Explore the culinary traditions of Bologna with this small-group half-day food tour. Join a guide for a small-group walking tour and taste local specialties such as Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Bolognese ragu, and mortadella. Begin the tour with a gourmet coffee, visit markets, and meet artisans at work to see how tortellini are made.

Taste your way through Bologna with a food tour
Sample gourmet coffee and browse market stalls
Try local specialties including Bolognese ragu
Watch food artisans make pasta such as tortellini

What's Included

Breakfast with gourmet coffee
Different tastings including bolognese ragù, cured meat, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Balsamic vinegar Tradizionale of Modena, bread, dessert, local wine like Pignoletto or Lambrusco
Artisan gelato tasting
Local English speaking guide
Tortellini (or Tortelloni if you're vegetarian)

Hotel pickup
Hotel drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Bar Romano
Via de' Pignattari, 1c, 40124 Bologna BO, Italy
At the tobacconist in the corner with Via De Pignattari, just at the right of San Petronio Basilica

End point

Piazza of Santo Stefano
Piazza Santo Stefano, 40125 Bologna BO, Italy
End points can change

What To Expect

Piazza Maggiore

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Mercato delle Erbe

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Quadrilatero

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Wheelchair accessible
Non-eating children under 6 years old do not require a ticket
Stroller accessible
Minimum drinking age is 18 years
Service animals allowed
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Available for vegetarians, pescatarians and gluten free with prior notice. Please advise when booking.
Near public transportation

Not recommended for vegans
A moderate amount of walking is involved (3km)
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Comfortable walking shoes are recommended
Tour starts with at least 2 people
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Richard_L

Our tour guide, was most knowledgeable with his Bologna history! He was funny which made our tour very enjoyable. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who will be visiting Bologna.

Reviews

5.0

271 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 271 reviews

Wonderful Bologna experience

Philip_P, Apr 2024

We enjoyed going to the market's getting the local produce then sitting as a group and enjoying the foods and wines of Bologna And the best Gelati 👌 Very enjoyable Our tour guide was lovely and knowledgeable Thank you 😊

Definitely 5 stars

Richard_L, Apr 2024

Our tour guide, was most knowledgeable with his Bologna history! He was funny which made our tour very enjoyable. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who will be visiting Bologna.

All the places we visited...

Bill_P, Apr 2024

All the places we visited were interesting and the food delicious. Excellent guide as well. Very well organized

Eat and learn!

Jennifer_F, Mar 2024

Four enjoyable and informative hours flew by with our tour guide, Mattia. Very knowledgeable and obviously passionate about his city and the region's food culture, he shared recipes and explained the production processes of the different products and their history, while we visited the market and sampled some of the specialities. I would have liked to have seen pasta actually being made – we only briefly saw it being rolled out and the ‘making tortellini lesson’ was just done on the street outside the shop with a piece of fresh pasta – but I can’t fault the rest of the tour. I was introduced to products I might not otherwise have tasted and gained some insight into the region’s history and food culture.

Fascinating and delicious

Dennis_R, Mar 2024

Everything, we thought Bernadette was so amazing. Your company is truly lucky to have her as an employee!

A taste of Bologna!

Craig_B, Feb 2024

Great guide and loved exploring the city and trying all the food at the various stops. The food stuff is combined with interesting history of the region and all made for a fantastic morning.

Matthew was an excellent...

michelle_a, Nov 2023

Matthew was an excellent guide. We learned so much about the food (and other things) in Bologna, plus we had delicious tastes of many things around the city. It was a fantastic tour.

Amazing tour guide!

Debby_O, Nov 2023

Our tour guide (Matthew?) was unbelievable. Passionate, knowledgeable, fun…perfect pacing and selection of food and locations, not to mention his deep knowledge of history and current day Bologna. We have never done a tour before but based on his excellence, we will use your company again!

