Food tours are my family’s favorite way to discover a new city. here’s why
Arriving in a new city can be a bit overwhelming, especially when you’re traveling with kids. Should you go to tourist places? Do you look into the history of a place? No matter how much research you do in advance, it can be a lot of work to get your bearings, especially when you add in the time difference after a long day of traveling.
I’ve taken my three kids all over the world and our favorite way to experience a new city is on a food tour. When I first started booking them, I was looking for something active, and food corruption seemed like a good motivator. It’s often difficult to find activities that my three children will enjoy, and food tours seem to be the answer. Bonus: I like them too!
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Experiencing a city’s culinary culture is a great way to learn its traditions and customs. But alone, we tend to turn to familiar foods instead of trying something new. Not to mention the language barrier which means we miss a lot of things on the menus. This is where a food tour really shines. This is a great way to have a local guide show you the ropes and explain the foods you’re trying.
Here are some of the reasons I love taking my kids on food tours.
You will have the opportunity to visit little-known places and avoid queues at popular places.
A typical food tour begins with meeting your guide and walking through the streets of a new city. You can expect to taste familiar dishes, like crepes in Paris and po’ boys in New Orleans, as well as previously unknown creations like wild boar salami and white dunes covered in powdered sugar.
I love how smooth these tours are. The tour guide prearranges our arrival with the company so that the food is ready when we arrive. This is great for families, as kids aren’t particularly good at waiting in line, even with the promise of something tasty. While on a donut crawl in Seattle, there was a long line when we arrived at the Daily Dozen Donut Company at Pike Place Market. Our guide went straight to the front and got us our donuts without waiting more than a few minutes. We enjoyed them on the go while we explored the nearby Gum Wall (a disgusting kid favorite).
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While eating, the guide will share interesting facts about the business you’re visiting and its place in the city’s dining scene. In New Orleans, a visit to Coronet allowed us to taste gumbo and learn the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisines. A stop at a bakery in Bordeaux led to a discussion about the region’s wine influence and how it led to the creation of the canalés for which the city is famous. This integrated learning works well for children and adults.
Children are more likely to try new foods on tour
I’ve found that when I go on these food tours with my kids, they are much more likely to try foods that they typically despise. Is it peer pressure? Need to impress our helpful guide? Whatever the reason, I’m always excited when they willingly try unique foods like snails and blood sausage. I was particularly impressed when my 8-year-old son said, “It smells like truffles!” when we tasted cheese in Paris. And he was right!
Someone else does all the planning
As a family travel planner, I usually book the excursions, choose the hotel and make the restaurant reservations. Food tours allow me to leave the planning and organization to someone else. We simply introduce ourselves and follow our guide to taco stands, meat markets and donut bakeries.
When we were in Portland, Oregon last summer, I knew I wanted to visit some of the food truck pods the city is known for. As I started to plan where we were going, I realized they were spread all over the city and we hadn’t rented a car. The solution: a gastronomic bike tour.
We met our cycling guide and outfitted ourselves with bikes and helmets before heading to our first stop, a cafe. Here we sipped iced lattes and learned about the city’s strong cycling culture and the many safety features we would see as we cycled through the city. We stopped at a pretty rose garden to discuss Portland’s designation as the “City of Roses,” then headed to our first food truck for breakfast burritos.
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I was surprised when my teenagers asked our guide about Portland’s urban sprawl and gentrification, but it reinforced my love for all food tours because they spark children’s curiosity and provide access to locals who can provide information about a city that I cannot.
Food tours offer a bit of local history along the way
If your family is really interested in history, you can find a history tour in most new towns you visit. But I love food tours because they offer bits of history sprinkled throughout the tour as part of the overall experience.
While on a food tour in Paris, we stopped for a short break to refill our water bottles at one of the city’s Wallace Fountains. Even though we had been in town for a few days, none of us realized that there was a fresh water spring on many street corners. Our guide told us that Sir Richard Wallace had gifted these ornate cast iron fountains to the town as a philanthropic gift when clean water was not readily available. They are still flowing today!
Tour guides are excellent sources of recommendations beyond the tour
Food tour guides really want you to have a fantastic experience in their city that goes beyond what they offer on the tour itself. In Lisbon, our guide helped us get a reservation for a fado show with dinner for the next day. Our Parisian tour guide gave us his number and sent a list of recommended restaurants via WhatsApp. It’s very helpful to have these connections in a new city, if you need them.
Tips for taking a food tour:
- Book your tour early in your trip so you can take advantage of your guide’s recommendations for the rest of your stay.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring water and sunscreen.
- Come hungry! You’ll try many different foods along the way, and you don’t want to reach your limit too soon.
- Be open to trying new things.
- Tip your guide for a job well done.
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