From hearty deep-dish pizza in Chicago to award-winning farm-to-table fare in Napa Valley, destinations across the country attract visitors with their world-renowned dishes and cuisines. To help you sample the best of the best while on vacation, we’ve compiled a list of the best food tours in some of the most iconic culinary cities in the U.S.
Savannah Taste Experience — First Squares Food Tour: Savannah, Georgia
Price: From $87 per person
Duration: 3 hours
Savannah embodies Southern charm in everything from its oak tree-lined streets to its top-notch cuisine. For an overview of the city’s Southern specialties, sign up for Savannah Taste Experience’s First Squares Food Tour. Available daily, the tour gives Savannah visitors the chance to try local staples like shrimp and grits — plus a few surprising finds, such as British meat pies and pork belly doughnut sliders. This walking tour includes tastings at five eateries and shops; it’s limited to 14 guests.
The tour receives high marks from past visitors, who say the experience combines the right amount of history, local culture and food.
Sonoma Food Tour — Walking Food, Wine & History Tour: Sonoma, California
Price: From $159 per person
Duration: 3 hours
Though often overshadowed by Napa Valley, Sonoma County‘s culinary scene is just as impressive thanks to its plethora of specialty food stores, farm-to-table eateries and tasting rooms. To help you navigate the town’s epicurean landscape, opt for a guided walk with a Sonoma Food Tour local expert. The Walking Food, Wine & History Tour combines regional history, architecture and culture with food and wine tastings that include local cheeses, olive oil and chocolates.
Recent guests call this tour a lot of fun, with some noting it was the highlight of their Sonoma trip. They also enjoyed meeting and imbibing with other travelers.
Tours are available Thursday to Saturday at 11 a.m.
[Related:8 Best Napa Valley Wine Tours: Train, Trolley & More]
Secret Food Tours — Downtown Austin: Austin, Texas
Price: Adults from $90; kids from $80
Duration: 3 to 3.5 hours
Foodies flock to Austin to taste its delectable barbecue and Tex-Mex dishes (though the city’s culinary scene extends far beyond these two mainstays). If you’re craving the classics, join the downtown Austin excursion offered by Secret Food Tours. This tasting journey includes a sampling of barbeque brisket, breakfast tacos, Reuben sliders, pinto beans and more. As is tradition with Secret Food Tours, a surprise dish is also included on the tour. To enhance your experience, add a drink package for a local craft beer, sangria swirl and espresso martini tasting.
Recent tourgoers highly recommend this tour, noting that in addition to the delicious food, they also appreciated the local history shared at each eatery. Another version of this tour explores the quirky neighborhood of South Congress. Both tours are limited to 12 people at a time.
Music City Bites and Sites — Taste of Nashville Food & Sightseeing Tour: Nashville, Tennessee
Price: From $115 per person
Duration: 3 hours
From regional classics like Nashville hot chicken to Mexican street tacos, this city’s eateries serve many dishes worth traveling for. To help you discover Music City’s culinary gems, recent travelers suggest adding a Music City Bites and Sites tour to your itinerary. This outing includes five stops with samplings of local favorites including Southern barbeque and bushwhacker cocktails. During the tour, you’ll also pass by (and learn about) Nashville landmarks such as Centennial Park.
Participants must be at least 14 years old to join the tour and 21 to drink. Tours depart at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily.
Forktown Food Tours — Downtown Portland Tour: Portland, Oregon
Price: From $115 per person
Duration: 2 to 2.5 hours
One of the best things to do in Portland is sample the food. The city is known for its innovative culinary scene, which includes farmers markets, James Beard Award-winning chefs and restaurants, and 500-plus food trucks and carts.
Multiple operators offer food tours in Portland, but Forktown Food Tours is especially popular with visitors. Its Downtown Portland Tour, in particular, earns rave reviews for the pace of the excursion, the passionate guides and restauranteurs, and of course, the food. The small-group walking tour accommodates four to eight guests and covers four stops, which might include a chocolate tasting, Thai dish or pork meatball banh mi. Forktown Food Tours also offers culinary tours on Mississippi Avenue and Division Street (two cultural hot spots), as well as a truffle hunt.
