North End Market Tour

A combination of history of the North End and marvelous shops and sights while strolling along the streets.

I thought our guide was very knowledgeable and personable. I feel that I now have a basic understanding of Italian cooking; however, considering the cost of the event, I feel that a light meal should have been included. This way, we could have tasted a lot of the foods that were pointed out to us. Also, there needs to be a provision for sitting more often. My husband was with me and dropped out after about an hour.

We had a great time learning about the North End and Italian food. This neighborhood is a treasure. We're from the Midwest, and we can't visit Boston as often as we'd like. But whenever we're in the Boston area, we'll try to return to the North End.

Our guide Beth was extremely knowledgeable and patient and we were able to learn a lot about food and merchants in the North End. We went with two other couples and were amazed that we were the only ones in the larger group that tipped her at the end of the tour. Although we filled up the 3 hours, I would have liked to have been to the kitchen of one of the restaurants there as part of the tour. The food and beverage tastings were fine and just right. We went back the next day and took more than a tasting! Yummy!

The tour leader Jim knew his stuff. He wove together Italian history, culture and cuisine with local history in a fascinating story. The shops we visited were delightful steps back in time. I learned a lot in sampling the food along the way. A great tour!

we enjoyed this tour so much more than anticipated --and we had high expectations for this adventure .. We got so much information and knowledge on the North End and the Italian culture . We will be back ! Will try the Chinatown tour next time

Limited group size a plus. Learned history of area, as well as information about origins of the food products/sources. Tasted great food and enjoyed meeting the owners of the shops. It is a walking tour and we enjoyed walking around the North End with Jim. He is very knowledgable, interesting, and passionate about food.

Our guide, Beth, was exceptionally knowledgable on the area, history, and was clearly a 'foodie,' which made her comments that much more meaningful. Highly recommend the tour. 10 out of 10.

The North End Market tour is a great way to spend a summer morning, whether you are interested in history, culture, food and drink, walking the neighborhood, or all of the above. Our guide, Jim, was warm, witty, incredibly knowledgeable, entertaining, and a CHEF!! We learned a great deal about a variety of foods, condiments, ingredients, cooking and people. As a physician, I was especially intrigued by learning about the medicinal/health benefits of some of the foods. As a "foodie", all my senses were tempted and treated. The guide was also very sensitive to different folks' food preferences and dietary needs--the kids on the tour, who may have been "picky"; the vegetarians who couldn't sample the meats got extra cheese. We couldn't believe who quickly three hours could go by. We could have gone on for hours--mangia and more.

The guide was amazing, taught us a lot about Italy, Italian food, Italian-American cuisine, and the history of the North End. The best part was going to the different local shops and learning about their history and what makes them so unique. Learning about different cheeses, olive oils, wines, pastries - all of it was extremely entertaining and informative. I live locally in Boston now, but went on the tour with my mom who lives in Oregon. Both of us found it to be fulfilling and worth the time/money/energy. I can't say enough great things about this tour!