Siracusa: Sicilian Food and Wine Tour

About This Experience

This is a walking food-and-wine tour of Ortigia, the island old town of Syracuse, rather than a winery visit. A local tour leader takes a small group through the market and the back streets to three typical eateries, with several Sicilian tastings at each and two Sicilian wines poured along the way.

The market is the first stop and the point of the tour: you meet the stallholders, hear how the produce is used, and then eat it. The stops are chosen for what reviewers call genuine, high-quality raw ingredients rather than tourist plates, with cheeses and zero-kilometre products singled out.

Guests rate it 5.0 from 18 reviews and describe roughly three hours of eating, walking and talking with a relaxed guide who knows the shopkeepers by name. The wine is a small tasting of two Sicilian wines with the food; for a fuller wine flight, pair the tour with a separate Val di Noto winery visit.

Tour leaders speak Italian, English and Spanish. The meeting point is Largo XXV Luglio at the entrance to Ortigia, there is no hotel pick-up, and the operator asks every guest to declare intolerances and allergies in advance. A licensed historical guide for Ortigia can be added on request.

Highlights

• Three-hour walk through Ortigia's market and old-town streets with a local tour leader
• Tastings of Sicilian food at three typical spots, chosen for genuine local ingredients
• A small tasting of two Sicilian wines with the food
• Meet the market stallholders and hear how the produce is cooked
• Rated 5.0 from 18 reviews; tour leaders in Italian, English and Spanish

What's Included

• ✓ Multilingual tour leader
• ✓ Tastings at 3 typical Ortigia eateries
• ✓ Tasting of 2 Sicilian wines
• ✓ Visit to the Ortigia market
• ✓ Walk through the hidden streets of Ortigia

Not Included

• Hotel pick-up and drop-off
• Licensed historical guide (available on request)

Good to Know & Caveats

• Tell the operator about intolerances and allergies in advance; reviewers note that a pregnant guest was given safe alternatives and soft drinks.
• It is a food tour with two glasses of wine, not a wine tasting; wine lovers should add a Val di Noto winery visit.
• Expect about three hours on foot at an easy pace; wear comfortable shoes for Ortigia's stone streets.
• The market is a morning affair, so book a morning departure if seeing it open matters to you.
• A licensed historical guide can be added on request for the monuments of Ortigia.

Meeting Point

Largo XXV Luglio, at the entrance to the island of Ortigia, Syracuse.