Athens Food: food tours, dinner, cooking class

Among the activities you can do in Athens, apart from visiting the Acropolis and the main monuments, going on a gastronomic tour or living a local culinary experience is one of the most recommended.

Greek cuisine has some of the most exquisite dishes and not only can you wander around the main or alternative neighbourhoods in search of the best places for lunch or dinner, but you can also enjoy the best wines or even take cooking classes.

From lunch on a terrace with an open view of the Parthenon to dinner in a revolving restaurant with an open panoramic view of Athens, the options for a gastronomic experience in the Greek capital are varied.

One of the best ways to discover the culture of a country is to get to know the local gastronomy and a tour of this kind will allow you to taste the best flavours of Greece.

With the accompaniment of a private guide you will be able to live a tasting experience while visiting markets, food counters and local stalls.

On these tours you will walk through the Psiri and Monastiraki neighbourhoods and visit the Central Market, where you will start your tasting in classic Greek cheese shops.

What you will taste on this tour

You will taste Kefalotyri cheese and feta cheese and its pairing with raki, the aniseed drink reminiscent of Ancient Greece, exquisite puff pastry bougatsa and koulouri, a Greek bread characteristic of the local gastronomy and its multicultural influences.

You'll also sample different varieties of Greek coffee, the local version of the Middle Eastern kebab, sweet doughnuts and loukoumades cakes while taking in all the sights of the Plaka district, the oldest neighbourhood in Athens.

In all cases the local guide will tell you about the local stories, mention the traditions associated with each food and guide you through the street art murals of Psiri. These tours are very common in Athens, especially for the variety of typical tastings offered.

Interesting details

• Price... These tours start from 109 euros per person including tastings and the assistance of a private local guide.
• Duration... Approximately 3 hours.
• Advantages of this tour... You will get an insight into the local gastronomy through the main Greek dishes and also a historical tour through Psiri, Monastiraki and Plaka, three of the most traditional neighbourhoods of Athens.

On these evening food tours you will be able to combine cheese, meat and sausage tasting with some of Greece's finest wines. You may have come across some of them if you have been on a tour of the Greek islands.

On this tour, which usually takes place around the historic Syntagma Square , you can also see the illuminated Parliament building, a spectacle in itself.

The first stop on these tours is usually in Plaka, where you'll sample the best local liquors in the food shops along Adrianou Street , the main artery of the neighbourhood. The street stalls also serve souvlaki, a delicious skewer of meats and vegetables with Greek seasoning, keftedes, Greek kebab and other neighbourhood specialities.

The wine tasting usually takes place in Psiri, where the tour continues at one of the local tavernas where you can enjoy four different varieties of local wines before finishing the tour with a traditional Greek ice cream. You will be accompanied by a private local guide throughout the tour.

Interesting details

• Price... These tours start from 110 euros per person, including wine tasting, wine tasting and the assistance of the private local guide.
• Duration... Approximately 4 hours.
• Advantages of this tour... You can enjoy an interesting night tour and taste some of the best wines of Greece.
• Disadvantages of this tour... This tour is for adults only, so if you are planning to travel with children in Athens this could be a problem.

These interactive tours not only give you a taste of Greek cuisine, but also teach you how to prepare your own dishes.

On one of the terraces of the Monastiraki district , one of Athens' must-see sites, and in small groups of no more than ten people, a registered chef will teach you how to cook a three-course dinner, which you will then enjoy at dinner overlooking the Acropolis, the Plaka skyline and the Hill of the Nymphs.

On these excursions you will learn how to cook tzatziki sauce, Greek spanakopita cake and other local delicacies. The class lasts approximately three hours and afterwards you will be able to dine with your group on a terrace with an open panoramic view of the Acropolis.

If you are a cooking enthusiast, this experience may be perfect for you, as you will have the permanent assistance of a professional chef and you will be able to enjoy a dinner with one of the best views in Europe at the end.

Interesting details

• Price... These excursions start from 87 euros per person including materials and the assistance of a professional chef.
• Duration... Approximately 4 hours.
• Advantages of this excursion... You will learn the secrets of Greek cuisine with the advice of a professional chef.

On these excursions you can live an experience as curious as it is fascinating. Suspended on a platform 60 metres above the ground and supported by a crane, you will have one of the best views of Athens lit up at night while you dine on a six-course meal of traditional Greek cuisine.

You will share the experience with 20 other people. This tour takes place in the Gazi neighbourhood. The price usually includes the full menu, an open bar of alcoholic beverages and the necessary safety equipment to keep you on your feet throughout the dinner.

This unusual experience is one of the best things to do in Athens at night and will not only allow you to see the Acropolis, but on a clear day you will be able to see the illuminated skyline of the Greek capital.

