Italy has long been known as the land of romance, good food, and rolling vineyards. The true birthplace of satisfying and hearty cuisine that fills up the stomach and the soul, Italy has become more famous for its food than almost any other part of the historic and beautiful country. Originating such classics as pasta, pizza, bottarga, polenta, risotto, and more, every part of Italian cuisine is designed to tempt and tantalize with every bite. With so much culinary history, you might be wondering if it’s even possible to experience it all! Some of the best Italy food tours address that question by taking you through a guided tour of all the best parts of Italian food in the locations of their birthplace, traveling through many different food and wine tours of Italy to ensure you experience the richness of every part of its cuisine.
The luscious vineyards of Italy are dripping with plant goodness that’s present in every dish. Wine tasting holidays in Italy are equally popular and allow you to tour this world famous wine location, but you can also plan a complementary culinary holidays Italy won’t let you forget anytime soon. With so many wonderful options for food vacations in Italy, it can be hard to know where to start. Luckily for you, we’ve reviewed and prepared some of the best food tours in Italy so you know exactly what to book to help yourself discover the best Italy food tours have to offer and experience the many joys of Italian cuisine.
Best Italy Culinary Tours To Tantalize Your Senses
Italy Real Food Adventure by Intrepid Travel
Uncover the secrets of delicious Italian cuisine while traveling across the northern and central Italian landscape from Venice to Rome, two of the most popular destinations included in the best Italy tours. Visit regional locations and take in seasonal and fresh ingredients for a delicious and authentic tasting food tour that’s inspired by days of the year. Your tour won’t just be limited to pizza and pasta- you’ll get to enjoy every part of Italy’s classic food traditions here thanks to the unforgettable restaurants and dining experience with your experienced guides.
Your guided tour travels from Venice to Rome, with pit stops in San Gimignano and Bologna (and a loop around Modena). You’ll experience four incredible staple cuisines in the Italian culinary landscape: Rome, Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, and the Veneto, and get to taste fresh ingredients at farmstays that let you watch fresh wine and olive production as well as original balsamic vinegar handcrafted by local chefs. Take hands on cooking classes, roll your own pasta, and prepare authentic meals guided by trained chefs in the heart of Italy for the perfect Italy food tour package.
Northern Italy Gourmet Experience – 8 Days by Click Tours
Known for its fine delicacies and luscious landscapes, with this Northern Italy tour, you will find a region that is a gastronomic heaven overflowing with tantalizing flavors and delicious meals and traditions. The Northern regions of Italy are known for such famous foods as their Bolognese pasta, Parmigiano Reggiano, Barolo wine, and even their delicious and worldwide famous truffles. Your delicious tour will take you through many historic parts of Italy’s culinary culture, including Bologna, Turin, and Pavia. You’ll tour the rolling foods where your food comes from, craft some meals yourself, and visit with your guide some of the most historic and delectable restaurants Italy has ever known.
You’ll begin in Bologna, the enogastronomic capital of Europe, before heading to Modena to sample fine Balsamic vinegar and learn about the history of the famed Ferrari car. Next, you’ll dive into the history and culture surrounding Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and learn about the region’s equally famous Parma ham. In Barolo, you’ll tour the fields your food is harvested from and learn more about the rich truffle traditions that surround Italy- you’ll even get to hunt truffles yourself with a local truffle guide dog! End in Turin touring castles and local small villages and sipping on delicious wines and other fine delicacies, having filled to the brim on the best things Northern Italy has to offer.
Culinary Paradise in Italy
This week-long vacation in the heart of Italy is designed to offer you unique and unforgettable experiences you won’t find anywhere else. This tour connects you with local Italians in an authentic and genuine way, helping you to live among the townspeople, meet local artisans and crafts, and learn about the true faces of Italy’s culinary history. At night, you’ll return to your accommodations for the week, a privately-owned 15th-century palazzo that’s been restored to a stunningly noble decor with Italian gardens and stunning views enjoyed from your room with breakfast.
Your tour takes you to several key locations in Italy, including Rome and Spoleto. Hunt truffles with a real-life truffle hunter and visit a local farm that makes fresh Ricotta cheese every day. Cook in a family-owned and operated Italian restaurant to learn from the pros before visiting the area’s oldest winery. Sneak away for sightseeing in Rome and Spoleto and connect with your guide to hidden local hangouts that are full of the flavor and culture of your surroundings. With Culinary Paradise, you’ll be sampling all the best flavors of Italy in an authentic and genuine experience.
