City food walks

City food walks: eat your way across town

Some of the best food and drink travel needs no car at all: just comfortable shoes, an appetite and a loose route between markets, bakeries and bars. These walks are designed as half-days, and each city links naturally to a wine or whisky region nearby.

Fruit and vegetable stalls in an old cobbled market street in Bologna
Market stalls on Via Pescherie Vecchie, Bologna · Flickr user 121083587@N03 · CC BY-SA 2.0

How to use these walks

Each walk is a loose route, not a timetable. We name neighbourhoods, markets and classic dishes rather than recommending individual bars, because good places change hands and opening days change. Use the route to find your own favourites. Check opening hours on the day, since many markets close on Sundays and some on Mondays.

  • Edinburgh: Old Town closes, a weekend market and the whisky bars of Leith. It pairs with the Lowlands and the road north to Speyside.
  • Bologna: market lanes in the Quadrilatero, fresh pasta and mortadella. Bologna is the gateway to Emilia-Romagna, and Florence and Tuscany are a short train ride away.
  • San Sebastián: a pintxos crawl through the Parte Vieja and Gros. It is about two hours from Rioja.

Walking food etiquette

Eat small and often. Share plates. Drink water between bars. Carry a little cash for markets, and respect queues and local meal times.

The curving, colourful shopfronts of Victoria Street in Edinburgh's Old TownFood walk · ScotlandEdinburgh food walk: Old Town to LeithCobbled closes, Scottish produce, whisky bars and a seafood finish on the Leith shore.Narrow market lane in Bologna's Quadrilatero with food shops and fruit stallsFood walk · ItalyBologna food walk: porticoes, pasta and the old marketMarket lanes, hand-rolled pasta and the city that gave the world mortadella.A bar counter in San Sebastián covered with plates of pintxosFood walk · Basque CountrySan Sebastián pintxos walk: the Parte Vieja and GrosOne bite, one glass, next bar. The Basque art of the evening crawl.

Keep exploring

Autumn-coloured vines along a dirt track near Laguardia in Rioja AlavesaWine region · SpainRioja: old bodegas and hilltop townsBarrel-lined bodegas, walled hill towns and Logroño's pinchos lanes.Wooden washbacks inside the tun room at Glenkinchie DistilleryWhisky region · Edinburgh, Glasgow & the southLowland whisky: easy days from the citiesLight, grassy, floral drams within an hour of the cities. The perfect add-on to a city break.Spring vineyards and cypress trees in the rolling hills near Gaiole in ChiantiWine region · ItalyTuscany: Chianti hills and Montalcino lightCypress roads, Sangiovese and long lunches between Florence, Siena and the Val d'Orcia.