Interesting details

• Price... These tours start from 145 euros per person for a full menu and open bar.
• Duration... Approximately 2 hours.
• Advantages of this tour... You will be able to see the Acropolis and the skyline of the city from a height of approximately 60 metres.

Gazi is currently one of the best kept secrets of the Greek capital, but for some time now it has been open to tourism and it is possible to visit the most eclectic neighbourhood of Athens and discover it in all its facets.

One of them is through these alternative gastronomic tours where you can also get to know the cultural life of the neighbourhood.

As Gazi and the surrounding Kerameikos neighbourhood are not crowded with tourists, you can enjoy a leisurely evening stroll with stops at street food and local drink stalls.

You'll also learn about the city's theatres, roving music and ancient local tavernas that escape the Michelin stars, but not the exquisite delicacies of Greek cuisine.

In small groups of no more than ten people, you will be able to connect with the city's street art, flavours and street culture in one of Athens' not-to-be-missed neighbourhoods, which is frequently featured on bike tours.

Interesting details

• Price... These tours start from 55 euros per person including tastings and the assistance of the local guide.
• Duration... Approximately 3 hours.
• Advantages of this tour... This is the ideal tour to get to know the alternative circuit of Athens on a culinary tour and is an excellent value for money.

You can book a food tour in advance online or choose one once you are in the city. Please note that most of these tours are designed for small groups, so if you try to book in advance you may find that groups do not have space.

If you are visiting Athens in summer you should consider that temperatures can be a little high, so in such cases I would advise you to opt for a night tour as the heat is less intense at night.

The answer depends on the chosen tour, but on average these food tours last between two and four hours, including tastings, walking around the different neighbourhoods, wine tastings and all the experiences of each of the tour activities you have chosen.

As these are short excursions, they probably won't get in the way of your travel plans, even if you are planning a short stay in the city. In this case, a gastronomic tour with a neighbourhood tour could be a good option to get to know the gastronomic profile of Greece and also some of the most significant neighbourhoods of the city in the same activity.

If you are planning to spend only two days in Athens, here is a list of places to visit that might be helpful.

Generally speaking, these excursions are designed to give you an insight into Greek gastronomy and how it relates to Greek culture.

Therefore, you will not only enjoy tasting local food, but you will also walk through the most representative neighbourhoods of Athens, as well as some alternative sites, depending on which tour you choose.

Most tours will allow you to tour Plaka, which is the oldest neighbourhood in the Greek capital and a multicultural site with Turkish influences, Monastiraki, the eclectic Gazi, Kerameikos and Psiri.

You will also enjoy open views of the Acropolis, which is illuminated at night to create a magical atmosphere, and the Parthenon, one of the most important buildings of Ancient Greece.

On all these excursions you will be assisted by an expert local guide or a professional chef, depending on the tour chosen, who will not only introduce you to Greek gastronomy but also to the secrets of the sites you will visit.

If you are planning to visit Athens during the high season, be aware that spaces on small group tours can sell out, so in such cases I recommend that you book in advance online as soon as you have organised your itinerary.

If you visit Athens in summer, you will find that temperatures are often high, which may interfere with your daytime experience. In such cases, I recommend that you opt for the night-time alternatives, as the cooler temperatures will make it easier to enjoy the excursions.

If you plan to visit Athens during the Christmas season, tours may alter their activities to include traditional Greek Christmas meal options.

In some neighbourhoods such as Monastiraki on Christmas Eve, lights take over the streets and windows of houses and in addition to the local gastronomy you will also discover the city illuminated with festive motifs.

Note also that some tours are adults-only , which might interfere if you are visiting Athens with children.

It will depend on the tour chosen, as the less frequent alternatives, such as the high-altitude dinner in the Gazi neighbourhood or the Greek wine tasting tours, tend to be the most expensive, with prices starting at 110 euros.

Other more economical options, such as the tour of the alternative Gazi neighbourhood with street food and drinks tasting, are the best value for money and start at 55 euros.

All these options include in each case the assistance of an expert local guide or professional chef, in the case of the cooking classes, and the tasting dishes. For an extra cost you can choose to add a larger number of dishes and other wine variants to the wine tasting tours.

The gastronomy of Greece is exquisite and getting to know it on a food tour can be as interesting as a cruise in Athens or a visit to the island of Mykonos.

With the assistance of a local guide you can get to know the best places to eat in Athens and the secrets of each neighbourhood, especially when you opt for excursions to alternative sites, such as Gazi and Kerameikos.

On the other hand, with a guided tour you can save time and money and avoid the hassle of having to organise a tour on your own.

I recommend that before booking the tour you consider which option is the most interesting for you and fits your travel plan. Afterwards, you will just have to enjoy one of the most multicultural gastronomies in Europe and all the flavours of Greece.