- Where to stay: We advise those who like to conquer the slopes to stay directly at the chosen resort. Arctic hotels in Saariselka are an interesting experience to live in one of the northernmost resorts in the world. It's a little expensive here, but the views will blow you away. There is also a spa and even a water park. Vuokatti is perhaps the most family-friendly of all Finnish resorts; the choice of accommodation is very, very large. And very close to Kajaani and Kuhmo, there is also accommodation for tourists. We are going to Kemijärvi with the children to visit Santa. For fun city adventures, welcome to Oulu. Hotels - for every taste, fresh sea air - free. Rovaniemi hotels are a choice for those who want everything from Lapland at once. There is nature, sports, culture and art, and shopping, of course.
- What to see: Sometimes it seems that if you stop anywhere in Lapland, get out of the car, there will be ski resort. There are more than a dozen of them known and popular here. Off-season, almost every ski resort admits that there are wonderful protected forests and national parks around. For those looking for a more traditional tourist adventure (or visiting in the summer), we recommend visiting Rovaniemi - historical and Cultural Center Lapland. Although there is also ski slopes, it seems that Lappi is nowhere without them. Visit the Arktikum Arctic Center, Reindeer and Husky Farms, Santa Park and other great attractions.
Oulu local residents considered the most fun place in Finland. The notorious student spirit is taking its toll.
Gastronomic tours are very popular tourist destination, which appeared relatively recently. Some people believe that gastronomic tourism is suitable only for great gourmets and aesthetes, while others, on the contrary, regard this type of recreation as a very serious activity. But imagine for a moment how, instead of standing in line to view paintings or sculptures in museums in Paris and New York, you are at a restaurant table in Tbilisi, tasting elite Georgian wines. Or you can learn the rules of cooking rostilja dishes in one of the villages in Serbia. Do you agree, it sounds tempting and appetizing?
In fact, a gastronomic holiday reveals the spirit of the peoples whose national cuisines you decide to try and study. It was the maximalist gourmets who were the founders of this type of recreation. Initially, gastrotours were practiced only in Europe and Asia. But now culinary routes are also organized in neighboring countries. On such trips, the main focus is on visiting restaurants and culinary master classes, where taste impressions are the basis. Many people want to learn how to cook deliciously, so gourmet travelers are already planning a gastronomic tour for 2019.
Gastronomic tours from Moscow
You can go on a culinary journey from Moscow all year round. This is another uniqueness of gastrotours to get acquainted with different countries through the kitchen. Every point of the trip is thought out in the programs, and the price for a gastronomic tour is more affordable when compared with a beach holiday. Culinary travel from “Horizons” will allow you to meet talented chefs, see private wineries, and learn how to create exactly the taste of national dishes that are not in cookbooks.
An excursion and gastronomic tour can conditionally be of two categories: urban or rural. In the case of urban areas, travelers are invited to visit restaurant establishments to sample national delicacies from virtuoso chefs. Going on rural gastro tours from Moscow will be interesting for those who want to see how berries are picked, homemade cheese is made, and poultry is raised. And of course, take part in all these processes yourself.
However, you can study national cuisines not only analytically, but also geographically. For example, you can choose one specific product - cheese or wine - and try it in all countries. The analytical method is suitable for those who want to get to know a certain country, getting to know it thoroughly through dishes - from tasting desserts and snacks, ending with savoring meat dishes, vegetables, and fruits. Gastronomic tours tour operator “Horizons” allows you to choose exactly what you like best. So where can you go when you don’t want to travel far, but have a great desire to experience the real taste of delicacies without spending a huge budget?
Gastronomic tour to Georgia
One of the oldest cuisines in the world. Very often, when going to Georgian restaurants, you can hear the phrase “tasty, like at home.” But this is the true truth. The ingredients used in cooking are always fresh. No semi-finished products or freezing. Cooking with your own hands complements the cooking process. The famous khinkali, churchkhela and khachapuri with cheese that melts in your mouth are just a small part of why most gourmets love Georgian cuisine.
