America's ultimate cheese destinations

Pilgrimage here to choose from more than 300 cheeses from Italy and America. A cheesemonger can help you decide.

A New York City institution, Murray's Cheese opened in Greenwich Village in 1940.

Murray's offers hundreds of specialty cheeses sourced from around the world. The store also offers specialty goods, beverages and classes upstairs.

Classes are offered upstairs, from Wine & Cheese 101 to Mozzarella Making.

Murray's opened a cheese bar and restaurant in 2012 just three doors down from its shop. Customize a cheese board, pair with a beverage and dine on full meals inside.

Murray's also has a stall at Grand Central Market for visitors passing through.

New York's newest cheese sensation is the French Cheese Board store in Soho.

Self-proclaimed a studio and lab, the immaculate shop feels like a museum with diagrams and infographics on how to cut cheese, French cheese regions, dairy cows and more opportunities to completely nerd out.

Of course in this museum, you can touch the cheese. A (beautiful) rotating selection is available for purchase.

Tastings, cooking lessons and more interactive activities will take place in the lab in the back of the store.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese opened in 2003 in Seattle's famous Pike Place Market and has become a local landmark.

Visitors can watch the cheese being made from windows in the store.

Beecher's offers more than a dozen varieties of its cheese in its stores and online. Visitors can taste cheese and purchase curds and cheesemaking kits in the shops as well.

Beecher's opened a cafe and restaurant in New York City near Union Square in 2011.

Visitors can also view production here.

In Madison, Wis., Fromagination offers more than 100 cheeses sourced locally throughout Dairyland. (You can order online, too.)

In New York's Little Italy, Di Palo's Fine Foods offers the city's largest selection of Grana Padano cheese, Italy's most popular.

Philadelphia specialty food store, DiBruno Bros., opened in the Italian Market (also called 9th Street) in 1939. More than 100 cheeses are offered, including truffle and fondue.

Across Central Park from New York's famous Zabar's, Eli's Market (named after Eli Zabar) offers carefully curated European and American cheeses. Cheese carts are prepared for the sister restaurant and wine bar (Eli’s Table and Eli’s Wine Bar 91) each night with wine pairings in mind.

New York's newest French mecca, Le District, hosts a formagerie in its market district with imported cheeses to peruse and platters for purchase.

Le District visitors can dine in with a cheese plate in the market.

In Boulder, Colo., Cured offers dozens of cheeses in its shop that includes gourmet goods, charcuterie and wine.

In San Diego, The Patio on Goldfinch hosts its own cheese cave, which guests can explore. Choose three to five cheeses for a tasting, or customize a meat and cheese board.

New York City's Bedford Cheese Shop started in Brooklyn in 2003 and expanded into Manhattan in 2012. Both stores offer a jaw dropping selection of cheeses from around the world.

New York City's Bedford Cheese Shop offers classes (often with pairings) at its Irving Place location.

San Diego's Venissimo Cheese has a shop at Liberty Public Market with about 80 cheeses from around the world.

In Austin, Texas, Antonelli's Cheese Shop offers a wide selection of cheese at its shop, classes at a cheese house across the street, and a menu of cheese items in Fareground food hall.

In Tampa, Haven stores more than 50 cheeses in its cave visible from the dining room. Guests can choose cheeses a la carte from the menu or go big with the chef's selection of 18.

In D.C., Lupo Verde offers more than 50 cheeses from Italy, which are stored with cured meats.

At the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, Patina Restaurant offers a slew of international cheeses from its cart. Guests can choose three to five for a tasting.

At Marais in Grosse Pointe, Mich. (a Detroit suburb), guests can choose three cheeses from a cart serving tableside. Many are imported from Europe, and the selection rotates seasonally.

At the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego, Addison offers tableside cheese service with selections from Soyoung Scanlon of Andante Dairy in Petaluma, Calif. Scanlon ages cheese from France and makes her own with milk from her goats.

CUT Beverly Hills offers about 10 domestic cheeses on a rotating menu. Guests can choose three or five to taste with pairings at the bar.

CUT by Wolfgang Puck's New York City location delivers cheese tableside with this cart of indulgent offerings.

In Portland, Ore., Urban Farmer Steakhouse rolls a cheese cart around the dining room nightly. Local and European cheeses are accompanied by accoutrements from the restaurant's rooftop garden and apiary.

At New York City's prominent restaurant Daniel, head fromager Pacal Vittu prepares the cheese cart with 25-30 selections from around the world. Cheese plates feature seasonal condiments as well.

In Austin, Texas, Jeffrey's rolls up a cheese cart after dinner. The selection is presented with black peppered nuts, local honey and fresh baguette slices, plus optional bottles of sherry and port.

Opened in 1938, Wisconsin Cheese Mart offers the state's largest selection of local cheese (more than 150 varieties). Order online or pair a tasting with beer at the Milwaukee shop's Über Tap Room.

In LA, Crossroads extends its plant-based menu to cheese with a tasting of all artisanal almond milk-based cheeses from Kite Hill.

Chef Tal Ronnen creates larger cheese spreads for groups.

In Cincinnati, Orchids at Palm Court's chef Todd Kelly grows his own cheese from Ohio goats' milk.

The Valencay-style ash rubbed molded cheese develops in a walk-in cooler and is served in a cheese course.

In Brooklyn, Italian restaurant, Barano has a mozzarella bar chef/partner Albert Di Meglio selects a salted, smoked and stracciatella variety to order. An Antipasto Tasting choice of mozz, salume and verdure is also available.

At Blue Duck Tavern in D.C., a nightly selection of cheese is sold by the ounce in the lounge.

In Norfolk, Va., The Birch specializes in beer and cheese. Choose from more than 20 cheeses to create a cheese board or the menu of more than 10 signature grilled cheeses.

In Jersey City, N.J., Third & Vine specializes in wine and cheese. Fromagers curate a rotating selection of at least 30 cheeses, and five hot cheese sandwiches are available. The staff will guide you to the perfect cheese plate and pairing.

In New York City, no frills East Village Cheese offers selections from around the world detailed on white sheets of paper in colored marker in the window. The neighborhood landmark moved from 2nd Ave. to 7th St. (between 1st and 2nd Avenues) last year.

In Los Angeles' Grand Central Market, DTLA Cheese is a full-service monger offerings handmade and traditional cheese.