Home > Bologna > Private Tour: Gourmet Walking Tour of Bologna - Pasta, Mortadella and Chocolate
USD $122.00
Private Tour: Gourmet Walking Tour of Bologna - Pasta, Mortadella and Chocolate
Bologna, Italy
Take a private guided walking tour through the medieval market of Bologna and explore the history, art and traditions of the city and its famous food. With only a few hours to spare, it's the ideal way to savor the history, art and traditions of Bologna. You'll enjoy personalized attention from your professional guide on this gourmet walking tour.
You'll visit a traditional bakery, followed by a pasta maker where you'll learn about the production of Tortellini and Tagliatelle. Continue to Beccari's salsamenteria to discover the history of mortadella, from the third century BC right up until modern times.
The highlight of the tour is perhaps your visit to a traditional chocolate maker, where solid chocolate was invented! Your tour also includes a visit to a typical Bolognese osteria (restaurant), to discover the fun-loving side of Italy's oldest university.
This in-depth, hassle-free private tour is hosted by an English-speaking guide. Please list any special interests you have (art, architecture, history, culture) at the time of booking to alert your guide, so they can prepare for your private tour.
Camilla was our tour guide and was fantastic, very personable, knowledgeable and entertaining. Stopping off at a chocolate store, which is a must see when visiting bologna, we ended at a great deli style store with a delicious selection of mortadellas, ham, salami and cheeses, certainly enough for a substantial lunch. Camillus is highly recommended
Review by: Gina G, February 2017
Number one, we were late for our private tour as we were driving in from another city and didn't know we couldn't park in the city center. We did finally find parking for 20 but if we had left our car where it was originally parked we would have been towed. Number two, the place we were supposed to meet our guide in the Piazza Maggiore- The Neptune Fountain- was under scaffolding so we couldn't find it. I'm not sure how someone who wasn't familiar with Bologna and that is why we were taking a tour could find it. At any rate, our tour guide Camilla met us and took us on our private walking tour of Bologna. She was very nice and accomodating. Our first stop was a chocolate store with a tasting. We then went to the Market and ended in a restaurant with a glass of local sparkling wine and a meat and cheese plate at 1 p.m. My husband and I both felt there should have been more tastings and more information, given the price of the tour. Another tour was 8 hours and covered Bologna, Parma and Modena for the same price. Personally, I think the tour should have started at the market where she could have pointed out different fish, vegetables, fruits, particularly local ones that we don't have in the USA. I think, given the proximity to Modena, there should have been a balsamic vinegar tasting. Also, the dish she mentioned as local, mortadella stuffed pasta, should have been a tasting. It even says pasta in the description, but there was no tasting. I think it would have been nice to do a small wine tasting maybe 3 of wines before lunch and then, for lunch, we wouldn't have needed as much meat/cheese although it was very good. Lastly, the chocolate tasting should have been last- it is hard to eat 4 pieces of chocolate at 10 am.
Review by: Michele F, June 2016
Camilla was an amazing tour guide. She was very helpful and knowledgeable. She took the time to answer all of our questions and really made our first day in Bologna very special! She even recommended a nice restaurant for us to try and we did! Irt was spectacular! I would definitely recommend!
Review by: Anthony M, June 2016
6 stars should be possible! A wonderful insight into the food history of the city. Our guide showed us through the markets, explained why each selection was important, then took us to the only authentic osteria to sit and eat our collection. Everything included so no hassles. A great tour.
Review by: Melissa M, October 2015
Highly recommend. Luca our tour guide was fantastic and shared his wonderful personal and widespread knowledge of both the areas history and food history which was very interesting. My only regret was we didnot do it first day in Bologna because once we had done it we knew where all the best food was. Thank you Luca it was great.
Review by: John B, September 2015
We were met by Catia, a knowledgeable and friendly guide. Such delicious tastes and smells - highlights were the chocolate shop and the meat and cheese and wine snack at Tamburini. We still remember this tour and recall it fondly. I am so glad we did it.
Review by: Ann F, August 2015
The tour was fantastic and we learned so much about the history of Bologna. Of course, the highlight was the food tasting at the end. Delicious!
Review by: Bennett B, May 2015
Bologna's history is not as self-evident as in some other tourist-destination cities in Italy, so having a good guide is especially important here. Gioco did a great job. Personable and considerate as well as deeply well-informed, he gave us a solid historical tour at the same time as we got to sample some wonderful food.
Review by: Ian W, May 2015
A superb overall guide to the history and of course the food of Bologna. Giacomo, our guide was extremely knowledgable and interesting, and even going to places we had been on our own the day before we learnt so much more. There was probably less about food than we were expecting, but that was fine, and tasting of gelato, chocolate and a superb antipasto lunch with wine rounded it off perfectly, recommended!