The Georgian diet consists of numerous dishes:
· meat - mtsvadi (national shish kebab made from beef tenderloin);
· baked goods - achma (cheese pie), shoti (traditional flatbread cooked in the oven);
· first courses - chikhirtma (thick soup);
· vegetable snacks and side dishes - pkhali, lobio;
· a variety of sauces, topped by tkemali.
Culinary will reveal to many interested the secrets of creating a unique taste national cuisine, will teach you how to prepare local cheeses that you cannot buy in stores. And Georgian wines will perfectly complement a dinner prepared with your own hands.
Gastronomic tour to Armenia
The traditions and dishes of Armenian cuisine are no less famous. The centuries-old basis of food consists of numerous dairy products, cheeses, meat dishes, grains and legumes, as well as a large number of greens and herbs. Isn't it a miracle to learn how to cook khashlama or the famous variety of Matsoni cheese? And you can taste the delicious whitefish, which is found in the famous Lake Sevan, either fried or grilled. Spending time usefully and mastering it will allow tourists to gain good experience in preparing traditional dishes and enjoy the true tastes of this country.
Gastronomic tour to Serbia
Delicious and absolutely inexpensive food that you definitely need to try and learn how to cook. This is an interesting combination of Mediterranean, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish cuisines. In Serbia, preference is given to meat dishes; fruits and vegetables are not particularly popular here, with the exception of the famous “Shopska salad”. Therefore, meat lovers will like this culinary tour. They will teach you how to cook national dishes such as lamb over coals (which takes 4 hours to prepare), pljeskavica, kapama, and dzhuvech. And you should definitely try the incredibly delicious Serbian honey.
Gastronomic tours in Russia
Russian cuisine occupies one of the leading positions in the world. The program of a gastronomic tour in Russia may include acquaintance with ancient Russian dishes and also the opportunity to learn foreign cuisines without leaving the country. How is this possible? Everything is quite simple. Let's start, of course, with Russian dishes. The nationality of ancient Russian food includes about 1000 dishes, the centuries-old history of which includes preparation that requires certain skills.
From the main products, starting from ancient Rus', food was prepared from:
· cabbage, mushrooms, radishes, turnips, potatoes;
· berries and fruits;
· meat, fish;
· cereals: millet, rye, oats, buckwheat, lentils, wheat.
· milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt.
Cabbage soup, pies, cheesecakes, potato pancakes, kvass, jelly, sbiten - the range of ancient Russian dishes is extensive. You can also go on gastronomic tours around the Moscow region on weekends. In just a couple of days you can gain a lot of benefits, learn the history through the prepared dishes, and most importantly, learn how to create your own traditional dumplings, giblet stew or pumpkin porridge.
You can also taste real European dishes in Russia. Gourmet travelers have the opportunity to go on a gastronomic tour with the Horizons tour operator to get acquainted with real European, Old Russian cuisine and take away the best souvenir - the ability to cook traditional, national dishes. Private agricultural farms, wineries of foreign farmers and cheesemakers have been created in many Russian cities.
Buy a gastronomic tour from the tour operator “Horizons”: prices and programs
Travel Company “Horizons” offers the best gastronomic tours in Russia and the Near Abroad. You will discover the history of different cultures, where over the course of many centuries and generations, the recipe has absorbed the traditions and characteristics of the dishes of the creating peoples. Getting to know the countries will be truly warm and special if you buy a gastronomic tour with the goal of discovering the world through culinary travel. The program does not forget the sights of the countries where the trip will be planned. This will serve as a wonderful combination of relaxation, knowledge and impressions.
Gastronomic tours in Russia and abroad: wine tours to France, tasting tours to Italy, gastronomic tours to Portugal and other countries.
Just imagine a tempting picture: while crowds of tourists who consider themselves fans of painting, sculpture and architecture are languishing in kilometer-long queues at the Vatican Museums, the Louvre or Versailles, you are in a cool restaurant hall, accompanied by unobtrusive music, trying dishes made from Piedmontese truffles, washing them down with aromatic Barolo. Or enjoy transparent slices of jamon “with a tear” wrapped around a golden-orange piece of juicy melon, the color of which is so reminiscent of the Sagrada Familia glowing in the sunset rays, which is over there, a little further away. Or delve into the rules for preparing national Korean sauces and appetizers, and not just anywhere, but in royal palace Gyeongbokgung. Or you taste “Edam” and “Gouda” - and specifically in Edam or Gouda. In a word, you already understand that we are talking about something that has recently appeared, but is already very popular destination tourism - gastronomic.
