Tours and the City Bologna Walking Food Tour: What to Know Before You Book

Tour details

• Rating: 4.8/5 from about 2,000 reviews on GetYourGuide (checked 1 October 2026)
• Price: from $89 per person when we checked on 1 October 2026
• Duration: 3 hours, with five food stops
• Meeting point: the Neptune Fountain, Piazza del Nettuno. The tour finishes at the Two Towers.
• Language: English
• Operator: Tours and the City
• Cancellation: free up to 24 hours before the start

What to expect on the Bologna walking food tour

The foods Bologna is known for come from the city and the towns around it: mortadella, Parmigiano Reggiano, aged balsamic vinegar from Modena, and the egg pasta that becomes tortellini and tagliatelle al ragù. The Walking Food Tour with a Local Expert, run by Tours and the City, fits most of them into a three-hour walk through the centre, with five food stops, wine and a gelato at the end. It started from $89 per person when we checked on 1 October 2026.

Start times vary from day to day, so the calendar below is the quickest way to see what runs on your dates. Free cancellation is currently available up to 24 hours before the start.

None of this food is hard to find on your own. The Quadrilatero, the old market lanes beside Piazza Maggiore, is lined with delis, pasta shops and bars, and plenty of them are aimed at visitors. Osteria del Sole, a few steps away, has served wine since 1465 and sells nothing else, so customers bring their own food. Knowing which counter to buy from, what you are eating and how places like that work is what a local guide adds.

We haven’t taken this tour. For this page we read recent traveller reports in English, German, Dutch, Danish and several other languages, with an eye on how people described the guides, the food at each stop and the price.

Most of the criticism in the lower-rated reviews falls under four headings:

• The stops are casual places: a bakery, market shops, a wine bar, a trattoria and a gelateria. Reviewers who expected smart restaurants were the most disappointed with the price.
• How much you learn depends on the guide, and on busy streets the guide can be hard to hear.
• The wine is a glass with the food, not a tasting of several wines.
• Start times are occasionally moved, sometimes at less than a day’s notice.

Those reviews are a small minority. The listing says 90% of English-speaking travellers gave the tour five stars.

For a first day in Bologna, it makes most sense as an introduction to the city’s food and a source of tips for the rest of your stay. Expect tastings at everyday places, served informally.

What’s included in the price

The price covers the guide, five stops and what you eat and drink at them. The stops are the kind of places people in Bologna use every day: a bakery for tigelle, the market shops, Osteria del Sole, a trattoria for pasta and a gelateria. The food is served the way those places serve it. At the osteria that can mean cold cuts on paper with plastic cutlery, and a few reviewers expected plates and silverware at this price.

Value for money scores 4.7/5 on the listing, a little below the guide score of 4.9. Many of the lower-rated reviews are about price, from people who felt they paid for a few snacks, small pasta portions and simple venues. One reviewer said they chose this tour because it was among the more expensive options, and expected more refined restaurants as a result. Other reviewers describe generous tastings and finishing the walk full.

If you have another day for food, Bologna also has hands-on pasta classes in the centre, guided walks around the Quadrilatero market and day trips to the Parmigiano dairies and balsamic producers around Modena.

Walking food tour, cooking class or a Food Valley day?

If eating your way around the centre with a local is what you want, this walk does that. If the pasta matters most to you, a cooking class gives you a proper seated meal. The pasta cooking class with ragù, spritz and gelato (4.9 from more than 1,300 reviews, from $84 per person when we checked) has you make tagliatelle by hand and eat it with ragù and local wine.

The Food Valley Experience (4.9 from more than 100 reviews, from $174 per person) is a full day outside the city, visiting a Parmigiano Reggiano dairy, a balsamic vinegar producer in Modena and a winery, with lunch. It suits travellers who want to see how the products are made.

Tips for booking the Bologna walking food tour

• Have a light lunch if your tour starts in the afternoon or evening. The tastings add up to a full meal, and the pasta comes near the end.
• Add any dietary needs to your booking, then mention them to the guide at the start. The listing asks for them in advance and says the tour isn’t suitable for vegans or people with gluten intolerance. Several reviewers say vegetarians were catered for, although the route is built around cured meats, and one reviewer’s no-meat request hadn’t been passed on.
• Check your messages the day before for any change to the start time. A few reviewers had their start moved. In one case it came forward by 30 minutes with less than a day’s notice.
• Walk close to the guide between stops. The commentary happens out loud on narrow, busy streets. Inside the stops, hearing is rarely a problem.
• Ask your guide for restaurant recommendations. Personal recommendations for the rest of your stay are part of the listing, and several reviewers single them out. One said they had to ask before the guide offered any.

How the three hours run

The tour meets at the Neptune Fountain in Piazza del Nettuno and finishes at the Two Towers, a short walk across the centre. The itinerary gives 40 minutes for the first stop, 20 for the second, 40 at Osteria del Sole, an hour at the trattoria and 20 minutes for gelato. Those times add up to the full three hours, so the walking between stops comes out of them. Some reviewers felt the stops were hurried, and one group finished after about two and a half hours.

