Taste of Athens

At the bustling Varvakios Central Market, your guide introduces you to the ABCs of Greek food — how, what, when, where, why Greeks eat the way they do.   You sip and sample familiar Greek foods, such as, olives, dried figs, ouzo, spicy sausages, a  half dozen types of feta cheese.   And you also acquaint yourself with many other Greek specialties that are probably unfamiliar to you, like bougatsa, loukoumades, tzatziki, myzithra, tsipouro.    This tour, an intense immersion into Greek food, will be an education for your taste buds on a PhD level!

The tour weaves in and through specialty shops and stalls in Varvakios Central Market, one of the oldest and most vibrant food markets in Greece.   This is not a typical tourist hop on, hop off destination.   The market is where real Athenians  shop, haggle, taste and purchase their produce and ingredients.

The walking tour stops at the Gastronomy Museum whose focus is the products and cuisine of Greek monasteries and convents.   As in the past, monks and nuns still sustain themselves by selling agriculture produce, such items as honey, wine, olive oil, condiments, often organic.   The museum exhibits include photographs of  monastic life and their tools, like a wooden wine press, clay beehives, kitchen utensils, copper pots, ceramic bowl and even an old macaroni machine.

The tour ends at a restaurant in the mixed neighborhood of Psirri where working class artesans mix with young artists in a Soho-like atmosphere.

INCLUSIONS

• All tastings and samples at all shops and stalls
• Lunch in Psirri

DETAILS

Minimum 4 persons.  Maximum 14 persons.  Less than 4 persons and more than 14 persons affects price increase.

Tour starts at 9:00 am at Monastiraki Metro and ends at 15:00 in Psirri neighborhood at a local taverna.

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