Review by: Edward F, April 2015
Nice tour with a very knowledgable and professional guide. Was closer to two hours than three
Review by: Cindy F, June 2014
Our guide, basically walked us back and forth across Piazza Maggiore trying to use up all of the 4 hours for the tour. It was not laid out very well. She had a strong accent that made it hard to understand her. Maybe because we did the Parmesan and prosciutto tour the day before she didn't have anything to show us. Once we were at the cafe to taste the mortadella, she looked at us and said, "bye, I am leaving now" and bounced out. There was nothing about pasta even remotely mentioned. This tour was about as expensive as the all day one which was great. We were truly disappointed in this one.
Review by: gerard p, December 2013
Excellent tour. Very informative and friendly guide. Good value. If you are in Bologna don't miss it.
Review by: Carolyn C, November 2013
We were so fortunate to have our fantasic gude, Cecelia, all to ourselves for this charming, informative walking tour. We visited the open markets, ate cheese, breads, and mouth-watering carpaccio, saw the oldest wine store in all of Bologna, the chocolatiers, and made an unscheduled (and incredibly informative) dash through St. Dominic's because we had expressed our interest in seeing it, too. Such fun!
Review by: Jonas M, November 2013
Excellent value for money!
Review by: John G, November 2013
Balda, our tour guide, was super! We could not have asked for a better tour. We had read many reviews that rated this tour highly, but complained that it was not quite the foodie tour they had expected. Well, for us it was a wonderful foodie tour - we saw all that we were promised, and tasted wonderful chocolate, cheese, meats, and wine. On top of this, we were also given a historical overview of the major sights in the Bologna city center.
Review by: Noah M, August 2013
Better than could reasonably hope for at the price. Highly recommend.
Review by: Sally-ann M, July 2013
The guide was great!! However we were expecting more than just a teaspoon of acceto and a plate of dried meets at the end of the tour. It should be noted as only informative but not very active. You could do this yourself. The history of the town was not mentioned in the itinery but was interesting
Review by: Regis S, June 2013
Luca was simply put- wonderful. He was most kind to my sister who needs to rest often. His knowledge and pride in Bologna was so obvious. Luca is a VERY fine representative of Bologna and Viator. We were just delighted;it was grand fun._br/_
Regis Sloan Barbara Williams
Review by: breitert, February 2013
This tour was one of the highlights of our two week vacation in Switserland and Italy. The tour guide exceeded our expecations and his knowledge of the subjects was the most fun part of the tour! We had to bring back samples of everything we sampled and I am happy to say the parmasian and vinigar made it through customs. My wife lived in Italy, but we somehow missed Bologna each time we took a trip aournd the country. I strongly recommend this tour to a novice or experienced traveller.
Review by: Julie K, February 2013
Our tour guide was terrific and we really enjoyed the afternoon, however, I do feel the name of the tour is misleading. We were provided a delicious lunch and had wonderful gelato for dessert and our guide did give us a lovely box of chocolates, but that was the extent of the gourmet portion of the tour - the rest was a very interesting walking tour about Bolognia and it's history. I had thought I purchased a tour that was focused on the culinary arts and would focus on markets, kitchens, factories, etc. That did not happen - still, I wouldn't have traded our experience for the world - a really great guide and a wonderful day in Bolognia. i would use this service again in a heartbeat. Thank you!
Review by: Rhonda S P, December 2012
The tour was excellant. It left you wanting to know much more about this ancient city. Our tour guide was wonderful. He went beyond expectations.
Review by: Julie D, October 2012
Although the guide was well informed about the historical background, this tour was too expensive and didn't fully match our expectations. We taught it would concentrate more on the tasting and food manscraft, a less meinstream historical tour. We didn't visit a pastamaker, only a shop we could have visited by our selves.
Review by: Mr Geoffrey D, October 2012
Fantastic tour. Our guide Catica ( ?) was very informative, welcoming and easy company. One of the highlights of Bologna, I would thoroughly recommend taking this tour which at first glance seems expensive. Money well spent.
Review by: Shaun T, September 2012
The food was excellent, and the guide knowledgeable and friendly. Happy to recommend to others.
Review by: inails, September 2012
This tour was a highlight of our stay in Bologna. Knowledgeable and entertaining guide that adapted the tour to suit our interests.
Review by: Lotta G, August 2012
This was what I thought we would get to see: You'll visit a traditional bakery, followed by a pasta maker where you'll learn about the production of Tortellini and Tagliatelle. _br/_
That did not happen. For real we just got to go to a restaurant, where we got to taste some mortadella,parmesan and chocolate. We didn't get to see how any of the food was made, which was the one thing we had been looking forward to and was also the reason why we thought it would be worth 100 euros/person. It was NOT worth the money. Not even close.
Review by: Lotta G, July 2012
This was what I thought we would get to see: You'll visit a traditional bakery, followed by a pasta maker where you'll learn about the production of Tortellini and Tagliatelle. _br/_
That did not happen. For real we just got to go to a restaurant, where we got to taste some mortadella,parmesan and chocolate. We didn't get to see how any of the food was made, which was the one thing we had been looking forward to and was also the reason why we thought it would be worth 100 euros/person. It was NOT worth the money. Not even close.
