese cubes dangling from the ceiling, and vats that process up to 15,000 pounds of cheese simultaneously. In other words, it's a cheese lover's dream. You can savor samples, bring the flavor home, and learn behind-the-scenes secrets of production, packaging, and history along the way.
04 Imsil Cheese Theme Park
There's more to South Korea than meets the eye, especially when it comes to cheese. Most Koreans never heard of the stuff until the late 1950s, but this 32-acre cheese-themed fun park shows how much things have changed. Here, you'll discover the ins and outs of everything cheese, including how to make it in a DIY cheese experience center. Have a blast with the whole family at Cheese Playland, or browse the cheese-themed buildings and statues around every corner. Not to mention the shops, restaurants, milk processing factory, and science lab. It's a bucket list must for any fromage fan.
05 SpaceX's secret space cheese
Celebrate history at Space X's Hawthorne, California home. When the Dragon spacecraft made its 2010 maiden voyage, the rocket company loaded cheese onboard without revealing it to the press. It was brouère, a creamy cheese that pairs deliciously with charcuterie board staples.
That's right; the first (and only) cheese ever launched into orbit did so right here. It was even transported in a metal cylinder wrapped with a Top Secret movie poster, which features a cow in galoshes — very on-brand. This historic event was the first time a private space capsule was launched into space and returned to Earth successfully, and cheese was along for the ride.
06 World's largest cheese slicer
Blink, and you might miss it — or not. Located outside the itty-bitty Swedish town of Ånäset, you'll discover two of the world's largest cheese slicers, which stand directly outside the Kingdom of Cheese. This attraction provides a warm welcome to locally made Västerbotten cheese, which is only produced in the small village nearby. Try this once-in-a-lifetime specialty cheese, or snap a few selfies near this enormous installation. While the average cheese slicer measures just 8 inches, these are 23 feet and weigh over 1,800 pounds.
07 Abbey of Regina Laudis
Using the abbey's signature raw milk, the Benedictine nuns at this Connecticut destination create their own specialty Bethlehem Cheese, which is uncooked, fungal-ripened, and a local favorite. The "Cheese Nun," Mother Noella, learned to make it after earning her Ph.D. in Microbiology. She went deep into the trenches to learn from third-generation French cheesemakers, including studying fungus in cheese caves and conducting in-depth research on various stains. She's been producing Bethlehem cheese since the 1970s, and the nuns continue the practice today.
08 The Elk House
Situated in Bjurholm, SV, Sweden, The Elk House is the only producer of moose cheese on earth. Moose milk is sold throughout Sweden (it's sold in Russia as well), but this small farm is the only place that produces and manufactures that milk into cheese. There's even a luxe restaurant and shop on-site to sample their selection of moose-based dairy delights.
09 Mammoth cheese replica
Originally designed for the Chicago World's Fair, the Mammoth Cheese stood 6 feet tall, weighed 22,000 pounds, and required milk from 10,000 cows. While the replica was being transported from Perth, Ontario, to Chicago, it fell through the railcar's wooden bottom, which resulted in the first metal-reinforced railcar being built. Now, this replica stands in remembrance of this historic feat.
10 Kaltbach Cave
This 22-million-year-old natural wonder is home to some of the world's most mouthwatering cheese. Located deep in the Swiss alps, this culinary secret is a bucket list-worthy delight. Those wedges of Emmi Le Gruyère you grabbed during your last grocery run? They were aged in this tunnel-like cave where conditions ripen cheese naturally. The art of cheese refinement is passed down through the generations with no written record, yet each year, over 156,000 wheels are churned out here. Now, you can tour the cave's inner workings yourself.
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