Cheese Fondue in Switzerland

A cheesemaker carries a wheel of Gruyère cheese to a cool cellar, where it will mature over 6–10 months

Ensconced in fleecy falls of snow, or lit up by the clear spring sunshine, the walled and castletopped town of Gruyères has a fairy-tale aura. It sits on a hill amid Alpine peaks, gently tinkling with the sound of cowbells as the animals graze on surrounding slopes. This is dairy paradise and the cradle of Gruyère cheese – one of the staples of a luscious, bubbling pot of fondue.
The tiny town of Gruyères sits high on a hill in the Fribourg pre-Alps, dominated by its medieval castle. Its name is said to come from the French word for crane, grue, because the bird adorned the heraldry of the counts of Gruyères, who lived here from the 11th to the 16th centuries. The town consists of little more than one pedestrianized, cobblestoned street, lined with beautifully maintained, centuries-old shopfronts, many bearing ornate wrought-iron signs. This is fairy-tale country, where geraniums tumble from every window box in summer, and twinkling lights shine on the cobbles at Christmas. Visitors come for two reasons: to see the chocolate-box town and to sample its more famous ware – Gruyère cheese – especially in the form of fondue, a pot of hot, melted cheese made for communal dipping.