Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The Ravne tunnels.
Ravne Tunnels
Colors and volumes in the patio.
Monterrey’s Contemporary Art Museum (MARCO)
Inside Wonderwerk Caves, underground caves and excavation, Kuruman, Northern Cape
Wonderwerk Cave
The ‘Old Secretariat’ government building in New Delhi.
The 'Old Secretariat'
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Burros Alfa and Beto, seen here with Luis Soriano in 2008, have been helping the teacher deliver books for more than 20 years.
How One Man and His ‘Biblioburro’ Spreads Literacy in Rural Colombia
about 1 hour ago
Price Tower
What Happened to Price Tower, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Only Skyscraper?
1 day ago
Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon in its new location in 2020
The Jeremy Bentham Auto-Icon: Why This Legendary Philosopher Put His Own Body on Display
2 days ago
The truth is out there—somewhere.
The Truth Is Out There at the Dreamland Resort (or Should We Say ‘Area 51?’)
4 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Switzerland Vevey La Fourchette (The Fork)
Gastro Obscura

La Fourchette (The Fork)

At 929 pounds and 26 feet tall, this stainless steel fork can only be used by the likes of King Kong.

Vevey, Switzerland

Added By
ahvenas
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
It weighs 929 pounds and is 26 feet tall.   ahvenas / Atlas Obscura User
It weighs 929 pounds and is 26 feet tall.   ahvenas / Atlas Obscura User
The giant fork was originally installed in 1995.   ahvenas / Atlas Obscura User
It faces the Alimentarium.   Hank Bekker/CC BY-SA 2.0
It is in the town of Vevey, and is embedded in Lake Geneva.   ahvenas / Atlas Obscura User
8/28/2024   mmwoodrufff / Atlas Obscura User
Fork-in Vevey   straycatd / Atlas Obscura User
At the Fourchette   ingerdickson / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

What the Little Mermaid statue is to Copenhagen, a giant stainless steel fork is to Vevey, a lakeside town in Switzerland. While the bronze lady looks out at the sea waiting for her prince, the La Fourchette faces passersby, as if waiting for someone to pull it out of the waters of Lake Geneva where it has been embedded since 2007. 

This would be a superhuman feat, as the fork weighs a monumental 929 pounds and stands tall at 26 feet and 2.4 inches. It was declared the world’s tallest fork in 2014, and has become a town symbol. 

But how did a giant fork come to be lodged in the lake? The bizarre installation was originally created in 1995 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Alimentarium, a food-themed museum in the town. The giant utensil was designed by sculptor Jean-Pierre Zaugg and was instant hit among the townspeople and tourists. 

Despite efforts to make it a permanent feature, in 1996 it was shipped off to a garden in Littau, Lucerne, and only made it back to Vevey in 2007 for an exhibition on cutlery. This time, a stronger push was made by the town council to retain it permanently as part of the lake’s landscape and they succeeded. So there it stands, facing away from the picturesque lake framed by mountains and looking at the food museum that brought it to life.

Related Tags

Lakes Statues Art Installations World's Tallest Food Food Museums Museums Water

Community Contributors

Added By

ahvenas

Edited By

Kavya Ram Mohan, ingerdickson, straycatd, mmwoodrufff

  • Kavya Ram Mohan
  • ingerdickson
  • straycatd
  • mmwoodrufff

Published

May 11, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://alimentarium.org/en/fork
  • https://www.alimentarium.org/en/magazine/museum/world%E2%80%99s-biggest-fork-front-alimentarium
  • https://exxtracts.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/that-great-big-fork-of-vevey-switzerland/
La Fourchette (The Fork)
31 Quai Perdonnet
Vevey
Switzerland
46.457705, 6.846099
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Swiss Museum of Games

Lac Léman, Switzerland

miles away

Freddie Mercury Statue

Montreux, Switzerland

miles away

Mountain Studios

Montreux, Switzerland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Switzerland

Switzerland

Europe

Places 173
Stories 21

Nearby Places

Swiss Museum of Games

Lac Léman, Switzerland

miles away

Freddie Mercury Statue

Montreux, Switzerland

miles away

Mountain Studios

Montreux, Switzerland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Switzerland

Switzerland

Europe

Places 173
Stories 21

Related Places

  • Scrap metal sculpture

    Listvyanka, Russia

    Museum Retro Park

    A tiny park off the beaten path covered in ingenious scrap metal sculptures.

  • One of the “islands” in Lake Ballard as a backdrop to one of the figures

    Ularring, Australia

    Inside Australia

    A series of eerie metal stick figures are spread out over four square miles on the bed of a huge salt lake in the Australian Outback.

  • Statue of Captain Cook inside The Lighthouse: Tū Whenua-a-Kura

    Auckland, New Zealand

    'The Lighthouse: Tū Whenua-a-Kura'

    A neon-illuminated statue of James Cook at the edge of a historical Auckland wharf makes for an unexpected discovery.

  • A bronze statue of “Grandma Olga,” an important Dena’ina matriarch, near Ship Creek

    Anchorage, Alaska

    Grandma Olga Statue

    Pay homage to a preeminent matriarch, and the native Dena’ina people, at this sculpture installation in Anchorage.

  • Guidarello Guidarelli Funeral Monument

    Ravenna, Italy

    Guidarello Guidarelli Funeral Monument

    Legend has it that any woman who kissed this statue would soon be married.

  • The Lake Michigan crucifix under water and ice.

    Petoskey, Michigan

    Lake Michigan Crucifix

    Winter weather reveals a large Italian marble crucifix drowned beneath Lake Michigan.

  • “The Large Glass” on display at the museum.

    Tokyo, Japan

    Replica of Duchamp's 'The Large Glass'

    One of three official copies of Marcel Duchamp's enigmatic masterpiece is on display in an obscure Tokyo museum.

  • Virgen de El Panecillo.

    Quito, Ecuador

    Virgen de El Panecillo

    The world's tallest aluminum statue is also the world's tallest image of a winged Virgin Mary.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.