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Our most popular cooking vacation destination: from the food to the wine to the people, Italy offers it all…
Read MoreExperience Italy for foodies! We offer private and small group Italy cooking and wine vacations with the best cooking courses in Italy. The International Kitchen’s Italy food & wine tours let you explore this amazing country through hands-on cooking classes taught by charming local chefs, as well as foodie tours to visit artisanal food producers, olive mills, and wineries, and visits to the cultural sites that make Italy one of the world’s most popular travel destinations.
Top 50 Cooking Vacations in Italy 2025
Cooking Vacations In Italy
There’s a reason our culinary tours in Italy are so popular.
Explore Italy for foodies on an Italy food tour with The International Kitchen. You can delight in the best cooking courses in Italy, in which you learn to make regional specialties and traditional Italian staples such as homemade pastas, flavorful sauces, succulent meat dishes, scrumptious seafood, and out-of-this-world desserts. Your teacher might be a professional Italian chef or a “nonna” (grandmother) who passes along generations of family recipes and a passionate dedication to Italian cuisine.
Italy culinary tourism has grown in the years since we started the niche of cooking and wine tasting holidays in Italy. And it’s easy to see why: who is not tempted by the thought of gourmet holidays in Italy?
We have been organizing the best private, custom, and small group cooking tours in Italy for 25 years, and we have thousands of satisfied culinary travelers that we consider friends. Many of them return year after year to explore new foodie destinations with us on our Italy food tours. We are a small company, dedicated purely to foodie trips, and personal service is one of the hallmarks of our business.
So whether you are a foodie looking for cooking travel tours Italy, an avid home cook searching for cooking school Italy vacations, or simply someone who thinks food is the best part of every trip, we have culinary tours in Italy that will satisfy every culinary traveler. Moreover, if you’re looking for a good wine tour Italy is a perfect choice.
All in all, Italy is well-known for wine tasting, our company is good at vacation packages. Why don’t we combine these?
More about our cooking vacations in Italy
Our cooking vacations in Italy will also include:
- Food and wine tours in Italy including cheese and local products tastings
- Visits to open air fruit and vegetable markets, vineyards, or olive oil mills
- Cultural and culinary tours to local sites of interest
- Our many years of experience and personalized service while planning your foodie trip to Italy
Accommodations for our cooking holidays in Italy are in everything from cozy B&B properties to private villas, farmhouses, and luxurious hotels.
Cooking with the locals during an authentic Italy cooking vacation with The International Kitchen.
FAQ about cooking holidays in Italy
Where can I learn to cook in Italy?
Tuscany, Umbria, Campania, Sicily, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Lombardy, Lazio, Puglia, and the Veneto, are only a handful of the places where you can learn to cook in Italy. Italy’s 20 regions all offer amazing opportunities to learn regional and traditional Italian cuisine. Each region has its own pastas, sauces, main dishes and desserts, and you will learn to make them on our cooking courses in Italy.
Which city has the best food in Italy?
Italians might fight to the death over the answer to this question! Many would say that the city of Bologna has the best food in Italy. It is definitely one of the culinary capitals of Italy, and Emilia Romagna, the region in which it is found, is known for its incredible wealth of gastronomic products such as prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano-Reggiano, aceto balsamico di Modena, and pastas like tortellini, tagliatelle, and lasagne.
We think that each of Italy’s regions, however, has something truly unique and unforgettable to offer on our culinary vacations in Italy.
Which city in Italy has the best pizza?
Most Italians would agree that Naples has the best pizza in Italy. Naples, the capital of the Campania region, is also the birthplace of pizza! The main ingredients of pizza also come from this region: fresh mozzarella cheese and San Marzano tomatoes, grown in the sun-drenched volcanic soil of Mount Vesuvius.
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Read This PostRegions We Visit on our Food and Wine Tours in Italy
- Abruzzo: Bask in the beauty of ancient and authentic Abruzzo during an Italy food tour. Enjoy hands-on Italian cooking classes with simple regional cuisine full of flavors, and explore the miles of seaside, mountains, and national parks during our culinary trips to Italy in the Abruzzo region.
- Amalfi Coast: Learn the secrets of Mediterranean cuisine and enjoy the lifestyle of Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento, and Capri on an Italy food tour to the Amalfi Coast. Revel in a mix of spectacular coastlines and famed sites like Pompeii and the Blue Grotto on our unique culinary tours to Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
- Emilia Romagna: Taste the famous aged Parmesan cheese and Prosciutto di Parma on our gastronomic tours of Italy. Visit Bologna, Parma, Modena, and more and explore the local cuisine during hands-on cooking classes on an amazing Italy food tour to Emilia Romagna.
- Friuli Venezia Giulia: Explore the unique geography and equally unique cuisine of a region that borders Austria, Slovenia, and the Veneto during our food and wine tours in Italy in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
- Liguria: Charming port towns such as the famed Cinque Terre and all the pesto and pasta you could dream of make our gourmet holidays in Italy in the Liguria region extra special. Check out Genoa, Portofino, and miles of hiking trails on an Italy food tour to this charming area.
- Lombardia/Lakes Region: Enjoy the gorgeous lakes and rustic foods of the north on our cooking vacations in Italy’s Lombardy region. Savor the risotto, polenta, and famed Franciacorta sparklers on our food and wine tours in Italy and the Lakes region.
- Piedmont: One of our favorite regions is home to some of Italy’s most famous wines, which you will taste on our food and wine tours in Italy and the Piedmont region. From Barolo to Barbaresco, an Italy food tour in Piedmont will satisfy every appetite!
- Puglia: Home to classic Italian breads, olive oils and wines – you’re sure to fall in love with Puglia (Apulia) on our cooking vacations in Italy at the southern part of the peninsula. Some of our best Italy wine tours are in this sunny and beautiful region.
- Rome/Lazio: Authentic villages and delectable regional dishes will capture your heart on our culinary tours in Italy near the capital city. An Italy food tour in Lazio will include hands-on cooking classes, foodie excursions, and more.
- Sicily: The heart of Mediterranean food lives on this exotic island, and you can explore it on an Italy food tour to Palermo, Taormina, Agrigento, and more. Many of our most popular Italy wine tours take place in authentic Sicily.
- Tuscany: Explore breathtaking landscapes and enjoy the renowned food of this region on our Italy wine tours and cooking vacations in Italy in the Tuscany region. Rustic Tuscan food and wine are the staples of some of our best cooking vacations in Italy.
- Umbria: The laid-back locals will welcome you like a family friend on our culinary tours in Italy and its Umbria region. An Italy food tour in Umbria will include hands-on cooking classes featuring delicious regional recipes.
- Veneto: Discover the fine cuisine and legendary wines of this magical region on our Italy wine tours and cooking vacations in Italy and the Veneto region. From the lagoon of Venice to the Dolomites, the Veneto is a perfect destination for our culinary tours in Italy.