- The tour lasts about four hours at a relaxed pace, covering roughly two kilometers on flat ground in the city center with seating at every tasting stop.
Athens Food & Wine Walking Tour with Traditional Greek Lunch
What to Expect on This Athens Food & Wine Tour in Athens
This Athens food and wine tour takes you through the city the way Athenians actually eat. A proper Greek breakfast at a working neighborhood bakery, the noise and color of Varvakios central market, a guided tasting of four Greek wines, and lunch at a family run taverna where nobody is performing for visitors.
We have been running tours in Athens since 2010, and our guides are licensed professionals who shop these markets themselves. What you get is not a list of stops but the reasoning behind them: which vendors the local chefs trust, what is worth buying in which month, how to read a Greek wine label, and where to go for dinner after we say goodbye.
Meet Your Guide
- Your guide meets you at your hotel in central Athens at 9:00 AM to begin the walking food tour. We have been running Athens food tours since 2010, and our guides are licensed professionals who shop these same markets themselves. Along the way you will hear which stalls the local chefs use, why certain products only appear in certain months, and where to eat after the tour ends.
Greek Breakfast at a Neighborhood Bakery
- The morning starts at a working bakery, not a tourist stop. Your Greek food tasting begins with bougatsa, the semolina custard pastry that arrives hot from the oven, along with koulouri, the sesame-crusted bread ring that Athenians eat standing up on their way to work. Spinach pie and loukoumades follow, with Greek coffee brewed the traditional way. Tell your guide if you prefer it sweet, medium, or plain, since it is prepared to order and cannot be adjusted afterward.
Varvakios Agora, the Central Market
- Built in 1886 and still the beating heart of the city's food supply, Varvakios is the central market of Athens: loud, crowded, and completely genuine. Your guide walks you through the fish halls, the meat aisles, and the surrounding streets where the spice, nut, and olive merchants have traded for generations. This is the part of the food tour where you meet vendors we have worked with for years and taste products directly from their stalls. Wear closed shoes, as the fish market floors are wet.
Greek Wine Tasting
- A short walk from the market brings you to a traditional cava for the wine tasting, where you will sample four Greek wines chosen to show the range of the country's native grapes. Expect a crisp Assyrtiko from the volcanic soils of Santorini, an aromatic Moschofilero from the Peloponnese highlands, a soft red Agiorgitiko from Nemea, and a structured Xinomavro from Naoussa in the north. Your host explains what makes each region distinct and how to read a Greek wine label, which is useful for the rest of your trip. Non-alcoholic alternatives are available on request, and guests under 18 are served juice or soft drinks.
Lunch at a Traditional Taverna
- The food and wine tour concludes at a family-run taverna, where your guide introduces you to the owner, explains the dishes on your table, and shares recommendations for the rest of your day in Athens before saying goodbye. You then enjoy a traditional Greek lunch at your own pace: a shared table of mezes with tzatziki made from strained yogurt, dolmades, grilled seasonal vegetables, and moussaka baked that morning. Dishes are served family style, so you can try a little of everything, and vegetarian versions are available for the whole table. There is no fixed end time, so you are free to linger over coffee as long as you like.
- Varvakios Agora, the historic Athens central market since 1886
- Greek breakfast at a working bakery: bougatsa, koulouri, Greek coffee
- Wine tasting of four Greek grapes: Assyrtiko, Moschofilero, Agiorgitiko, Xinomavro
- Lunch of tzatziki, dolmades, and moussaka at a family run taverna
- Private tour with a licensed guide and hotel pickup in central Athens
- Duration: 4 Hours
- Tour Type: Food and Wine
- Group Type: Private
- Availability: All Year
- Languages: English, French, Spanish
- Accessibility: Stroller Accessible
- Ideal for: Families, Couples, Solo Travelers
- Group Size: 1 - 7+ participants
4 Hours
All Year
Private Tour
Inclusions
- Licensed food tour guide in English
- Meeting point at Syntagma Square, in the center of Athens
- Greek breakfast tasting: bougatsa, koulouri with sesame, and Greek coffee
- Guided visit to Varvakios Agora with tastings from local vendors
- Greek wine tasting of four native varieties
- Lunch at a traditional taverna: tzatziki, dolmades, and moussaka
- One bottle of water per person
- All applicable taxes
Exclusions
- Hotel transfers
- Additional drinks beyond those listed above
- Gratuities (optional)
- Come hungry. Between the tastings and the traditional Greek lunch, this adds up to a full meal, so most guests keep breakfast very light.
- Yes. Vegetarian and vegan alternatives are available at nearly every stop, and we can work around gluten, dairy, and nut allergies. Please tell us when you book, since some tastings are prepared in advance.
- All food tastings, the wine pairings, the traditional Greek lunch, and your English-speaking guide for the full duration. Nothing extra is paid at the individual stops.
- Yes. Children receive soft drinks or fresh juice instead of the wine pairings, and the short walking distances work well for younger travelers.
- We confirm a central meeting point by email after booking, easy to reach on foot or by metro from most central hotels. Private hotel pickup can be arranged at an additional cost on request.
- Cancel your reservation up to 48 hours before the tour start time for a full refund. No fees, no hassle.
- After that point, a full cancellation fee applies, equal to the total cost of the program.
- Written notice of any cancellation or change must be sent to Private Tours Greece.
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