On our gastronomic tours in Genoa, you’ll have the chance to taste some of the city’s most iconic dishes. With the traditional tour, you’ll explore the flavors that have shaped Genoa’s culinary history, from the famous pasta al pesto to cheese focaccia and more, enjoying at least four stops at typical restaurants and historic take-away spots. Our street food tour focuses on the city’s best-loved quick bites, guiding you through the most famous street food, from crispy focaccia to the delicious fried fish cone. For those looking for something a bit different, the gourmet food tour lets you taste traditional Genoese dishes with a modern twist, visiting both historic restaurants and contemporary city bistros, and discovering new takes on the city’s favorite flavors.
A taste of Genoa’s most iconic sauce, pesto, is included in all three tour options. The classic basil pesto sauce was born in the city, and you’ll enjoy the authentic recipe made with fresh local basil, pine nuts, and other traditional ingredients.
No visit to Genoa is complete without tasting the famous focaccia with cheese. This specialty from Recco, a small village near the city, features two thin layers of dough filled with creamy Stracchino cheese, offering a soft, gooey, and unforgettable bite. This delicious treat is included in all three tour options.
Focaccia is a true staple of Genoa, and a must-try for any food lover. You can enjoy it for breakfast, as offered on the gourmet tour, or anytime during the day, just like the locals do, as included in the other two tour options. Soft, golden, and slightly salty, this iconic bread captures the heart of Genoese tradition in every bite.
At the end of the tour, you’ll enjoy a sweet finish. On the gourmet tour, this could be a traditional dessert from an historic pastry shop, while on the other tours, a refreshing artisanal ice cream made with the finest local ingredients is served, a delicious way to conclude your taste of Genoa.
Our Genoa food tour guide Elvira met us promptly on time. We were the only couple on the tour. She introduced us to many foods (plenty of it)plus provided us with a lot of history and sites along the way. Enjoyed the food and conversation with Elvira very much.
This tour was FANTASTICO!!! Valentina was a ball of energy and very passionate about pesto, focaccia, and celebration inside the city with friends. We loved everything about this tour. Come hungry!!!! So much good food! Honestly, the perfect tour to get a taste of the city! https://youtu.be/JEB9NzSCSJ0?is=4oEOQx_foVTW8c1u
A great tour with the friendly Maddalena who spoke very good English. Maddalena was very knowledgeable and passionate about the food and history of the city and the surrounding area. A good variety of food and plenty of it, perhaps having no breakfast would have been a sensible option. Highly recommended.
Valentina was fantastic. She gave just enough information of the food and the history of the city. She was very personable and helpful with other matters. You could tell she is passionate about her home city. The food was absolutely delicious and filling. We loved that the food was specific to the region. We had several opportunities to sit and we were offered water at every stop.
Marina is a Wonderfull guide with a lot of knowledge of Genua and food. Would love to this again.
Laura was a great guide. Very knowledgable and enthousiastic. Our group was small so the tour was intimate and the other guests were very friendly. The combination of street food and restaurants was interesting. However, it could serve as an improvement to substitue on one the foccacias for a meat or vegetable plate.
Deborah was a very knowledgable food and history guide. Including the annoying history that the St. George’s flag was Genoan before English. A fun food tour and we have been on many others.
Deborah was a great guide, entertaining, friendly and knowledgeable! We enjoyed eating the authentic Genovese food and the restaurants were top notch... from the foccacio, the fish, pesto and gelato. Bravissima!
We had an amazing experience. Laura was our guide and we learned so much while eating amazing food all around Genoa. I highly recommend!!
Madalenna is very friendly and knows a lot of things about her city...thank you so much for everything
Very fun tour in this beautiful city. Food was delicious and our guide, Elvira, was incredible. Very knowledgable and fun with great energy. Would definitely recommend!
We had a wonderful afternoon with Serena. She provided us lots of interesting information about Genoa and we were able to taste many local favorites! Great experience.
The food tour was fantastic! Valentina was an amazing guide—knowledgeable, friendly, and a great storyteller. We learned so much about Genoa and its history while getting to taste some of the city’s best dishes. Everything was delicious and the experience was a perfect way to explore the city. Highly recommend, but definitely come hungry!
Elvira was a spectacular guide. The food was unbelievable.
Very interesting the guide was very personable helpful and answered all questions
Our guide, Valentina, was awesome! She was a native to the area who spoke clear English. She had so many historical facts that gave us cool insight into parts of the town and certain types of food we would have never known. Our tour included 5 typical genovese dishes: Fritto Misti, focaccia, pasta with pesto, thin layered famicaccia stuffed with cheese and topped with different things, and 2 scoops of gelato. All were delicious!
Great experience..our guide was so friendly. She made sure we were also on time so we didn't miss our ship.
Our host was amazing she provided us with the best food and information. She not only fed us well but provided us with points of interest Magdalena is an asset to the industry. Highly recommend this foodie tour I would take this tour again. Every place we stopped was amazing and delicious.
My sister and I were visiting for a couple of days we booked the night before. Our tour guide was Marina. The trip included 5 spots and all were amazing. Marina showed us around Genoa and was very informative about the history of Genoa as well as the food. Part of our group had to depart early to catch their cruise ship and she made sure to show them as much as she could and give them enough time to get back to their ship. She took the time to get to know each individual in the group and even gave us advice on our trip as far as recommendations on where else to explore in Italy. It was a great experience and I highly recommend.
We had a great time on this tour! The food was amazing and our guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Loved the small group setting. One of the highlights of our trip. I would recommend!
The tour guide was excellent and the food was delicious. The only issue I have is Viator doesn't accurately inform how long the walk is from port to meeting place. It was a full 30 minute walk, unless you're moving fast.