Eat Seattle — Chef-Guided Food Tour in Pike Place Market: Seattle
Price: From $60 per person
Duration: 2 hours
Perhaps the best way to experience Seattle‘s famous Pike Place Market and the city’s incredible food scene is with a guided food tour. Eat Seattle offers the small-group Chef-Guided Food Tour in Pike Place Market, featuring tastings of Beecher’s “world’s best” mac and cheese, clam chowder, chocolate and more. Previous tourgoers say both the foods and tour guides are fantastic. After the tour, patrons receive a 10% discount for all of the tour company’s vendor partners within the market.
Charleston Culinary Tours — Downtown Charleston Culinary Tour: Charleston, South Carolina
Price: From $95 per person
Duration: 2.5 hours
Whether you’re interested in an overview of Charleston‘s Lowcountry cuisine or a behind-the-scenes look at some of its eateries, Charleston Culinary Tours has you covered. The Downtown Charleston Culinary Tour includes tastings at four restaurants. Previous patrons highly recommend this outing, noting that not only will you enjoy the food, but you’ll also learn a lot about the local history and culture. Tours are available multiple times daily.
Note that because Charleston has many cobblestone streets, comfortable shoes are a must for this walking tour.
Melting Pot Food Tours — Original Farmers Market Food and History Tour: Los Angeles
Price: Adults from $95; kids from $55
Duration: 2.5 hours
One of the best things to do in Los Angeles is eat your way through the Original Farmers Market — or, better yet, take a guided tour to sample all the best foods. On the Original Farmers Market Food and History Tour offered by Melting Pot Food Tours, guests enjoy nine tastings of doughnuts, pizza, ice cream and more. This walking tour comes highly recommended by recent travelers, who note it requires a little less walking than traditional food tours. Tours are offered at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday through Sunday.
Melting Pot Food Tours also offers other food tours, including one through Old Pasadena and another focused on the Latin flavors of East Los Angeles.
Ahoy New York Tours & Tasting — Chinatown and Little Italy Food Fest: New York City
Price: From $105 per person
Duration: 3 hours
The best food tour in New York City, this guided excursion takes hungry travelers to eight different locations in Chinatown and Little Italy. Tastings — which include both seated and on-the-go samplings — include a popular Chinese pastry with green tea, authentic Chinese dumplings, pasta with marinara sauce, Italian cheeses and olives, and more. The walking tour covers about a half-mile total and is available multiple times daily. Recent reviewers praise the guides for their knowledge and friendliness, and of course, they also rave about the food.
Chicago Food & City Tours — Yes, Chef! Chicago: A Bear-Inspired Food Tour: Chicago
Price: From $129 per person
Duration: 3.5 hours
Yes, there’s a “The Bear”-themed food tour in Chicago, and it’s offered exclusively by Chicago Food & City Tours. On this bus tour, you’ll stop to eat at the Italian beef shop that inspired the show’s restaurant; taste foods in Logan Square, River North and the West Loop; hear fun stories from behind the scenes of the award-winning show; and more. The tour concludes with a hot fudge sundae at Margie’s Candies, a legendary spot in Chicago. Recent tourgoers say this tour is a must for both fans of the show and anyone who is interested in the local food scene.
The tour is offered at 11 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
[Read: The 12 Best Movie and TV Tours Around the World]
Destination Kitchen — New Orleans Food Walking Tour of the French Quarter: New Orleans
Price: From $76 per person
Duration: 3 hours
If jambalaya, gumbo and beignets are on your list of foods to eat in New Orleans, consider a guided tour with Destination Kitchen. The New Orleans Food Walking Tour of the French Quarter includes six to seven tastings of local favorites, and past visitors say one of the highlights is not having to wait in long lines at iconic spots in the French Quarter. They also appreciated how knowledgeable and helpful the guides are.
This tour is offered multiple times daily.
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11 Delicious Food Tours Across the U.S. originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 04/15/25: This article was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