Food can tell about the spirit of a people much more than other works of architecture and painting. Fine arts individualized, but national cuisine, as the French say, is “a matter of pinches” of numerous and nameless authors.
What are food tours
Some will say that gastronomic tourism is the lot of natures with a fine mental organization, others argue that all this is a whim, hedonism and money down the drain. Like, in the modern globalized world, almost any product of the terroir - be it from Spain or Mauritius - can be found in a good supermarket. You won’t surprise a Russian with oysters and frog legs for a long time, as well as with the wines of Valley X, slope Y. Undoubtedly, the times of gastronomic shortages have happily sunk into the past, and today it costs nothing to try international delicacies without leaving the capital. However, as the satirist noted, “everything is there... and there is a small shortage” - Parma ham in Moscow is a little different from the blessed Parma, sushi in the Country rising sun definitely different from the Yakitori products, and the real pasta in the village by the sea in Puglia cannot be compared with the assortment of the capital’s “vero”-Italian establishments.
It is thanks to maximalist gourmets who live (or rather, eat) according to the “all or nothing” principle that such a branch of tourism as gastronomic tours appeared. In short, gastrotours are trips abroad (still foreign, although all the prerequisites for a gourmet trip across Mother Russia are present), the main focus of which is taste impressions. Visiting restaurants on such trips is not a side thing so as not to die of hunger, but the very essence of the trip. Of course, you can’t do without sights - it’s stupid to go to Paris and not even look towards the Champs Elysees, but the visual impressions rather go in addition to the taste ones, setting off the “impression”, so to speak.
How to cook in Rome
Over the course of centuries, if not millennia, the local recipe (remember the oldest of the world's cuisines - Armenian) has absorbed the customs and traditions of the people who created it. So, Arabian spicy dishes are both a tribute to the hot climate, in which, in order to cool down, you need to sweat thoroughly, and a means to help avoid getting sick “in unsanitary conditions,” and a portrait of the average Egyptian or Moroccan imprinted in taste: emotional, hot-tempered and spontaneous.
Separately, it should be mentioned that the goal of a gastronomic tour is not to try a couple of specific exotic dishes (say, the same frog legs, fried worms or durian), but to form your own global idea of the country through the taste buds. And of course, learn more about the “near-kitchen” traditions: how vegetables are grown or poultry raised, at what time they eat and how dishes are served.
What types of gastronomic tours are there?
Conventionally, gastronomic trips can be divided into two large groups: rural and urban. During the first, tourists are offered to enjoy natural products “from the earth” - take part in collecting berries, nuts and mushrooms (especially truffles), try fruits from the tree and vegetables from the garden, of course, 100% environmentally friendly, make jam or bake a cake under the supervision of a chef . This also includes a taste acquaintance with the so-called “products of the earth” - those gastronomic delights (and not ready-made dishes!) for which this area is famous: Parma ham, Spanish jamon, Dutch cheese, Brussels praline, Swedish bleak caviar, Japanese fugu fish, etc. d.
City gastrotours involve visiting restaurants of national cuisine, where the guest is invited to taste local delicacies, usually from the pens of famous chefs. The establishments themselves, of course, are also marked with at least one Michelin star. On such trips, the emphasis is more on the masterly combination of numerous components, rather than on enjoying the simple taste of “peasant” food. In other words, if you like an escape from civilization, welcome to the expanses of Alsace or Tuscany, and for those who want rare dishes on porcelain and boiling white starched napkins, there is a direct path to Parisian or Milanese haute cuisine restaurants.
Among other things, you can study the gastronomic map of the world, so to speak, synthetically or analytically. In the first case, we take one product (for example, cheese) and study it in all countries of production - we visit cheese factories in France, cheese factories in Holland, private farms in Belgium, try mozzarella in Italy and suluguni in Georgia. With an analytical approach, we choose a country and “taste” it - vegetables and fruits, snacks and sauces, cold and hot dishes, desserts and compotes.
