Dine Around Florence: An Authentic Evening Wine & Food Tour

If you're counting your time in Florence in meals rather than hours, this is the experience for you. More than anywhere else, Italians value their food. Dinner is a social event to be shared with friends and family, something to be savoured over multiple hours and even multiple locations, not wolfed down between activities. Dinner is the activity.

On this authentic Florence food tour, you'll eat as the locals do; visiting the most authentic neighborhood spots to try their specialties washed down with a glass of wine. Then on to the next spot, and the next. With all-inclusive pricing, all you need to bring is your appetite.

Your tour begins in the atmospheric, but little-visited Oltrarno neighborhood, where you'll meet your guide (a local foodie passionate about Tuscan produce) and small group of 14 people. Now it's time to get acquainted with the building blocks of Tuscan cuisine and if you ask us, the most important ingredients. Although the order of the sites you visit changes according to the night, you'll sample the best local meats, cheeses (particularly pecorino, Tuscany's famous sheep's cheese), olive oils, balsamic vinegar, focaccia, and even the famous Tuscan truffles. As you eat, your guide will explain regional subtleties and what you should be looking for in your food - both here and at home.

After this little warm up, it's on to the Piazza Santo Spirito, central Florence's most authentic piazza, where locals come every evening to eat in the shade of their beautiful church. You'll stop at our favorite enoteca (wine bar) for a tour of the cellars and an aperitivo (small plates) of three local wines (including either a super Tuscan or a special surprise) and crostini.

Now you're ready for dinner. Sit down at a Florentine restaurant to try one of Tuscany's famous soups, a traditional starter and second course that will showcase Florentines' famous love of meat.

It's not quite over though. Since you're in the birthplace of gelato it would be criminal not to try it. You'll take a quick stroll to one of the city's famous gelaterias for a cup or a cone of Italy's most beloved frozen treats.

As you explore Florence's delis, restaurants, and eateries, your local guide will tell you the story of Florentine food and how it evolved from humble beginnings as cucina povera, or 'poor food', into one of the world's most beloved cuisines. For people looking to eat well and learn about the culture behind the food, this is an experience that is sure to delight.