Lactopôle, the one-of-a-kind museum of milk!
Lactopôle, museum of milk - Must-visits - Laval
Discover how a Camembert is made, explore an old-fashioned dairy rebuilt to full-scale, take a look at an amazing collection of objects... Set over 5,000 square metres, Lactopôle is a museum like no other.
In a 1950s dairy
An army of scrap-metal milk churns, a 1930s Citroën van and an old refrigerated lorry all before your very eyes... Back to the future of this 1948 dairy rebuilt to full-scale, in the same place where the adventure of the Laval-based Lactalis – the company behind the Lactopôle museum – began. Next to the loading bay, visitors can see the milk processing area and the original churns and mixers used to make butter, as well as rooms for Camembert shaping, salting, maturing and packaging, to name a few.
The story of milk told through a collection of objects
A journey through time serves to whet the palate, at the end of which visitors climb a few stairs to discover another world, magnificently recreated. Rooms bathed in soft blue light and filled with illuminated displays retrace the evolution of the dairy industry throughout the 20th century. The different spaces reveal amazing relics, such as this cart once pulled by dogs, this impressive collection of glass bottles, and these separators, presses and cheese moulds.
A cheese tasting to round off the tour!
Next, head upstairs to retrace the extraordinary adventure of Lactalis. This family business which, in 1933, only produced 17 Camemberts a day, has now become a multinational with a presence on five continents. A special mention goes to the amazing collections of packaging, cheese labels and vintage advertising posters. You will then enjoy a well-deserved cheese tasting to mark this gourmet escape, in the temporary exhibition room, which also has a few delightful surprises in store...
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