Culinary Delights of Italy, France, & Spain Itinerary

Wander through Paris’s Latin Quarter, following your nose to try the finest of French fare. The simplicity of crusty baguettes, chocolates crafted like velvet treats, a grand selection of wines from across France. Olive oils, cured hams, vintage wines, macarons, the list goes on as Paris’s shops and bistros provide an introduction to both French and European flavors. Later in the afternoon, you learn the secrets of Parisian pastries with the Ritz’s head pastry chef. It’s a hands-on, informal lesson, revealing many of the simple tricks that have been part of patisseries for centuries.

Pungent cheeses greet you at one stall. Vintage hams dominate another. Taste olive oil and jams. A local guide leads you around an open-air food market, taking you from stall to stall. You’re also shopping for local fruit and vegetables, along with other ingredients to cook with. Back in the kitchen, you prepare a French lunch with the guide, using foods that will have come from across the country. The afternoon is at your leisure, a good time to wander the city. This evening you dine in style with reservations at one of the city’s most intimate fine-dining restaurants.

A leisurely start, breakfast at the hotel and some time to unwind before the train journey south. Travel through landscapes from an Impressionist painting to Beaune, the medieval heart of Burgundy. Walk across the cobbled square as cathedral bells chime. Explore the soft grandeur of a distant era. Soak up the change in tempo and spend the evening dining on an al fresco terrace, trying one of the region’s old-world classics: beef bourguignon, coq au vin, or escargot. This is a region that sticks proudly to its traditions, and over the next three days, you’ll try all these dishes. Wash the food down with the drink that comes from here, Pinot Noir.

After a classic breakfast of croissants and French delicacies, you take a scenic drive into the villages of the Cote De Beaune, where a chateau stand on the hills and villages delight in their authenticity. Explore the World Heritage wine-lands and taste different vintages at a wine maker’s home. Eat lunch close to Rochepot and tour small villages, stopping to try the premier crux and grand crux (prize-winning Pinot Noir wines) in Puligny and Meursault. The cellars come from the early Middle Agestoand there’s an atmosphere to tasting in Burgundy as if you’ve disappeared back to a time where the only thing that mattered was good food and good wine.

You will continue to Cote De Nuits the Burgundy sub-region that’s produced some of the world’s most famous wines. For over a thousand years, they’ve been cultivating here and Chateau du Clos de Vougeot is essential to understanding this history. After the tasting, you eat at a typical local Bourguignon restaurant, before  sampling cassis liqueur, hams, and mustard. Cote De Nuits is packed with private cellars and you can taste as much as you have the energy for today, with private wineries opening up to showcase the old vintages. Back in Beaune there’s a third different restaurant to try, which probably means the third of the region’s signature dishes.

After a transfer to Lyon, you fly to Barcelona and have an afternoon to explore the city. Go in search of Gaudi’s architecture, check out Picasso’s formative works, and learn all about Dali. Or perhaps you walk La Ramblas to Barrio Gothic, inhaling the smells and sounds of this famous city. The Spanish dine late, so you have most of the day to explore, before reservations at one of Catalonia’s legendary contemporary restaurants. While this region has a long culinary history, it has come to international acclaim through its modern dining, not least the multi-time winners of The World’s Best 50 Restaurants. In Catalonia, fine dining comes with an idiosyncratic, artistic twist – so indulge, and wonder at to the contrasts with last night in Beaune.

Around the late-morning time, you travel to Penedes, the iconic wine region that gave the world Cava, a sparkling wine of delicacy and delight. Lounge on a terrace overlooking the vines and taste with the winemaker, learning the craft of this wine’s production. There’s some free time in Barcelona this afternoon before an evening of Catalan cooking. The hands-on workshop creates two traditional dishes, then pairs them with Catalan wines. Like in Paris it’s an informal workshop with a renowned chef, teaching some of the distinctive technique that makes this a revered foodies region.

Fly to Malaga and it’s a short transfer to Ronda, an ancient city carved into the mountains. Bullfighting originated here. The Moors once ruled, along with bandits and outlaws. The local history is dramatic yet the town radiates charm, especially because it’s mostly off the tourist maps. This is real Andalusia and it’s a wonderful place to eat like the locals. When arriving in Ronda a local historian takes you on a tour of the old town, providing an orientation to the next three days. You then spend most of the evening cooking in the Andalusian homeland, tasting and drinking wines as you go. Eat Spanish starters, exquisite meat dishes, then sesame puff pastry, meringue mimosa, and peach pudding. You’ll dine late, as is the style here, sat on a terrace as the town’s church bells continue to echo.