The listing says stops and tastings may vary with the season and bank holidays, and reviewers name different shops. Treat the stops below as a guide to the route, since the exact shops can change.

Guides score 4.9/5 on the listing. Roberta is the guide named most often in positive reviews, and Stefy, Elena and Luca are also mentioned. The lower-rated reviews describe a guide who said little about the food, walked ahead of the group or seemed in a hurry to leave. You won’t know who you have until the day.

Stop 1: Tigelle near the Neptune Fountain

The first stop is a bakery for tigelle, small round flatbreads from the hills between Bologna and Modena, split and filled with cured meat or soft cheese. The listing serves them as a pre-aperitivo. The guide does most of the introductions here, so there is more talk than food at this stop.

Stop 2: The market shops

Next come the market streets and artisan shops, where the cold cuts, cheese and bread for the next stop are bought: mortadella, Parmigiano Reggiano and balsamic vinegar aged for 25 years. One reviewer named the Simoni salumeria as their favourite stop.

The listing says you learn how the balsamic is made and taste one. On a few tours the guide only described it. A couple of reviewers also wished they had tasted more of the things they were shown through shop windows. If the vinegar is a priority, the Food Valley day visits a producer.

Stop 3: Osteria del Sole

Osteria del Sole is the “oldest osteria” in the listing. Because it serves only wine, the food from the market goes on the table here, sometimes in the paper it was bought in. Reviewers who mention this stop generally enjoy it, particularly the cold cuts and cheese with a glass of wine.

Reviewers describe a glass or two of wine with the food. A couple found the glasses small, and one said there was a white and a red over the whole tour. If you were hoping to try several Emilia-Romagna wines side by side, a wine tasting is a better fit.

Stop 4: Tortellini and tagliatelle at a trattoria

The longest stop is an hour at a trattoria for the two pastas Bologna is known for, tortellini and tagliatelle al ragù, with more wine. Reports of the pasta vary. Some reviewers name it as their favourite part of the tour. Others describe tasting-sized portions, a meal eaten quickly because the table was needed again, and on one tour in May 2026, pasta that arrived cold and undercooked.

Stop 5: Gelato and the Two Towers

The tour ends with gelato from a gelateria that, according to the listing, has been making it since 1976. Most reviewers who mention the gelato liked it, though one thought the city had better gelaterias. The walk finishes at the Two Towers, so this is the moment to ask for any recommendations you still need.

Other practical things to know

• The listing doesn’t allow baby strollers, and says the tour isn’t suitable for wheelchair users.
• The listing doesn’t give a maximum group size. Reviewers describe groups from five people to “a little too large”.
• There is a gluten-free food tour in Bologna on GetYourGuide, from about $159 per person, but it has no reviews yet, so we haven’t linked it.
• The tour goes ahead in rain, and the listing asks you to bring weather-appropriate clothing and comfortable shoes.
• Tips for the guide aren’t included and are optional.

Is the Bologna walking food tour worth it?

Yes, if you want an introduction to Bologna’s food at the places locals use, with a guide to explain it and recommendations for the rest of your stay. At $89 per person (on 1 October 2026), you are paying for the guide and the route as much as for the food, which is why it works best early in a trip.

It makes less sense if you are hoping for refined restaurants or a proper wine tasting. In that case, the pasta class or the Food Valley day is a better use of the money. How much you learn also depends partly on which guide you get.

If you book, go early in your stay, so you still have time to use the guide’s restaurant tips.

Common questions about the Bologna walking food tour

How long is the tour, and where does it start?

Three hours. It meets at the Neptune Fountain in Piazza del Nettuno and finishes at the Two Towers. Start times vary by day, so check the calendar for your dates.

How much food is there?

Five stops of tastings: tigelle, cold cuts and Parmigiano Reggiano with bread, two homemade pastas and a gelato. Many reviewers say they finished full, but the portions are tasting-sized.

Is wine included?

Yes. Reviewers describe a glass or two with the food at the osteria and the trattoria, not a tasting of several wines.

Can vegetarians do this tour?

Usually, yes. Add it to your booking and remind the guide at the start. The listing says the tour isn’t suitable for vegans or people with gluten intolerance.

Can you bring children or a stroller?

Children can join, but the listing doesn’t allow baby strollers, and the tour isn’t suitable for wheelchair users.

Can you cancel?

The listing currently offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. Check your messages the day before, because start times are occasionally changed.

How we put this together

Nobody on our team has taken this tour. This page draws on the operator’s listing on GetYourGuide and on recent traveller reports in English, German, Dutch, Danish, Italian and other languages, including the lower-rated ones. The rating, review count and $89 starting price were checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and availability change with season and demand. If you book through the links on this page, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.