La Chocolaterie Darcis

Top choice in The Ardennes


Playing a 21st-century Willy Wonka, one of Belgium’s foremost chocolatiers has turned his modern factory into a superb interactive museum experience. Walk through a Mayan temple, get seasick on Hernán Cortés' galleon and visit a 19th-century cocoa parlour, before sniff tests, quizzes, a 10-minute video tour of Mexican plantations and explanations of modern chocolate making.

Allow at least an hour to do justice to all the information and complementary podcatcher audios. Wait until you're instructed before savouring the three sublime taster pralines. Even if you don't have time to visit the museum, the attached cafe is a place worth lingering over marvellous coffee, hot chocolate, cakes, pastries or one of Jean-Philippe Darcis' signature macarons.