Enjoyed this so much despite the heat. Excellent variety of food to try and a super knowledgable guide. We ended up with an exclusive experience as well-just the two of us.
the tour with Deborah was amazing!!!
Our guide Maddalena was very knowledgeable, kind, and simply the best. Food was great and really enjoyed learning about the Genoa’s cuisine and history. Loved the fried seafood and chickpea fries in a cone (cono calamari), freshly made focaccia (col formaggio), stracchino, gelato, and white wine.
We got to taste some lovely food that we would have not known about without our lovely guide Deborah! Good way to get to know more about the lovely city of Genoa!
Disappointed: we walked to a couple of places then sat in a restaurant for more substantial items. One of the guests lit up a cigarette while I was in the bathroom. Our guide made no attempt to even ask this person to step back from the table. I moved back until the food arrived but the smoking at the table continued. This may be legal, but it is not ok. Spoiled the meal
We got to try a variety of local foods, and everything was delicious. Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and shared fun information about the city's history and food culture. The tour was well-paced, and we found several places we never would have discovered on our own.
Great experience. Laura was a super friendly and knowledgable guide and not just about food. Tried lots of different things and came away very full!!
This was a wonderful food tour and with an informative conversation about Genova! Selena was a terrific tour guide. I would highly recommend! Food and gelato was plenty and the gelato was the best!
This small group tour was wonderful. We got all the good local foods. The pesto at the restaurant was so amazing we were actually trying to buy it and bring it home. No dice though they didn't sell it, and I have tried and can't recreate it lol. The guide was wonderfully knowledgeable not only for food but for things as we walked around. We still got to see sights as we walked around getting food. I did the traditional tour and wouldn't change a thing. We even go to see some of the focaccia being made and flipped in the air to thin it out.
We did the gourmet option with drinks food tour with Maddalena on June 10. She is an excellent local tour guide who is very easy to chat with and did not walk at an overly fast pace which was great. We started with “breakfast” focaccia with cappuccino or wine; then 3 types of lovely pasta; next the thin local type focaccia el fromaggio with cheese in the middle and on top in 3 flavours; and then panarello cake with a filling and another lovely coffee with whipped cream to finish. We walked to the meeting point from the cruise port. It is about a 12 -15 minute walk along the waterfront. We went down the big set of stairs as soon as we left the cruise port to stay on the lower level by the water. The meeting point is by the huge Galleon replica ship. We had a wonderful tour and would be happy to recommend.
What an afternoon full of fantastic food! Laura, our guide, was very sweet & knowledgeable. She grew up in Genoa, so she is well versed in the cuisine. So much food on this tour! Come hungry!
Fantastic experience, Deborah was full of local knowledge and the food was incredible.
Marina is incredible, her explanations filled in all the blanks about Genoa
Had a great day trying local food, totally recommend it. Our guide Laura was awesome, super knowledgeable and helpful.
Levantea was an amazing guide. She was fun and very knowledgeable. We loved the tour,history,and the food. Highly recommend!
Valentina was an incredible tour guide, knew all the ins and outs of Genoa. A must have for anyone visiting.
The tour was excellent and it was extra special with Valentina’s warmth, enthusiasm and knowledge! The food at each of our stops was delicious and we enjoyed trying a number of new dishes. It was the perfect amount of walking. Following the tour Valentina gave great recommendations and directions. Thank you Valentina for making our time in Genoa so special.
So much fun… my advice is to arrive hungry !! The pesto lasagna was the outstanding Our guide was so nice and meeting new people was great
Laura was EXCELLENT. Very informative and engaging. Only one stop for farinata tasting was disappointing. The others were great.
Best food tour I have been on for a long time. Valentina had some much knowledge about Genoa and we were very happy to listen. The food was delicious. The explanations of the different parts of the city was a lovely bonus. Would happily do a tour with Valentina any time in the future
It was informative and fun, lots of good food! The tour guide was interesting and knowledgeable, she added a nice flair to the tour.
Valentina was absolutely fabulous. She is so knowledgeable about the town and the food. No one ask a single question that she could not answer. As we strolled, she would pass friends and speak with them. Made us feel very comfortable and appreciated.
We had seafood, foccacia, pesto lasagna, minestrone soup and delicious gelato. All of the food was very good. We had a nice group of 9 people. Our guide, Valentina, was excellent.
Serena was great! We had SO much good for and drink. I totally recommend!
Marina was an amazing guide for this experience. We were afraid as first time costumers to book this experience online but it far exceeded our expectations. Exceptional value for the price - we accessed food options that would likely have been too difficult for tourists to find on their own. Marina was good company and tailored the tour to our preferences and abilities as we are very active and eat a lot 😀
We had a great food tour experience in the old town in Genova with Serena. The food was really good and plentiful. The highlights for us were the traditional pasta con pesto, focaccia di formaggio and amazing ice cream to finish. Serena was a great guide giving us a potted history of Genova and interesting info on all the lanes we walked through. We definitely recommend this tour.
Marina, our guide was very supportive of my husband who struggled with hills and steps. Thank you for making everything better! Great food, and we loved trying new things.
Excellent tour! Yummy food and fun tour guide. Just enough history to get context. Guide explained everything we were about to eat. Also showed care and concern for food allergy.
First, Serena was a wonderful guide - the best I have had on one of these tours. She gave us so much information and additional tips that we really did not need to do another tour! We walked through the old city to places that we would have never found or tried if not for Serena's guidance. She also took her time explaining the history of the dishes, how they are made, and the history of the relevant restaurants we visited. I loved it and highly recommend this tour for anyone visiting Genoa.
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