Review by: Richard B, May 2012
Our guide was very knowledgeable and went into great detail on the city, monuments, statues, churches, time periods and everything we asked about he answered. I can't say enough about our guide!!! We intend to visit the city again and spend more time there. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Bolonga, it is very interesting!!! Beautiful city.
Review by: marina c, May 2012
Very good. Really liked tour guide. Very informative and nice. Excellent lunch. Combination of both history of Bologna and history of food.
Review by: JOHN P, March 2012
Monique our guide was exceedingly informative and knowedgeable! The lunch at the end of the tour was wonderful..as was the wine. We left loving Bologna
Review by: Patricia B, December 2011
Gloria met us at Neptune's Fountain and took us for a predominantly historic tour of Bologna which is what we had asked for. This, of course included food and we ended having a delicious gourmet tasting. She was friendly and informative and obviously loved her town. We do too and would visit again if we were in Italy._br/_
Patricia, 64, from Melbourne, Australia
Review by: Karen Y, August 2011
Our guide, Mr Alberto, was fabulous and so knowledgeable. We arrived when it had just snowed and he took us on our local walk via the many porticos in Bologna. The library and university were so interesting and the local restaurant for lunch were great.
Review by: Tony X, June 2011
Our guide Francesca was very focused on giving us the history of the city. If you read the tour description there were suppose to be visits to chocolate factory and bakery shops etc. We didn't go to any of them. Between history and food - this tour was 90% history, and 10% food. It was helpful to learn about the history for sure, but this tour package should not be named "Gourmet Walking Tour"; it should rather be called the History Walking Tour.
Review by: Karen Y, March 2011
Our guide, Mr Alberto, was fabulous and so knowledgeable. We arrived when it had just snowed and he took us on our local walk via the many porticos in Bologna. The library and university were so interesting and the local restaurant for lunch were great.
Review by: Chun Kau, Tim. L, February 2011
Except visting one chocolate shop, our tour was about historical places in the city. In fact, we found it more interesting to know more about Bologna history than pasta and mortadella.
Review by: Steven S, November 2010
We are very pleased with our tour in Bologna. Our guide, Massimo, is more than highly qualified to explain the history and architecture of the city as well as give detailed information about the foods peculiar to the region. It was a delightful tour!
Review by: Carrollanne L, October 2010
I booked the trip, hoping to be given a behind the scenes tour of how the food side of Bologna operated. I was very disappointed, as what we were given was a walk into various shops . The guide tried her best, but there appears to be very little to see that cannot be seen UNACCOMPANIED. It was certainly not worth paying over £150. The tasting of meats was very nice , but overall this was a disappointment. Nothing about the manufacture of any product- if the problem was caused by the tour being on a Sunday, I think that should have been forewarned and a change of day advised. If you are a foodie, I could not recommend the tour, though the guide would be excellent for a history or other tour.
cal
Review by: Kheng Yaw T, United States of America, December 2009
It was great!
Review by: Ron E, United States of America, May 2009
A little hard to find but worth it. Excellent room and friendly staff.
Review by: Anonymous, United States of America, November 2008
Our guide began the day by guiding us through the city sites for the first hour. Afterwards, we cut off a side street from the Basicillica and found the market and deli area of town. The tour wraps up at a historic deli where we dined on a large plate of meats & cheeses from the area. The aged Balsamic Vinegar was incredible and the wine was also nice. If you are seeking more about pasta, or chocolate, then maybe you will want to indicate this to your guide. This wasn't part of our tour, although it was still great fun.
Review by: Betty Jo M, November 2008
Our guide began the day by guiding us through the city sites for the first hour. Afterwards, we cut off a side street from the Basicillica and found the market and deli area of town. The tour wraps up at a historic deli where we dined on a large plate of meats & cheeses from the area. The aged Balsamic Vinegar was incredible and the wine was also nice. If you are seeking more about pasta, or chocolate, then maybe you will want to indicate this to your guide. This wasn't part of our tour, although it was still great fun.
Review by: Bob S, United States of America, October 2008
Our guide was fantastic. She made Bologna come alive. Bologna, what a great place to explore.
Review by: James H, United States of America, July 2007
This was one of the best tours we have ever taken. The guide was very "tuned in" to what we wanted to do, but also interjected wonderful facts and took us to places that we may not have chosen on our own. We were impressed enough to make sure our guide was with us the next day for the car tour.
Review by: Jackie C, July 2007
This was one of the best tours we have ever taken. The guide was very "tuned in" to what we wanted to do, but also interjected wonderful facts and took us to places that we may not have chosen on our own. We were impressed enough to make sure our guide was with us the next day for the car tour.
Review by: Susan H, United States of America, June 2007
The tour was not as advertised. The guide was very knowledgeable but informed us our time would be split between history and a visit to one of two food shops. We were anticipating an entirely food-oriented tour, but she still made our time educational and enjoyable. Making arrangements for our time slot was difficult. We still found it worth our while and the best way to spend our limited time in Bologna.
Review by: Karen B, United States of America, April 2007
Our guide was a wonderful woman and was so knowledgeable and accommodating. We had a wonderful time with her and would recommend this tour to all.
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