Making a “to-do” list can be a great time-saver whenever you decide to go on a trip. And it pays to consider activities which come highly recommended by those who have travelled around the globe, and discovered locations that are bound to enhance any journey abroad.
Travel “to-do” lists are typically filled with museums, landmarks and architectural sights that are sure to make your trip worthwhile. However, recent studies show that not only do travellers plan their trips around famous sights, they’re also basing their itineraries around the tastes and smells of some of the best culinary experiences in the world.
When travelling to Europe, for example, it is a good idea to consider which cities are best suited for foodies – a topic which we will cover in this article.
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Paris
Paris has a reputation as one of the world’s greatest cities, particularly when it comes to pastry. Parisian croissants are world-famous but, while boulangeries can be found on just about every street corner in the city, they can often be underwhelming tourist traps.
Therefore, a little bit of investigation is required in order to organize our trip to Paris by food tours. Experts recommend starting in the picturesque and historic Le Marais neighborhood. During Le Marais food tour in Paris, you will get to sample some of the best food you’ll ever taste, while sightseeing among a wide range of iconic buildings and architecture.
For lunch, we recommend visiting Caractère de Cochon to try out authentic Parisian fast food, including the best Jambon-Beurre (ham and butter) sandwich in town. Visitors in Le Marais can also discover an amazing variety of croissants and pains au chocolat, while sampling delicious French cheese and wine.
Sevilla
Sevilla is a beautiful city in southern Spain, where travellers can find the best tapas – as it’s known locally – in the world. Tapas is a traditional appetizer in Spanish cuisine – a selection of small plates which can be eaten cold, like cheese and olives, or hot, like baby squid or patatas bravas. Sevilla is home to many excellent tapas establishments, as well as many expensive and disappointing venues, so prior investigation is essential.
One particular place which experts recommend paying a visit to is Casa Morales. The venue was founded in 1985 and is said to be the second-oldest operational bar in the city today. This is a great place to have a hearty, albeit unconventional breakfast, consisting of the finest jerez, a fine manchego cheese, and tapas such as bacalao and montadito. For lunch or dinner, head to Bodeguita Romero, which serves all the most famous and traditional Sevillian dishes in tapas form.
Rome
Another essential destination for food-lovers is Rome, a beautiful city which is widely acknowledged as home to the best pasta and pizza in the world. The first place you should visit is the Trastevere neighborhood, where you will find a kind of food only served in Italy, known as La medina. This is a kind of street food, consisting of triangular white bread filled with delicious ingredients – cheap, quick, and perfect for any Roman’s lunch break. Trapizzino, a mixture of tramezzino and pizza, is another great, unexpensive fast food option. And the food tour of Rome doesn’t end there. When it comes to pasta, you shouldn’t miss out on the city’s famous carbonara. Indeed, there are entire city tours for food in Rome dedicated to seeking out the best carbonara in the city and, by extension, the country. And finally, no night in Rome would be totally complete without Italian gelato for dessert.
Brussels
Brussels flies under the radar somewhat when it comes to gastronomic experiences, but the Belgian capital’s cuisine is fantastic and well worth trying should you decide to visit. Experts recommend trying out Belgian fries, which stand out from the rest by being fried twice until they are golden brown and very crispy. The best way to eat them is with a little bit of the condiment of your choosing, or together with a wide range of fried meat snacks.
That said, when it comes to food most people associate Belgium with chocolate, and rightly so – Brussels is home to some of the best chocolate and chocolate-based desserts in the world. The Queen’s Gallery, while a little expensive, is full of dedicated chocolate boutiques and should be the first port of call for all chocolate enthusiasts.
Amsterdam
French fries with mayonnaise should be top of the list for foodie travellers in Amsterdam as well. The Netherlands has a particular kind of obsession with this fast food, and every city has its own distinctive style of fried potatoes. What most of them have in common is that they are typically fresh, cut by hand, and very crispy. Amsterdam is full of trendy places to have brunch, an increasingly common phenomenon these days – just bear in mind that you may have to wait in line for a while, in order to get inside and start eating.
In this article we have briefly reviewed some of the best places in Europe for food lovers and food tours, as recommended by local experts. Make sure to do your research and plan ahead so that you can make the most of this fantastic journey!