For the first chocolate, cross waters to Mexico where chocolate was once so sacred that Aztecs used it as food and currency. In much of Mexico, drinking hot chocolate all year-round is not uncommon - froth is all-important as it's said to contain the spirit of the drink.But, in the West, we were unaware of chocolate until Christopher Columbus came back from the Americas. Even then we didn't know what to do with the beans. It wasn't till 1519 when Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez saw Emperor Montezuma of Mexico drinking the stuff that everyone went mad for it. And nothing's changed.Classy chocs
Vienna, home to lovely architecture, musical legacy and relaxing cafes, also boasts Heindl, a local chocolate enterprise since 1953 when confectioner Walter Heindl and his wife created delicious liqueur chocs. They've now flourished into twenty specialist outlets. The Heindl chocolate museum is Vienna's first and demonstrates the chocolate-making process and exhibits of old chocolate-making machines. The highlight is tasting freshly-made chocolate at the end of the tour. Visit www.heindl.co.at/englishfor more info.
J'adore le chocolat
Paris oozes romance so the aphrodisiac of romance is bound to have a home here. "Chocolate is health" said 19th century French food writer Brillat-Savarin, while fellow scribe Voltaire drank twelve cups of the dark stuff daily. Choco-spots include La Maison du Chocolate (225 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore) famous for its chocolate bonbons flavoured with raspberry, fennel and lemon; and Route du Cacao, a chocolate barge located on the Seine opposite the Bibliotheque Nationale.On deck, there's a chocolate museum, tropical hot-house with cocoa tree and delicious hot chocs made fresh in their lab. Paris also hosts the Chocolate Salon each autumn - the Oscars for chocoholics - complete with awards, workshops, tastings and the election of Miss Chocolate 2005. When it gets too much, there's always the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame cathedral and coffee-sipping in Parisian cafés.Squaring up
Britain has its own premier chocolate destination with Birmingham's Cadbury World. Attractions include a hands-on demonstration zone, Aztec Forest and interactive Happiness dance room, plus the chance to chase a Cadbury Creme Egg, grow your own cocoa beans and make chocolate in their new attraction, Essense. When you're chocolate-d out, wander around Birmingham's revamped city centre which includes the Bull Ring, extensive canal network and great shopping. Visit http://www.cadburyworld.co.uk for more info.
All-American candy
Across the pond is another iconic chocolate brand, Hershey, so-called after the creator of the famous bar. Hershey's Chocolate World in Pennsylvania lets you observe the chocolate-making process on Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour, meet the Hershey characters on the big screen, enjoy 3D shows, travel on the Hershey Trolley Works and operate a chocolate packaging line at the interactive factory experience. Nearby attractions include The Hershey Museum and amusement centre, Hersheypark. Visit www.hersheys.com/chocolateworld/ for more info.
Other chocolate-infused destinations include Bruges' Chocolate Museum and Brussels' Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate in Belgium; Cologne's Imhoff Stollwerck Museum (Chocolate Museum,) in Germany with its working mini-chocolate factory and exhibition; and the Chocolate Museum in Barcelona.
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