Sicily · SHOPPING TOURS
Good shopping tours fill up weeks ahead and the great ones go first. Below: the 15 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
Taste Palermo’s arancini, panelle, spleen sandwich and seasonal sweets while exploring Capo and Vucciria with a local guide.
“Excellent tour! Everything was so delicious and very much fried, fatty & greasy…all very good things! We also had great wine & gelato within the tour as we walked through a few markets. I absolutely enjoyed myself!”
Taste Catania’s best street food, explore the fish market, and hear local stories on a three-hour Streaty walking tour.
“Great experience. Interesting group of people and a chance to taste local food that I wouldn’t normally try. Our guide Giuseppe was amazing. We learned more in a few hours from him than we would have in a week by ourselves.”
Cook Sicilian dishes, shop Taormina’s market with a chef, then share handmade pasta, fish, wine, and cannoli at lunch.
“Amazing day with Paulo in the market and the kitchen. A lovely experience, great value for money.”
Shop Palermo’s Capo Market, make arancini, pasta alla Norma, and cannoli, then enjoy your three-course Sicilian lunch with wine.
“Our chef, Filippo, was awesome. He was totally in his game, knowledgeable and fun with a great sense of humor. This is a must do experience in Palermo. As a chef I always do the food tour and chef class and this was one of the best. The recipes and end results were fantastic. Chef Filippo was an awesome instructor. I highly recommend it.”
Taste four Sicilian volcanic wines with local food at Catania’s Piazza Scammacca, guided by a sommelier in a former church setting.
“it wasnt just wine tasting, I really enjoyed that we could go around the place and was given a brief introduction and history about the place and location, and got very well informed about grapes, and the food was totally amazing, matched perfectly with with wine!!”
Shop Ortigia’s market, cook Sicilian dishes with Letizia and Giuseppe, then share a homemade meal at a family country home.
“It was a fabulous day. We shopped at the Ortigia market for the ingredients for lunch and learned about the local produce and fish. Then we went to Guiseppe’s family home for a wonderful cooking experience. We had a fun time with two other couples learning to make pasta and caponata among other dishes. Would highly recommend.”
Taste Catania’s fish market, arancini, cannoli, and granita while a local guide brings the city’s food, history, and culture to life.
“This tour surprised me how much was included, we thought it was a tasting but the portions were large and to end it all with a huge cannolo was fabulous. Dora our guide was full of knowledge, she didn’t rush and took her time to answer questions any of us had. It was a lovely group of people.”
Shop Taormina’s markets with Chef Massimo, make Sicilian pasta and family recipes, then enjoy a six-course meal with local wine.
“We've taken about 12 cooking classes in Italy over the years and Massimo's class was the best one for us. He was second-to-none as a teacher. He took us to the market and shared all sorts of valuable information about selecting produce, meat, and fish. Then, at his home, we started the class. Again he offered great information throughout the class about cooking. There were 16 people in this hands-on class and everyone got opportunities to do many things. He created the environment of a typical, Sunday family meal in Italy. We had an abundance of a variety of great foods: mussels, fish, caponata, stuffed zucchini blossoms, pasta, meatballs, etc.…”
Learn Sicilian recipes, shop Taormina’s market, make pasta and seafood, then enjoy your meal with wine in a friendly three-hour class.
“Absolutely wonderful and unforgettable experience of Sicilian cuisine and culture ❤️ our chef Paolo was looking after us for the day and everything was just perfect 👌 We cooked and tasted different regional meals, learnt how to make pasta while learning about the traditions during the class. I cannot recommend enough. absolutely wonderful 😊💛”
Shop Ortigia Market with Chef Ettore, cook fresh Sicilian dishes, and enjoy a hands-on four-hour lunch in Syracuse.
“This was on of the best activities we did on our trip. The walk through the market was so much fun. Chef knew everyone and explained the most popular items. We then got a charcuterie board that was out of this world! Then we got to cooking and made a number of unique dishes and learned how to make fresh pasta in 7 minutes. This far exceeded our expectations and we would highly recommend to everyone!”
Taste Palermo’s best street food on a three-hour Ballarò tour with panelle, sfincione, arancina, cannoli, coffee, and local stories.
“We had an amazing time on our Palermo Street Food & Market tour with Giusi as our guide. We were very impressed that she had such extensive knowledge about the history and ingredients of the food we were tasting. We did not leave hungry! These were full portions we got to try and it was all delicious! The market was busy and bustling and so fun to experience. Hands down the best tour we booked while in Palermo, highly recommend!”
Shop Ortigia’s market, cook classic Sicilian dishes with Chef Ettore, and sit down to a generous lunch in this private four-hour class.
“What a fantastic experience...from selecting fish at the outdoor market, preparing the food and eating our fabulous creations”
Shop Palermo’s Capo Market with chef Patrizia, cook Sicilian classics, and share a four-course lunch with local wine.
“Personal attention of Patrizia and care taken to explain each step - commencing with buying our ingredients in the Capo market. Only improvement would be the weather!!”
Shop Catania’s market, choose seasonal ingredients, and cook a three-course Sicilian meal with Chef Riccardo at his sea-view villa.
“Absolutely amazing, hands down the best experience we’ve ever had! They give the real local experience topped with making you feel like a true part of their family! We learned so much and can’t wait to recreate everything back home!”
Taste Catania’s fish market, arancini, local street food, wine, and fruit while exploring lava tunnels and Sicilian history.
“Davide was exceptional. Informative, knowledgeable and a great sense of humour. Food and drinks were plentiful, and delicious. Would highly recommend this tour.”
Pick a crater, a coastline or a kitchen.
