Heraklion Food Stories Walking Tour with 8 local-favorite stops
Walk with us to experience Heraklion like a local and explore the best the city has to offer. Learn about the culinary culture and wander in local neighborhoods as you eat and sip your way through authentic Heraklion. Highlights: • Experience real Cretan food at 8 local-favourite stops away from the tourist crowds. • Sample unique Cretan cheeses and learn how to become an authentic Cretan cheese-expert by selecting the best ones. • Sample Heraklion’s bougatsa in a family-owned business that has been running since since 1920s. • Taste the world famous Cretan olive oil and find out why it is considered one of the best in the world. • Enjoy a glass of local wine and learn about the local wine making process that dates back to the Bronze Age. • Sip a a freshly brewed traditional Greek coffee in a local kafeneion.
Options
Private Tour, Pick up/Drop Off
Hotel Pick Up
Private
Pickup included
What's included in Heraklion Food Stories Walking Tour with 8 local-favorite stops
(Subject to Option Inclusions)Itinerary
Liberty (eleftherias) Square
Follow this four-hour Heraklion food and wine walking tour that will introduce you to the best food that Heraklion has to offer by treating your palate to traditional Cretan dishes and exceptional local wines! Being one of the healthiest and tastiest diets in the world and the base of the Mediterranean diet, the Cretan cuisine is so unique due to its strong tie with local culture, history and geography of the region. The best way to get to know a place is through its food and we will take you on an unforgettable tasty journey through Heraklion’s local neighbourhoods. After meeting your local guide, you’ll start off with a traditional Greek coffee also known as ellinikós kafés. Learn why Greeks love so much coffee and see it brewed the traditional way in sand and yes, we will teach you “cup reading”, a centuries-old tradition that reads your future!
Heraklion
Next, you’ll enjoy Heraklion’s well known bougatsa in a family-owned business that has mastered their bougatsa technique since 1922! Consisting of semolina custard, cheese, or minced meat filling between layers of phyllo, bougatsa is a must-taste pastry that you shouldn’t miss while being in the city.
Heraklion Central Market
Passing through the historical center of Heraklion, you’ll continue the exploration to a local market where you’ll meet the local vendors and learn about their products. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to sample some of the basic elements of Cretan cuisine such as olives, rusks, and cheese – and yes, we’ll teach you how to become a cheese–tasting expert by giving some local hints and learning how to spot the best local cheeses! And of course, taste the island’s famous olive oil and find out why organic Cretan olive oil is one of the best oils in the world.
Inclusions
- Taste traditional Greek coffee with a local pastry called bougatsa.
- Enjoy some local Cretan wines and spirit in a family-run shop.
- Get personalized tips for the area's best bars and eateries.
- Experience the city with our passionate, English-speaking local guide.
- Sit down for a local organic meat dish.
- PRIVATE TOUR Exclusive: enjoy the comfort of pick-up and drop-off at your stay.
- Sample olives, rusks, olive oil, local cheese and traditional sweets.
- Additional food and drink
- Tips & gratuities for your guide
- Small group tour option excluded hotel pick up
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- How you help the local community by joining this tour: - During this tour, you sample locally-sourced food from Crete’s villages, farmers, and stock-breeders. - On this tour, you meet a local greengrocer, cheesemonger, butcher, and fishmonger, and other family-owned businesses that sell their own Cretan-only products. - By joining this tour, you are supporting a 100-year-old local bakery so it can keep flourishing and serving authentic local delicacies.
- Food Allergies: Unless you suffer from multiple, combined food allergies, or unless you are a vegan, we will figure it out. Vegetarians are welcome on all tours. Please wear comfortable shoes for walking.
- In general, there are few dress restrictions in Europe and dress codes are similar to those you are used to at home. Please note though that in many churches modest dress is required; no shorts or skimpy tops are permitted.
- If you are happy with the services provided by your local guides a tip – though not compulsory – is appropriate. While it may not be customary to you, it is of great significance to the people who will take care of you during your travels, inspires excellent service, and is an entrenched feature of the tourism industry. Please consider this when budgeting for your extra expenses on this tour.
Meet
Pickup and Dropoff
You can choose to be picked up from a list of locations, or alternatively, have the choice to make your own way to the meeting points
Please arrive at the pick up point 5 minutes before departure time.
Additional Information
Guests’ pickup is offered for the private group option. We will meet you at your hotel lobby or the cruise port. Our guide will be holding a sign with your name.
Meeting Points
- We will be standing next to the statue of a soldier in the middle of Eleftherias Square at 11:00 AM Eleftherias Square is the main square of Heraklion, near the Archaeological Museum, and opposite the Astoria Hotel. We will be standing on the square holding a Crete Local Adventures sign.
Redeem
Ticket Redemption
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: If you are not at the meeting point on time, your guide will start the tour without you. Joining the tour later will not be possible as our guides will be busy taking care of travellers who came on time. If you miss the beginning of the tour, please contact us by phone. Guests’ pickup is offered for the private group option. Pick up time adjustable upon your request. We will meet you at your hotel lobby or the cruise port. Our guide will be holding a sign with your name. Call +306980679166 if you have any trouble locating your guide. HOW DID WE DO? Let us know what you loved (or what we can do better) by leaving a review.