And of course, you can’t do without wine on such tours! Although there are special wine routes(which is worth traveling through Champagne or Chianti alone), in one way or another, strong drinks are necessarily present in the programs of gastronomic trips, because it has long been known that the taste of even the most exquisite dish without wine will lose half of its uniqueness.
Gastronomic India
Where and what to try
Generally speaking, any country that decides to develop gastronomic tourism has every chance of success - there are no tasteless cuisines, there are only more widespread or more “highly specialized” destinations. In other words, Bavarian sausages are easy for any tourist to chop, but fried maggots and pickled chameleons are not an acquired taste.
Gastronomic Europe is, first of all, pasta, pizza, hams and wines of Italy, foie gras, snails, oysters and other seafood, cheeses, as well as numerous wines and champagnes of France, dry-cured delicacies, fish dishes and again wines of Spain, pastries, sweets and chocolate from Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, cheeses and herring from Holland, sausages, meatballs and beer from Germany and other numerous products with a national flavor.
IN exotic countries people come mainly for global impressions of local gastronomy: Jewish hummus, falafel and the usual stuffed fish are only a small part of the multicultural cuisine of Israel, as well as the national gastronomic traditions of India - a mixture of dozens of local dishes, spices and seasonings from different states.
Gastronomic fair in Peru
Programs, duration, cost
Depending on the chosen “inclination”, gastronomic tours are offered lasting from a weekend (urban programs, say, oysters in Paris) to a full two weeks of immersion in the ocean of taste (rural routes, for example, along the roads and restaurants of Puglia).
In most cases, tourists choose combined gastronomic tours - after all, trying, tasting, evaluating and describing from morning to evening can be interesting only to a graphomaniac glutton. In such combined programs, visiting restaurants is harmoniously combined with excursions or beach holiday. Fortunately, the most gastronomically remarkable countries, as a matter of selection, have excellent opportunities for recreation - be it excursion Belgium, Holland, the Czech Republic and Hungary or “sunny-sea” Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.
For example, one of the popular gastrotours in Italy based on accommodation in Parma, in addition to getting to know the local ham, includes a trip to memorable places, associated with the name of Giuseppe Verdi, a visit to an opera performance, a tour of the castles of the county of Parma and, for complete pleasure, shopping in one of the outlets.
Gastronomic tours, like any exclusive thing, are not a cheap pleasure. To a certain extent, this is explained by the individual approach to the client: for gastro tours it is impossible to recruit large group, so the program is most often designed for one or two people. The cost depends on many factors - direction, duration, time of year, etc. Trips to significant gastronomic events - for example, to the gourmet festival in St. Moritz, will cost more. In general, when traveling on popular programs (to Italy, Spain, France), you should expect an amount of 1500-1800 EUR for a week-long tour. The cost of exclusive routes, such as eating snails in Madagascar, can reach up to 5000 EUR.
Yes, and finally, some proprietary valuable advice from “Subtleties”. Firstly, you should know when to stop: don’t overload on all the dishes offered. After all, you didn’t come for indigestion (you can get that at home), but for a pleasant experience. It’s better to try a little bit of everything than to fill yourself up with appetizers and look longingly at soups, main dishes and desserts. Secondly, you should definitely leave thoughts about unwanted waist measurements at home - or not go on a culinary tour at all - otherwise the joys of taste will be overshadowed by annoyance at the kilograms acquired during the vacation. And finally, grab a package of medicines like “indispensable for the stomach” - you will have to consume delicacies in considerable quantities.
Bon appetit and wonderful gastronomic experiences!
Weekend gastronomic tours from Moscow in 2020 are one of the popular ways to organize leisure time. The travel agency Gastro Mania specializes in organizing such short and delicious tours. We can please even an experienced gourmet and offer to spend the weekend in such a way that it brings maximum pleasure and remains in the memory for a long time.
Organize a weekend getaway with GastroMania!