Best of Tuscany Wine Trails – 8 Days by Click Tours
Designed to offer the best of the best in terms of Italian wine tour packages, the Best of Tuscany Wine trails allow you to soak up all the best wine and alcohol craftings of the Tuscan wine scene on a simple eight-day experience that’s luxurious and culinarily satisfying. Your stay includes accommodation and an expert guide as well as meals and transport from location to location. Your first day begins in Florence, where you soak in the classic food and wine of Florence and Italian culture. Travel next to Chianti Classico to experience traditional and classic wines before trailing the footsteps of Antinori to explore the history of winemaking there.
You’ll also spend an entire day with winemakers in Montepulciano, soaking in the natural order of winemaking and learning local secrets and traditions along with great wine. Taste many different delicious wines alongside traditional Tuscan light lunches or fares and walk along the sloping landscapes to admire the greenery draped hills. Next, visit the Val D’Orcia and the river along the provinces of Siena, Grosseto, southern Tuscany, and Maremma, visiting historical sites and of course drinking delicious Tuscan wines before returning home sated and full of culture, culinary delights, and good wine.
South Italy Real Food Adventure by Intrepid Travel
Take your travel to the next step by exploring the southern regions of Italy as the center of the new and hopping Italian culinary scene. Puglia, Basilicata, and Campania are full of deliciously packed and traditional flavors and dishes all steeped in local culture and history. Book this South Italy tour to explore the breathtaking city of Bari and wander through the cave city of Matera, all while learning how to cook with local families, sampling homemade olive oils and wines, and taste freshly made mozzarella cheese on pizza in its natural birthplace, Naples.
The eight-day odyssey of meals takes you through some incredible local and larger culinary areas and combines tasting and fine dining with local masterclasses and cooking classes taught by locals with experience, heritage, and handcrafted products. Travel across the country from Rome to Bari and Matera to Naples to enjoy plenty of food and drink from all manner of local and public restaurants. If you’re looking for contemporary dishes and delicious meals, this is definitely the perfect tour to book as one of the best food tours in Italy.
Wine Trails of Cinque Terre & Piedmont – 6 Days by Click Tours
Cross through the trails of Italy and its luxurious wine locations to soak in some of the best wine on this side of paradise. Your six-day tour is a lavish wine-tasting experience that takes them through some of the richest wine regions Italy has to offer, including Cinque Terre, Portovenere, and more. Complete with an expert guide who’s well versed in both wine history and local history, this tour allows for the perfect combination of local history and delicious wine tasting as well as traveling through many highlights of Italian travel.
Your tour begins in the Cinque Terre. Spend a day and night there before traveling to Portovenere, Manarola, Riomaggiore, Corniglia, Vernazza, & Monterosso, all surrounded by lush nature and pristine waters. Soak in vineyards, olive groves, citrus orchards, and connect with both nature and mankind in this incredible vintner’s experience. You’ll also visit Barolo, Portofino, Santa Margherita, Italian Riviera, Barolo, Vergne, LaMorra, and more, ending your trip in Milan with the city’s contemporary wine regions. Lavish, richly taught and filled with perfect wine, you’ll love your time in Cinque Terre with this guided tour.
Italian Espresso Foodie by Contiki
This express foodie tour bounces you across Italy in ten days, traveling through all the greatest hits of Italy and experiencing historic meals, cities, and culture in one simple tour. Your accommodation, expert guide, meals, transport, and more are all included in your purchase price, making it a fully inclusive express experience that powers you through an entire civilization’s culinary history in just ten days. Your tour both begins and ends in Rome, completing a full circle experience that leaves you a more informed traveler and diner with a new appreciation for Italian cuisine.
Your tour will take you through many famous locations in Italy, including Rome, Florence, Siena, Cinque Terre, Lucca, Milan, Lake Como, Venice, Bologna, and Verona, all historic locales with plenty of individual history and culinary additions to add as well. Each day introduces you to a new culinary staple and more delicious food and drink to sample. Highlights of the tour include Venice, Verona, Milan, and Florence, all staples of the Italian culinary scene in a few different ways as well as boasting cultural significance within the country of Rome. For an express trip, you’ll get the perfect crash course in all the best parts of Italian cuisine.
