Chocolats Blondel

Fantastic.
First of all, when you walk in, the place smells like heaven. I could have stood in there for hours just taking in all the smells. The staff don’t speak English very well, but they speak the language of chocolate, and that translates very well.
The chocolates themselves are insanely good. A wide variety of flavors and nothing is bad.
If I’m back in Lausanne I won’t hesitate to make a beeline for this place.

I’ve been stuffing my gullet with Blondel chocolates for the past three years, and I have never taken the time to write a review. What can I say? Highest-​quality, luscious, velvety chocolate made for getting up all in yo’ face. You will understand what voluptuous means after sampling from their many offerings in dark, milk, and white chocolate. Also they carry pates de fruits if you for some reason fancy those.
Not cheap, but you won’t remember how much you paid after finally getting one of their chocolates in your mouth.
And I am the reigning Queen of Blondel! Attempt to dethrone me! mwah ha ha ahahahaah

This is a required visit every time I’m in Lausanne. The chocolate covered orange slices are my jam. They have a long table of chocolate along the wall– I’ve never had any though because I can’t get down with uncovered food in public spaces. Germs!!! It tempts me though I won’t lie. Ridiculously expensive and so worth it.

Blondel, c’est d’abord une petite boutique, délicieusement désuète, avec son comptoir en bois et ses vendeuses en tablier.
Le temps n’ a visiblement pas prise sur ce haut-​lieu de la chocolaterie !
Mais qui songerait à s’en plaindre? les grands classiques de la maison né sauraient vieillir… Chocolat au marteau (des parfums à se damner ! mon coup de cœur = noir fleur de sel), pralines, truffes, oranges confites au chocolat, caramels, pâtes de fruits, autant de délices qui vous mettent l’eau à la bouche rien qu’en les regardant et qui ravissent votre palais, une fois passés vos lèvres !

This is a cute chocolate shop right next to Laduree, full of amazing chocolates and other sweets. It’s a little overwhelming, and (perhaps in the local style) no guidance or suggestions were forthcoming from the woman behind the counter. In any case, we pointed pretty randomly at a bunch of different chocolates and then ate them on a bench at the Place de la Riponne before museuming.
The chocolates are simple and elegant in appearance and ridiculously delicious. There’s nothing particularly avant garde or surprising about it, just really excellent flavors. I’d highly recommend these treats!

This is a very nice little shop with excellent chocolate. The young woman behind the counter was very helpful, was patient with my terrible French, and spoke English. After I chose my chocolates, she put them in a pretty gold bag since they were a gift.
The bag was not very good protection and two chocolates were smashed in my suitcase. Since I couldn’t give away damaged chocolates, I had to eat those.

As you reach the old centre of Lausanne, you are greeted by far too much choice in terms of shops. There’s Ladurée and its famous macaroons, the plush ‘supermarket’ Globus and almost a zillion shoe shops boasting Italian designers. If you catch this area on the right (or wrong, depending on what kind of person you are) day, you will also get to experience the market… Mangos, turkish delight, fruit pudding, cordial and home made jam are just a few of the options available.
This chocolate shop may not really stand out from the exterior, but it is potentially the best and at least the most famous chocolate shop in town, according to locals and David Leibniz. The chocolate here comes in all shapes, sizes and varieties. There’s dark chocolate with chocolate nibs, with almonds, orange, dried fruit, milk chocolate, white chocolate with dried strawberries, mixed nuts, and so many more flavours. These bars are rustic in appearance, roughly broken. When you buy them they will put them in a pretty bag though, which will make them more than presentable as a gift. There are also numerous truffles and chocolate dipped dried fruits available. I think the slabs represent better value, costing only a little more than the industrially made lindt and frey bars in the supermarket. You can also choose the quantity, which is good for someone on a budget.
I opted for the chili dark chocolate and dark chocolate with pistachios. I haven’t yet tried these or given them as a gift, hence why I am holding back a star, but I found the packaging, variety and look of the chocolate so appealing that I thought it warranted at least 4 stars…
The lady serving was very polite and helpful, asking how much I wanted to spend and carefully weighing 2 small slabs to check that it was less than 5 Swiss francs worth. I may be back to buy some of the white chocolate stuff as a present for my boyfriend.