The prices we set for gastronomic weekend tours to Europe are low and allow you to have a great time at reasonable costs. Choose a country and we can organize an exquisite culinary trip in no time. If you already know where you want to go, we will definitely make your wish come true. If you haven’t decided, we will tell you where the food is delicious and delicious, focusing on your preferences. Book a gastronomic tour for the weekend from the travel agency Gastro Mania at favorable conditions. We have been organizing weekend gastronomic tours from Moscow for many years and have significant experience that allows us to fully fulfill all the client’s wishes. Weekend culinary tours will help you get acquainted with the cuisine traditions of different countries and learn a lot of new and interesting things. Travel with Gastro Mania if you are interested in organizing tours at a high professional level!
Gastronomic tourism is a fairly young and only developing direction. However, today there are a large number of people who want to go to another country, not just to lie on the beach and go shopping, but to learn the culinary habits and traditions of a particular society.
The program of any gastrotour, as a rule, includes tasting of various dishes local cuisine. There are two types of such tours - rural (“green”) and urban. The first are focused on environmentally friendly products and involve, for example, picking vegetables and fruits from farms or grapes from vineyards. The second, in turn, includes a visit to a factory or workshop that produces food, with a tasting of the product produced.
KitchenMag has selected five interesting food tours that will entice even the most discerning stomach.
Tuscany
Italy
Tuscany is one of the most visited regions of Italy. This is where the Italian Renaissance began. However, the secret of Tuscany's popularity is not only in its stunning scenery and cozy atmosphere. Local cuisine is a paradise for real gourmets and simply lovers of delicious food. Tuscan cuisine is rooted in ancient traditions. What is most appreciated here are fish dishes, sausages and flour products, and a variety of vegetable dishes. However, they should be simple and healthy.
In this region, the meat of young bulls is excellently prepared according to the recipe of distant ancestors. It is used to prepare a Florentine-style steak from pieces of tenderloin marinated in aromatic olive oil. By the way, olive oil in Tuscany has a golden-greenish hue and an unusual smell, due to which it is considered one of the best in all of Italy. It is also an integral ingredient in almost all local dishes.
Tuscany is the favorite region of the popular TV presenter Yulia Vysotskaya. The ideological inspirer of the culinary talk show “Eating at Home” even organized exclusive tour to Tuscany with accommodation at the Konchalovskys’ villa, Italian-style breakfast, visits to local markets and, of course, master classes from chefs and Vysotskaya herself.
Provence
France
The cuisine of Provence is rightly called “cuisine of the sun”. Indeed, filled with the aromas of the south, the smells of herbs, fresh fish, an abundance of vegetables, fruits and juicy olives, it reminds of a warm summer. Provence cuisine differs from “classical” French cuisine in its relative simplicity and closeness to home cooking. Especially tasty in southern region The French know how to cook vegetables. They are found in both cold and hot dishes. The legendary signature dish of Provence, ratatouille, immediately comes to mind. And it’s basically impossible to imagine Provence without wine.
Perennial favorites in Provence are olives, black olives and olive oil. They are used in the preparation of most dishes and give them unique shades. Thus, olive oil adds a noble taste to a traditional sandwich with lettuce, tomato slices, anchovies, eggs and capers.
The main methods of preparing meat in Provence are stewing and baking. At the same time, meat dishes are treated rather reservedly. Preference is given to its light variations: lamb, rabbit and chicken. An excellent addition to any dish are the famous Provençal herbs, including thyme, rosemary, basil and tarragon. Intertwined, they create a unique and unforgettable bouquet.
Nika Belotserkovskaya, a popular blogger and author of many culinary bestsellers, dedicated an entire book to this region of France entitled “About Food. About wine. Provence." The girl was so fascinated by the local cuisine that she even launched 5- and 7-day tours to Provence, during which everyone can master the intricacies of this cuisine together with the chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants.
Piedmont
Italy
Another region of Italy that attracts tourists not only with its stunning Italian landscapes, but also with its culinary traditions and delights. Piedmont gave Italy many signature dishes, which was greatly facilitated by favorable natural and climatic conditions.
Speaking about Piedmont, it is impossible not to mention truffles - the most unusual and exquisite mushrooms in the world. The most valuable edible varieties are black and white. However, the method of preparing them differs. Black ones can be heated and even fried, but white ones, in turn, cannot, as they lose their incomparable aroma, reminiscent of the smell of garlic and ripened cheese. White truffles are eaten raw: cut into slices and sprinkled on the dish. Such mushrooms add a unique taste and aroma to risotto, scrambled eggs, and pasta.
