Food and travel are intricately linked. While we need sustenance to survive, food also serves as one of the most authentic ways to experience local culture. As travelers increasingly seek immersive and experiential vacations, culinary tourism has exploded in popularity over the last decade.
Culinary travelers embark on vacations specifically to explore regional cuisines, attend food festivals and events, take cooking classes, go on food tours, visit markets and farms, and indulge in high-end dining experiences. This type of trip allows you to intimately connect with a destination through its flavors, traditions, ingredients, and stories.
So where exactly are discerning food-focused travelers going to feed their curiosity, palates, and passions? Let’s explore some of the top destinations for culinary vacations around the world.
UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) recognizes cities around the world that promote cultural and creative industries. As part of this initiative, the UCCN designates global hubs of gastronomy “to promote gastronomy as an integral part of local culture.”
Some of the leading UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy driving culinary tourism include:
- Oaxaca, Mexico: Famed for its complex mole sauces, diverse regional fare, and rich food traditions, Oaxaca offers cooking classes, Mezcal distillery tours, market visits, and street food tours.
- Parma, Italy: This Northern Italian city is renowned for its Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma ham. Visitors can tour cheese and ham factories, browse markets, and indulge in Emilia-Romagna’s legendary pasta and wines.
- Ensenada, Mexico: Baja California’s port city boasts a dynamic food scene showcasing Baja Med cuisine, combining Mexican, Mediterranean, and Asian influences with local seafood and produce. Visitors can take food tours, cooking classes, and visit wineries and olive oil farms.
- Belém, Brazil: Situated in the Amazon, Belém is considered Brazil’s culinary capital. Foodies flock here to try tacacá soup, manioc dishes, fresh Amazonian fish, and cupuaçu fruit.
- Tsuruoka, Japan: Regarded as Japan’s leading rice producer, Tsuruoka offers sake brewery and soba-making workshops alongside foraging experiences in its mountainous surrounds.
World’s Best Restaurants
For culinary travelers seeking the ultimate fine dining experiences, the annual World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants lists serve as guides to some of the globe’s most exceptional restaurants.
While most of these restaurants are concentrated in global dining epicenters like New York, Paris, London, and Tokyo, standouts span the continents. Travelers venture to far-flung destinations purely to enjoy a meal at one of these celebrated establishments.
Some of the World’s Best 50 Restaurants located in alluring culinary destinations include:
- Central in Lima, Peru: Headed up by celebrity chef Virgilio Martínez, Central’s tasting menu creatively showcases Peru’s diverse ecosystems, ingredients, and cooking techniques.
- Disfrutar in Barcelona, Spain: The avant-garde Catalan cuisine of Disfrutar, run by alums of the famous elBulli restaurant, continually wows diners.
- Pujol in Mexico City, Mexico: Helmed by trailblazing chef Enrique Olvera, Pujol reinvented and elevated Mexican cuisine through contemporary takes on traditional dishes and ancient ingredients.
- Le Calandre in Rubano, Italy: Near Venice, Le Calandre and chef Massimiliano Alajmo have earned a reputation for exceptional modern Italian fare.
- SingleThread in Healdsburg, California: Situated in Sonoma County wine country, SingleThread centers around an 11-course Japanese kaiseki-inspired tasting menu showcasing local, seasonal ingredients.
Food Festivals and Events
From giant food fairs stretching over days or weeks to intimate gatherings celebrating hyper-local specialties, food festivals around the world entice travelers to different destinations.
Attending these singular events allows visitors to taste regional dishes and products while also experiencing local culture. Some can’t miss culinary festivals and events include:
- La Tomatina in Buñol, Spain: At this massive food fight held every August, participants pelt each other with over 150,000 pounds of ripe tomatoes in the streets of this Valencian town.
- Alba White Truffle Festival in Alba, Italy: Taking place for over 80 years each fall, this festival revolves around the coveted, aromatic white truffles harvested in the Piedmont region.
- Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California: Dubbed the “Garlic Capital of the World,” Gilroy hosts its beloved three-day Garlic Festival each summer, where everything from garlic ice cream to garlic fries can be sampled.
- Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland, Maine: As one of the state’s largest summer festivals, this weeklong event features 20,000 pounds of fresh cooked Maine lobster alongside other specialties like lobster rolls and blueberry pie.
- Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany: In addition to beer, this iconic 16-day Bavarian folk festival highlights traditional German foods like roast pork, pretzels, and weisswurst sausages.
Hands-On Culinary and Food Production Experiences
Many culinary travelers don’t just want to eat at restaurants on vacation. Instead, they want hands-on cooking experiences learning regional dishes and techniques directly from local chefs and food experts. Some also tour food production facilities to learn about ingredients and artisanal products.
Popular hands-on culinary and food production experiences across culinary destinations include:
- Thai cooking classes in Chiang Mai to master curries, noodles, and spicy stir fries.
- Pasta making workshops in Bologna or Tuscany to learn how to properly roll and cut pasta dough to make fresh tagliatelle, ravioli, and tortellini.
- Japanese sushi making lessons in Tokyo where students can master the intricate art of sushi rice, slicing techniques, and presentation.
- Craft chocolate making classes in Oaxaca to learn traditional Mexican stone grinding methods and how to temper and mold bean to bar chocolate.
- Wine blending sessions in Bordeaux vineyards, allowing visitors to create their own custom cuvee like professional winemakers.
- Truffle hunts through dark oak forests outside Alba in Italy’s Piedmont region during peak truffle season in the fall.
- Coffee farm tours in Hawaii to witness bean harvesting and processing methods before roasting and brewing your own cup.
- Gin distilling workshops in London to compound botanicals into your perfect bespoke gin.
Street Food Walks and Market Tours
Street food stalls and markets offer the ultimate ways to explore authentic local flavors in destinations around the world. By walking through markets and neighborhoods with knowledgeable local guides, food-focused travelers can better understand cultural contexts while sampling an array of traditional dishes.
Some top street food and market tours in popular culinary destinations include:
- Night market walks in Taipei to graze on xiaochi like stinky tofu, oyster pancakes, and cuttlefish balls.
- Street food tours in Mexico City to try tacos al pastor, elotes, tamales, esquites, and more specialty regional bites.
- Market visits in Marrakesh’s atmospheric medina to taste aromatic spice blends, or in Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar to discover flavors from across Turkey and beyond.
- Bangkok’s Chinatown food tours to explore hole-in-the-wall eateries and sample Chinese-Thai fusion dishes rarely found elsewhere.
- Progressive tapas crawls in Barcelona led by insiders to better understand the city through pintxos like jamón ibérico, pan con tomate, patatas bravas, and seafood.
How to Travel Like a Food Writer
The most distinctive and memorable culinary vacations immerse you completely in a destination’s food culture. Professional food writers and journalists often travel specifically to research and experience regional cuisine in order to write knowledgeably on the subject.
Even if you don’t plan to publish stories from your gourmet adventures, you can travel like a food writer to have more authentic, meaningful culinary experiences while vacationing.
Talk to Locals
Connect with well-connected locals like food tour guides, chefs, bloggers, and hospitality staff to get trusted food recommendations tailored to your tastes and interests. They can point you to hidden gems or local favorites you’d otherwise miss.
Dive Deep
Spend ample time in one destination to move past surface-level tourism. Adapt to local rhythms to better understand food in its cultural context. Accept some boredom as part of the process for more rewarding discoveries.
Go Off Guidebooks
Guidebooks and online lists have their purpose, but also consult regional newspapers, food blogs, and magazines to inspire deeper destination connections. These sources offer better insights into current events and trends.
Participate
Don’t just observe. Take cooking classes, join tasting tours, volunteer on farms, forage for wild ingredients, or enjoy culinary festivals. Participating in food traditions and experiences fosters more meaningful engagement.
Try, Try Again
Step outside your comfort zone to try unfamiliar ingredients, dishes, and dining formats. Order what locals eat. Accept that you won’t like everything, but an open mind leads to growth and great stories.
Keep an Open-Ended Itinerary
A rigid itinerary can preclude serendipitous discoveries that become trip highlights. Build in ample free time to wander aimlessly, follow scents wafting from kitchens, or stray down an intriguing side street.
Document Thoughtfully
Keep a journal with detailed sensory descriptions of memorable food experiences, rather than just snapping quick photos. When curating content to share later, focus more on the history, tradition, and emotional meaning behind the meals.
By incorporating these tips and techniques into your travels, you’re sure to have more authentic, interesting, and engaging culinary vacations wherever you roam. Bon voyage!
