Meet your guide ─ a local chef and food journalist ─ near Monastiraki station in central Athens, and then set off on foot to begin your tour of the city’s central market and foodie areas. As you walk, listen to fascinating insights into Greek cuisine, and hear about the tastings that follow.
Wander along the bustling streets and visit some of the homeware stores that the area is famed for. Discover the basic tools of a typical Greek kitchen, and hear from your guide what traditional items such as a mortar and pestle and dowel-like rolling pins are used for.
Continue onto the streets that surround the famous Varvakios Agora market, and stop in at several bakeries, where you’ll meet with the bakers to learn about and sample the grains that are central to the Greek diet.
Next, peruse a vibrant vegetable market to explore the seasonal offerings, and then stroll down a street dedicated entirely to the selling of spices and cheese. Breathe in the heady aromas, and taste the many different cheeses that, in addition to feta, play an influential role in Greek cuisine.
Depending on the day, you might then visit a garlic merchant who keeps a seed museum of local edible plants, or perhaps a medicinal herb purveyor. Along the way, you’ll savor more delicious delicacies and visit a local retsina shop to try Greek wine.
Then, head to the bustling meat and fish market of Varvakios Agora. Stroll past the crowded stalls, each bursting with color and aromatic produce, and talk with your guide about how animals are used in Greek dishes.
With your appetite sated, your tour concludes inside the market after around three hours.