In addition, Piedmont is famous for its cheeses. For example, Gorgonzola is one of the most ancient Italian cheeses. Young gorgonzola has a more delicate taste, while ripe gorgonzola has more piquancy. It is cut and served for dessert with bread and strong red wine or as an appetizer, added to risotto, sauces and fillings. You should also try local dishes in Piedmont: salted anchovies with green sauce, pickled peppers, potato dumplings with cheese sauce, fondue, cornmeal porridge.
It is impossible not to mention the wines: 45 of them, cultivated in Piedmont, have the status of ancient Italian wines. The most famous red wines in the region are Barolo and Barbaresco. The first, thanks to its velvety taste, even gained fame as “the king of wines and the wine of kings.” It is also the birthplace of Martini and Cinzano vermouths.
Catalonia
Spain
Catalan cuisine is also called “cuisine of the sea and mountains.” It received this name for a reason. Indeed, Catalan cuisine combines the best culinary traditions of Spain. Since a significant part of the region is located in the mountains, meat dishes occupy an important place in the local cuisine. Here they prepare meatballs, sausage and beans, rabbit with snails, chicken with chocolate, fricando (veal with sauce and mushrooms), turkey stuffed with plums or pine nuts... The list goes on.
Catalonia is a wine region. Due to this, there is a developed snack culture here. They are prepared from everything: seafood, vegetables, meat. The local salad, which contains tomatoes, lettuce, green onions and olives, is also popular. It is seasoned with olive oil and vinegar. In Catalonia, great importance is attached to various sauces. For example, picada is a sauce made from a mixture of garlic, parsley, roasted almonds, pine nuts and bread. A variety of pastas, paellas and their various modifications are also very common in Catalonia.
The coastal location requires the presence of fish and seafood dishes in the local cuisine. Here they willingly prepare culinary masterpieces from sea bass, whiting, anchovies, sardines, and tuna. Traditional fish dishes include cod with pine nuts, salted sea bream, and Ebro eels.
It is worth paying attention to the desserts. Sweet cheeses, donuts, candied almonds - this is just an incomplete list of Catalan delicacies.
Amsterdam
Holland
A gastronomic tour to the capital of the Low Countries will reveal the country to you windmills, tulips and limitless freedom from a completely new side. An important feature of Dutch national cuisine is the principle “Grow, Catch, Eat”!
Tours to the Netherlands are often associated with beer. And this is not at all surprising. It is definitely worth visiting breweries, both large ones, for example, Amstel, Heineken, Bavaria, and little-known ones, which are in no way inferior to their older brothers in terms of product quality. By the way, small breweries produce about 30 different types of beer, so you can fully appreciate and understand the full taste and aroma of the foamy drink.
Wine is also worth trying in Holland. Despite the unfavorable climate, winemakers here successfully cultivate various grape varieties and then produce wonderful wine. The seriousness of the Dutch intentions regarding wine is confirmed by the creation of the Guild of Winemakers.
As for cheeses, there is also plenty to roam around here. Any restaurant will serve you a cheese plate with 3-5 different varieties. In addition to the famous Gouda, Maasdam, Old Dutch, and Beemster, you should definitely try blue cheese with truffles, young garlic and cumin.
Tbilisi
Georgia
Georgian cuisine is perhaps almost the main attraction of this country. It has absorbed the best culinary traditions of many peoples of Transcaucasia, as well as Asia and the Black Sea region. Georgian cuisine is not only magically delicious, but also bright, original, distinctive, and unforgettable. To prepare its delicious dishes, you need the freshest ingredients, the presence of sauces, seasonings, herbs and spices, and fresh herbs.
The main feature of Georgian cuisine is the absence of restrictions in the choice of meat. Beef, lamb, pork, and poultry are used to prepare dishes. Caucasian meat dishes have long ceased to be an element of only local cuisine. They are prepared willingly and with pleasure all over the world. Kebab, satsivi, tabaka chicken, chikhirtma and chakhokhbili - the list goes on.
