Savoring Naples Food Tour

Taste the rich history of Naples culinary culture with a local insider

$474 and up

Private

N/A

Small group

Tour Details

About the Tour

Category: Cuisine, Four Days in Naples
Duration: 4 hours
Location: Naples

Photos & Highlights

Gain an understanding of Naples culinary traditions by learning to make pizza with a real Pizzaiolo and tasting Neapolitan traditional food
Led by an Italian cuisine expert
Historic District, Via Toledo, Spaccanapoli, and Local Pizzeria

Tour Description

Balancing rustic ingredients of the countryside with an abundance of fresh seafood, Neapolitan cuisine has become famous the world over for a number of characteristic dishes—mozzarella di bufala, spaghetti alla puttanesca, and, of course, Neapolitan pizza. This Naples Food Tour is part-walking tour, exploring both Naples' superb street food and specialty shops, and part-hands-on pizza making lesson, where we'll learn the art of making the perfect Naples pizza. Along the way we'll explore the culinary history and food traditions of Naples, topped off by a pizza of our own making in one of the city's famed pizzerie.

Naples Food Tour

We will begin with a stroll through the dense historical center of Naples, all the while discussing some of the most important culinary traditions of the city, how they were born, and how Neapolitan cuisine has evolved throughout the centuries. We will discuss the different preparation techniques dating back to the influence of the Spanish and Norman domination on Neapolitan food, with their smoked herrings and anchovies, which to date are still the topping for a low-calorie (relatively speaking) version of pizza called Pizza Marinara. You will learn the legendary story about the origins of pizza Margherita and why mozzarella, basil and tomatoes are mandatory and essential ingredients for any Italian. As we wind our way through the characteristic neighborhoods of via Toledo and Spaccanapoli, we will stop at some of the oldest and most traditional cafes and pastry shops in the city. Depending on the time of the year and the group's interest, we may taste traditional Neapolitan snacks and sweets such as taralli, baba' al rhum and sfogliatelle.

Pizza Making Class

After this enticing appetizer, we will visit one of Naples' most traditional pizzerias. Here, we will be given the ingredients and tools to make your own pizza Napoletana. A trained pizzaiolo will supervise our work and give us advice for achieving the perfect dough consistency and the right sauce-spreading and mozzarella-sprinkling techniques. Once the pizza is taken from the wood-burning oven, we will sit down and eat our masterpiece!

Take Aways

Together, we'll deepen our appreciation for Neapolitan food, deeply characteristic of Italian food as a whole. Not only will we delve into the cuisine's history, learning why Neapolitan food favors specific ingredients over others, but we'll sample a variety of classic Neapolitan treats before applying these lessons in our pizza making class.

If headed to Rome, try our Rome Food Tour. To get a better feel for Naples, try our introductory Naples Walking Tour.

FAQ

Can I participate food tours if I have food allergies or other dietary restrictions?
Yes. If you have any specific allergies/intolerances please indicate these in the Notes section when you're booking and your guide will do his or her best to accommodate. Vegetarian, gluten-free, and nut-free diets can certainly be accommodated, although the shops we visit do use wheat flour and nuts in the kitchen for other items. If you are booking privately, we can customize a route that will avoid such items, something that we cannot fully do on our small group walks.

Does the pizza making workshop follow the process from A to Z?
As pizza dough takes hours to prepare and to let it rise and everything, we do not prepare our own dough. However, the guide and pizzaiolo will talk through the steps on how it's made, then clients stretch the dough and add toppings.

Are the tastings equivalent to lunch or dinner?
Although this isn't a full sit-down meal, between the tastings and pizza, clients usually are well-sated by the end of the experience and do not need to make lunch or dinner reservations for afterwards.

Is this tour wheelchair accessible?
Some of the shops we visit are small and many will have a step up to access them. The general route may include small streets with narrow sidewalks. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding accessibility. We are also happy to design a private, customized tour for visitors with mobility concerns.

What if it’s raining?
Tours operate rain or shine, but in the case of inclement weather, your guide will modify the tour so more time is spent indoors. It never hurts to have an umbrella on hand.

Where You'll Start

Tour Experts

Riccardo

Riccardo holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Naples Federico II and a degree in Art History from the University Suor Orsola Benincasa. He is a native of Naples and also a classically trained musician, with a degree in classical guitar from the Conservatoire of Naples San Pietro a Majella. Besides his work as a licensed tour guide of all the archaeological sites (Pompei, Herculaneum, Oplontis, the Phlegrean Fields), churches, and museums of the Campania Region, he has held many conferences about medieval illuminations, and about relations between visual arts and music in Roman Antiquity and the Middle Ages. From 2006 to 2009 he worked as assistant professor at the "Suor Orsola Benincasa" University, in Naples. Riccardo also teaches art history at a secondary school.

Francesca

Born and raised in Naples, Francesca studied foreign languages and literature at Universita’ degli Studi Orientale di Napoli. After a long career working abroad in Asia and Europe, Francesca returned to Naples to dedicate herself to sharing her love of her home city with visitors from around the world. An authorized guide of the Campania Region, she loves to help people discover this wonderful part of Italy. While most tourists come for Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, Francesca’s passion is Naples' historic city center which is uniquely beautiful and which never ceases to surprise and amaze even the most expert traveler.

Gioconda

Gioconda earned a degree in Archaeology at Federico II University of Naples a PhD in the Archaeology of Magna Graecia with a focus on Roman Building Techniques. Her main interest is Roman architecture. As both a teacher and a licensed guide, Gioconda is at ease explaining complex concepts to adults and families. She is very passionate about sharing her deep love of archaeology and her knowledge about her hometown with clients from all over the world.

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38 Reviews – (4.87)

Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.

Alberto was lovely. Equally comfortable schooling us on the delicacies of Napoli and the ruins and history of Pompeii. He was sensitive to our need to cut it a little short due to the heat, and we only hope he truly understands it was not lack of interest. The pizza making was fun and delicious!

Regen

Jun. 30, 2022

The food was great. Roberto was very knowledgeable. He not only provided a great cultural history of the food but also of the City. His background in Archeology really shows. We thorough enjoyed it

Li li

May. 28, 2022

Alberto combined his knowledge & love of Naples together with amazing food choices in our tour. It was a highlight of our trip to Italy. Thank you.

Jeanne

May. 12, 2022

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Savoring Naples Food Tour

Participants

Naples Food Tour

Pizza Making Class

Take Aways

FAQ