The Best Cheese Museums in France

When you picture a French museum, visions of prestigious paintings or imposing sculptures may spring to mind — probably not institutions devoted to illuminating the likes of Camembert, Comté, or Munster. But sprinkled tantalizingly throughout the French countryside are museums devoted to extolling the virtues of locally prized cheeses, detailing their history and manufacture, including, naturellement, a few tastes. So if you are a fan of fromage, let your taste buds lead you on a tour of la belle France.

 

Museums Accessible by Train

 

Le Musée du Fromage, Paris

Since your trip will probably start in Paris, visit the Musée du Fromage, which opened in 2024. This compact space, set in an elegant 17th-century stone structure on Île Saint-Louis, does not extol the virtues of any particular cheese, but introduces visitors to the grand scope of cheese in French life and history. Interactive games and guided deep dives into the science of fromage bring the subject to life. A fromager on site will demonstrate the cheese making process. Naturally, tastings are included, and a cooler stocked with more than 100 cheeses lets visitors continue exploring on their own.

39 rue Saint-Louis en l’Île, 75004 Paris; musee-fromage-paris.com

 

Maison du Brie de Meaux, Meaux

Just a 40-minute train ride from Paris, in the sweet town of Meaux, is a compact museum dedicated to the “king of cheeses,” Brie de Meaux, which was reportedly a favorite of Charlemagne and King Louis XVI. Unctuous and creamy, these generous wheels of raw-milk cheese feature notes of mushrooms and melted butter. The museum’s exhibits include historical tableaux illustrating old tools and descriptions of dairy farming (including a large yellow bag-like item, which turns out to be a cow’s entire stomach lining, used for making rennet). Guided tastings are provided on Saturdays and Sundays. Keep an eye out for visiting members of La Confrérie du Brie de Meaux, a special brotherhood of supporters dressed in long, white robes with giant round hats that resemble large wheels of their favorite fromage.

5 place Charles de Gaulle, 77100 Meaux; meaux-marne-ourcq.com

 

La Cité du Lait, Laval

This impressive museum, whose name translates to “The City of Milk,” provides a broad historical perspective on dairy products, including milk, butter, and cheese. Located in the town of Laval, it’s an hour and 15 minutes from Paris by TGV train. Guided and self-guided tours take visitors through thousands of objects that illuminate the history of milk production from the 1950s onward. Special events are sprinkled throughout the year, including cheese and beer pairing, plus holiday-related cooking classes designed to engage children and perhaps inspire future dairy professionals.

18 rue Adolphe Beck, 53000 Laval; lacitedulait.com

 

Museums Accessible by Car

 

La Maison de Camembert, Camembert

In a Normandy village that proudly sports the name of its iconic cheese is a museum that relates the touching story of its creation in 1791, plus a look at its manufacture and, of course, some tastings. Also on view are a collection of artistic and historical cheese labels from Camembert boxes, lovingly collected by tyrosemiophiles (cheese label devotees). 

61 Le Bourg, 61120 Camembert; maisonducamembert.com

 

Fromagerie Graindorge, Livarot-Pays-D’Auge

Livarot, Pont-l’Évêque, and Camembert are among the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheeses of Normandy, which are made from the raw milk of brown-and-white-speckled Norman cows. Watch films and go on a self-guided tour of the dairy, where you can watch the cheesemakers at work, plus enjoy a free tasting at the end. There’s also a shop with cheeses and other local products.

42 rue du Général Leclerc, 14140 Livarot-Pays-D’Auge; graindorge.fr

 

Musée de la Maison du Fromage, Gunsbach

This cheese museum in the northeastern village of Gunsbach provides a deep dive into its famous Munster, or Munster Géromé, cheese. During an hour and a half tour, you’ll see all the stages of making the celebrated cheese, with films, exhibitions, a visit to the barn, demonstrations, and a guided tasting of cheeses. End your visit at the museum’s restaurant, which features dishes such as Munster fondue and Munster coiffé, an Alsatian specialty in which potatoes, bacon and onions are topped with cream and covered with half of a Munster cheese that melts and browns during cooking.

23 rue de Munster, 68140 Gunsbach; maisondufromage-munster.com

 

The Trépot Cheese Factory-Museum, Trépot

This former cheese factory in a picturesque village dates back to 1818. It stopped production in 1978 but has been transformed into a museum of folk arts and traditions. A guided tour of the old cheese factory will introduce you to the traditional methods of making authentic Comté cheese and the history of this exceptional dairy, showing visitors the copper vats, butter churns, and other tools necessary for the traditional production of Comté. The tour ends with a cheese tasting.

3 place de la Mairie, 25620 Trépot; fromagerie-musee-trepot.fr

 

La Maison du Comté, Poligny

This new museum, which opened in 2021, offers an immersive journey into the making of Comté cheese. You can appreciate the smell of hay in the stable, discover the diverse flowers and grasses that shape the cows’ diet, learn how 400 liters of milk are needed to produce one wheel of cheese and try the art of milking. Videos, games and new technology illuminate the art of making Comté cheese. At the end of the visit, you can compare the tastes of summer Comté and winter Comté.

1 rue de la Maison du Comté, 39800 Poligny; maison-du-comte.com

 

La Maison de la Vache Qui Rit (Laughing Cow Cheese), Lons-le-Saunier

While it may not have the cachet of Brie or Roquefort, the brand La Vache Qui Rit, better known as The Laughing Cow, is a global family favorite that is now sold in over 130 countries. The museum devoted to the cheese-filled foil triangles in the round box is in the Jura region. It walks through the story of the creation of this processed cheese by Léon Bel in the 1920s. (It was his wife’s idea to add earrings depicting the iconic round cheese boxes). The museum’s exhibits show how the brand evolved alongside advances in manufacturing technology, which allowed it to vastly increase its production, as well as how its creative advertising campaigns turned it into a beloved childhood treat.

25 rue Richebourg, 39000 Lons-le-Saunier; lamaisondelavachequirit.com