The Emmental, valley of the cheese

Back in 1542, the town of Burgdorf set official wheel sizes to regulate Emmental trade bound for Basel—evidence that this valley’s cheese was already a serious business. Today the same soft hills hide earth-cellars, vast timbered farmhouses, and a craft you can still watch: wood-fired copper vats, 80–120 kg wheels, spruce planks for aging. Just 30 km from Bern, you pass Lützelflüh, follow the Emme, and reach Affoltern im Emmental; climb a little further and the pastures spread at 800–900 m, dotted with Simmental and Fribourgeois cattle.

Collected at your Bern hotel, you ride in a Mercedes with a dedicated driver, timings shaped to the weather and your appetite: live cheesemaking in Affoltern, a tasting flight while your driver handles parking and queues, a photo stop in Sumiswald to admire a grand farmhouse, then on to Burgdorf Castle 17 km away. With a private chauffeur in the Emmental, you can sip, sample, and wander as they wait and fine-tune bookings—from short demo slots to an espresso on Kornhausgasse.