MyBologna.com · Mercato delle Erbe to Santo Stefano
A local guide takes up to 10 people through Mercato delle Erbe, the Quadrilatero and family-run shops, ending with dessert near Piazza Santo Stefano. Pick it to learn how Bologna shops and eats, and to pay for the tastings you actually want.
This tour works differently from the others on this site, and it's worth understanding before you book. The tour fee covers the guide. The food is paid separately at each stop, at your discretion, so you can taste a lot or very little. The listing positions it as the budget alternative to all-inclusive food tours, and as a good fit for people who mainly want to look around.
You start in front of Mercato delle Erbe on Via Belvedere and spend about an hour inside, the covered market on Via Ugo Bassi where locals still shop. Then ten minutes on foot to the Quadrilatero for about 40 minutes among the delis and pasta shops, and a final dessert stop at Piazza Santo Stefano. Along the way the guide talks about sustainable and no-waste shopping, and how Bologna families cook.
The tastings on offer include cured ham, cheese, hand-rolled fresh pasta, mortadella, balsamic, bread and gelato. The listing says vegetarian and lactose-free options are available, which makes this a sensible pick for mixed diets. Mercato delle Erbe stalls close on Sundays, per the market's own site, so check which days the tour runs.
Meet in front of the market entrance on Via Belvedere.
Stalls of produce, cheese and cured meats, and how locals shop for the week.
A short walk across the centre.
Family-run delis, fresh pasta makers and balsamic, with tastings you buy as you go.
Gelato or a sweet to finish near Piazza Santo Stefano, where the tour ends.
★★★★★Great tour! Our family enjoyed it alot. Recommended!
★★★★★Brilliant… informative, friendly and made the experience really enjoyable
★★★★★A perfect 2hr tour of a small group of us; Benedetta was really knowledgeable of local and wider Italian cuisine
★★★★★Bennadetta made this tour so special. She knew so many details about the markets and the people running each location.
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No. The guide is included; the food is paid separately at each stop, and you choose how much to taste. That is the point of this tour.
Mercato delle Erbe on Via Ugo Bassi for about an hour, then the Quadrilatero lanes for about 40 minutes, ending with dessert at Piazza Santo Stefano.
Check the booking calendar. Mercato delle Erbe stalls close on Sundays, according to the market's own website, so a Sunday visit would miss the stalls.
Yes. The listing says vegetarian and lactose-free options are available at the stops.
Ready to book
Two of Bologna's food markets with a guide, small group, and you pay only for what you taste.
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