Have you ever dreamed of what it would be like to be Charlie Bucket? If that name is not familiar to you, Charlie Bucket is the young protagonist in Roald Dahl’s masterpiece Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The novel was brilliantly translated to film in 1971 as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder as the mysterious chocolatier Willy Wonka, and Peter Ostrum as the pure, innocent, good-natured Charlie Bucket. Those of you who are die hard Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, or Timothee Chalamet fans may beg to differ, but to my mind, the 1971 version stands head and shoulders above any other adaptation of Dahl’s novel. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Roald Dahl himself wrote the screenplay, or perhaps it is because of the tour de force performance of Gene Wilder, but for whatever reason, it is clearly the best.

The story tells of young Charlie Bucket, a child from a poor family, who finds a golden ticket in a Wonka chocolate bar that earns him a trip to see the Willy Wonka chocolate factory and meet the iconic chocolate genius in person. Charlie and his grandfather, Grandpa Joe (another wonderful performance by Jack Albertson), make the trip together. Imagine the sense of wonder, anticipation, and absolute delight of a young child as he enters into a fantastic world that fulfills all his chocolate dreams.

Now, imagine it was you! Imagine you have received your own golden ticket, and you are the one about to have all your chocolate dreams come true. In Kilchberg, Switzerland, you don’t have to imagine it — you can live it at the Lindt Home of Chocolate. Lindt Home of Chocolate is a wonderland for chocoholics of all ages, from young children to seniors like us. It was a day we will never forget.

Your chocolate fantasy begins the moment you enter the main lobby and come face to face with a 30-foot-tall chocolate fountain. The fountain appears as a huge chocolate whisk that appears to be suspended in mid-air, dripping the rich, brown, molten confection into a golden bowl. It is a perfect Instagram moment. But that is just the beginning. There is a wonderful tour where you get to learn the entire process of how Lindt transforms the raw cacao beans into the rich velvety chocolate that has made them famous since 1845. At the end of the tour there are several chocolate fountains that let you sample spoonfuls of molten white, milk, and dark chocolates. There are also cutting machines that will cut you samples of the hardened final products.

If you are not already in a chocolate-induced sugar coma by the end of the tour, there is an amazing store where you can find all of Lindt’s famous products, including many that are not available in stores in the United States. We brought home lots of them to share with family and friends. There is also a custom design studio in the store where they will have one of their master chocolatiers create a custom chocolate bar for your special occasion. We happened to be there on Xia’s birthday and had them design a “Happy Birthday” chocolate bar for her.

Finally, they also have a children’s program, where they will let your children explore their chocolate imagination and design and create their own chocolate bars. If you are planning on visiting with young children and would like them to have this once in a lifetime experience, you will need to book way in advance. These slots sell out quickly, sometimes months in advance during peak tourist seasons, so try and book as soon as your travel plans are finalized. Your kids will love it!