La Maison du Gruyère is a working cheese dairy and visitor centre at the foot of the hill below medieval Gruyères, right next to the railway station. The main draw is the glass viewing gallery where you can watch the cheesemakers work, a process that hasn't changed much in its essentials despite the modern facilities: the great copper vats, the cutting of the curd, the pressing of the wheels. Short videos explain the production process in multiple languages.
The shop sells cheese at various ages — from fresh mild wheels to nutty, crystalline versions aged two years or more — along with other regional products. This is genuinely the best place to buy Gruyère cheese to take home. The tasting room lets you compare different ages side by side, which is the quickest education in why the maturation time matters so much.