Small Group Sicily Food & Wine Tour By Sicily Activities
Travel your way with Sicily Activities on this personalized small group Sicily tour that takes you through all the best parts of Sicily’s food and wine experience on your time table and preferences. Begin in the historic location of Catania and travel for eight days through six historic locations in Italy. End in Palermo, city of pizza, pasta, and wine, and depart from there for your next travel destination! Your tour includes accommodation and meals as well as transport with your expert guide who’s well trained in local cultural and culinary traditions.
Your tour will take you through many different local, family-oriented traditions and culinary routines as well as larger cities’ restaurants and meals. Visit the countryside of Etna and taste the best of their food and wine, and learn to cook yourself in Taormina alongside the Family Trattoria. Take a walking tour through Noto and enjoy fresh seafood at lunch before heading to Syracuse for a light lunch and winery tour. End on the streets of Palermo for an authentic Italian experience that will leave you craving more Italy culinary vacations
Gourmet Journey of Emilia Romagna – 7 Days by Click Tours
This straight shot through the enogastronomic capital of Europe takes you through the rich wine and food traditions of the Emilia Romagna region- considered by many to be the highlight of Italian culinary culture. Your seven-day tour package takes you through many significant Italian locales as well as exposing you to traditional and contemporary dishes and meals thanks to the efforts of local guides and experts who walk you through meals, transport, and more. Your tour will study not only significant regions of Italy but also significant foods.
Begin with one day in Bologna before traveling to Faenza to taste the Lambrusco wine and Byzantine in Ravenna. Next, travel to Modena to test out their Balsamic Vinegar and visit the acclaimed Ferrari Museum. Stop over in Parma to experience first hand the culture of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and parma ham (more staples of the Emilia Romagna region) and visit an Italian castle, the Torrechiara castle, before heading to the Romanesque Cathedral and Corale Verdi to finish your trip. Packed with delicious food and historic sightseeing, you’ll love every part of this seven-day food vacation in Italy.
Taste of Salento – Authentic Culinary Experience by Soleto Travel
Experience Italian cuisine personally with this private tour that exposes you to local cuisines, local cooking styles, and historical local sightseeing stops all in one simple trip. Start and End in Brindisi for a circular experience that takes you through eight high-quality destinations in Italy that are off the beaten path but still packed with gastronomic history. Enjoy the authentic Salento culinary experience by sipping on local wines and pastas as well as training with local chefs to make your own.
Follow along with a local expert to learn the art of olive oil production before visiting Castro and the prehistoric cave of Zinzulusa. Learn how to make your own pasta with guidance from trained professionals and complement your meal with local wines and delicious blends from nearby vineyards. Cross from Castro, Gallipoli, Lecce, Maglie, and more, ending again in Brindisi for easy travel in and out of your tour.
Conclusion
Booking a food or wine tour is one of the best decisions you can make for yourself when making travel plans. Food and wine tours provide incredible benefits to your local holiday that turn an average trip into the vacation of a lifetime. Booking a guided package makes your travel plans incredibly simple. If you are traveling independently, you can also opt for a day tour like one of these food tours of Florence.
Rely on the experience of your booking company to organize and manage the minute travel planning details and transportation, leaning back and relaxing while they coordinate your arrival. Your stress levels will decrease drastically with an expert guide in charge who knows the area. The second benefit to booking a pre-paid Italy food tour is that expert guides can add local life and flavor to the sightseeing experience by sharing their knowledge and learned experiences of the area to your tour. Hear a local’s opinion and the colorful and authentic Italian experience as you travel with a local guide in charge, as well as one who can help you connect with locals in the communities you’re touring and visiting.
The best part of booking prepared expert tours is that you can soak in Italian experiences for a far better price with prepackaged tours that minimize spending on the go and package everything neatly into an all-access, all-inclusive package. Accommodations, travel, and meals are all paid for ahead of time, making it easy to budget for your trip and keep a tighter budget while you’re actually traveling. Whatever your reason for booking a food and wine vacation, Italy continues to offer some of the best food tours in the world, making them an ideal destination for your next food holiday.