Amazing Host

Darryl_C, Nov 2023

We had a great time. Mattia was super informative and a great host. We learned a lot from Mattia, not just about the food we were trying butalso the history of Bologna. Would highly recommend anyone visiting Bologna.

If you like food.

Bob_P, Nov 2023

Enjoyed every aspect of the tour. Very informative and delicious. Well worth it. Tastings were excellent.

Great tour guide but expected more

Zelda_K, Nov 2023

Valentina was great. We were not provided meeting point in Piazza until I contacted them. We went to three different places1) coffee cafe 2) balsamic vinegar tasting ( We had 3 different vinegars 3) restaurant & were served lasagna with meat & cheese from the region after lasagna along with red wine. 4) gelato. We have experienced many food tours in several countries. They took us to at least 5 or more different places. These had been local for generations. Disappointed with only four places especially when Bologna is considered food capital of Italy.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

I'm sorry that the tour didn't completely meet your expectations. I've already made some updates to our Tripadvisor page, to enhance the clarity of the meeting point directions. We aim to ensure that every guest finds it easy to locate our guide and starts the tour without any confusion. As for the tour experience itself, we always strive to focus on quality over quantity when it comes to tastings. Even so, I appreciate your suggestion, and we will consider it to further enhance the tour and make it more enjoyable for all our guests. We genuinely hope to welcome you back on one of our tours soon, where we will do our utmost to provide you with an exceptional experience. Warm regards, Andrea - Taste Bologna

Awesome. Just do it!

Andrea_J, Oct 2023

An awesome tour for people who appreciate food culture. Thoroughly enjoyable and our guide was extremely knowledgeable. Thanks to Mattia. Highly recommended.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Wow, what a stunning review. We hope to share some mortadella and pignoletto again soon, a presto! Andrea and Mattia - Taste Bologna

The highlight of a fantastic few days in Bologna!

Dan_H, Oct 2023

Maria the tour guide was outstanding - knowledgeable, funny, warm and very good with our kids. We learned about so much more than food - the culture, history and politics of Bologna all came to life.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

It has been our pleasure to have your family on our food tour in Bologna: we're super happy to read you will bring home great memories with you. See you soon again under the towers :) Andrea and Maria - Taste Bologna

Food in Bologna was wonderful!!

Gary_B, Oct 2023

Marco was a wonderful host. Love the history of Bologna that he shared and trying different foods and wine. Making my own tortellini and seeing the pasta shop was so much fun!! It was a beautiful walk and enjoyed going in and out of back streets and alleys to see all the wonderful shops and markets. Would definitely recommend. Wear comfortable shoes.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

One aim of the tour is not only to make you eat the best food in Bologna but also to show you parts of the city outside the tourist routes. So comfortable shoes are definitely important :) Thank you so much Gary for this amazing review, Andrea and Marco - Taste Bologna

Great tour

Nancy_H, Oct 2023

Coffee experience & all the new choices. Our guide was good, he could have had a very jokes for entertaining value.

Good Tour & Guide

Gina_C, Sep 2023

The guide was very friendly and informative. The food was wonderful especially the gelato. Entertained by the guide’s family recipes for bolognese ragu and tortellini.

Very enjoyable day!

Scott_B, Sep 2023

One of the best food tours we’ve done! A lot of stops, wide variety of tastings and a terrific guide!

Not to be missed

Mila_M, Sep 2023

Marco was great guide. The concept of the tour is very well. We were taken to little hidden places to try “real” local food. No tourist trap, just good local food. And Marco was great at introducing different local traditions. Great tour!

Fun, informative, tasty!

Angela_H, Sep 2023

The beautiful fruit and veggie markets were fun to see. We loved hearing about the history of the region and all the regulations behind how the food can be prepared - our guide was born in Bologna and seemed to know everything there was to know!

Fun and Delicious Tour

Kara_B, Sep 2023

We enjoyed our tour with Maria immensely. It was fun, insightful, and delicious. Would definitely recommend!

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