Half of the world’s olive oil comes from Spain and Andalusia is where the Spanish go to get their olive oil. Visit two famous olive mills this morning and explore the process, particularly how the flavor is expertly refined. Sherry is another local delicacy and pairs well with goat’s milk cheeses over lunch. This evening you enjoy the classic Andalusian food experience – tapas hopping. Walk through the maze of alleyways and cobbled streets, sampling dishes at each of the terraces. Chorizo sausages in cider, meatballs with squid, unique garlic mushrooms, pears glazed in wine sauce are classic tapas in the home of tapas.

Andalusia has the perfect location for seafood, tucked between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Over the centuries that has translated into a rich seafood culture, one that’s dominated by innovative dishes. Today’s cooking demonstration explores the different kinds of seafood and how they are prepared, plus how they are kept fresh and used in tapas dishes. It’s not hands-on, more like a continual tasting extravaganza. With the rest of the day free, you can choose to explore more of Andalusia, perhaps taking a drive to another of the region’s whitewashed villages, or going out to the old Moorish capital of Granada. For the evening, you can also enjoy a local flamenco performance.

Fly to Rome and take some time to yourself. There’s been a lot of food and a lot of wine. The Eternal City is a good way to walk off some of the calories. Wander to the Pantheon and onwards to the Colosseum. Walk down the Spanish Steps and across an ancient piazza. Celebrate at the odes to world history and get your first true Italian coffee. This evening you’re taken to Rome’s Parioli district, where a Mediterranean restaurant only serves food that has come from nearby organic farms. The four-course tasting menu is a great introduction to Italian dining and every course is paired with wine.

They’ve been making wine in Frascati for 2,500 years. It’s been loved by popes, poets and emperors alike, and was the drink of choice during the height of the Roman Empire. A white blend crafted from five indigenous grapes – Malvasia di Candia, Trebbiano, Grechetto, Bombino bianco, and Malvasia del Lazio – Frascati was also one of Italy’s first DOC and DOCG controlled wine regions. You taste at the vineyards and celebrate this place of viticulture history, visiting two legendary estates just south of Rome. In the afternoon, there’s time to explore more of Rome with your guide before cruising along a 1947 railroad car. The carriage is now a restaurant and concert hall, with starters being served as you rumble from Lazio into Central Rome. The band plays as the mains come out and the train stops outside the Colosseum. It’s extravagant, but this is Rome, where they’ve been fine dining for more than one millennia.

For many people around the world, there’s no cuisine to rival Italy. While some Italians may disagree, Emilia-Romagna is the country’s most important gastronomic region. So take a train to Bologna and tour the old city with a guide, learning about its heritage and wondering why it has stayed so far off the tourist radar. Later this afternoon, you learn about Bolognese pasta in Bologna, a very authentic class based on time-honored recipes. You’ll discover that Italian cuisine is actually very simple, but to perfect simplicity you must have a passionate attention to detail.

Many world-famous delicacies originate in Emilia-Romagna. Tour a Parmigiano factory and discover why this is the original of all Parmesan or Italian hard cheeses, especially when you taste cheeses aged for different periods. Visit a farmhouse and sample proper balsamic from Modena, the black gold, as it is known in this part of the world. Take a tour of a prosciutto factory and see how Parma-style ham is so distinct from other cured hams. It’s a day that involves a huge amount of indulgent tasting, so nothing is planned for dinner. You’ll find many good restaurants in and around Bologna; this is a city that can’t abide by bad food.

Emilia-Romagna’s culinary legend comes from its raw produce. This raw produce is best showcased at one of Italy’s oldest food markets. With an insider guide, you explore this Bologna market, learning the subtleties that define local flavors. Along the way, there’s a bakery, chocolate shops, and a place to sample gelato. To round off this foodies tour through three countries, you make dessert. More specifically, you make Emilian desserts, like rice cake with almonds and amaretti cookies, strawberries with balsamic vinegar and Mascarpone, a torta chocolate cake with almonds and coffee, plus roasted chestnut treats from the mountains.

After 16 days of food, you carry the recipes home with you, not to mention any vacuum-packed specialities and bottles that have been picked up on the way.