North End Market Tour

I had been looking for something fun to do in the city, and a friend told me about this tour. It was a great time!! We had a great guide named Jim, who told us the inside story at several hole-in-the-wall places, ranging from bakery, produce shop, dry goods store, deli, pasta shop and wine store. We learned where the authentic goods are sold, and where to avoid the touristy shops. All with great insight from Jim using his chef knowledge and skills. There a few great tastings along the way as well!! This tour was a lot of fun and a homerun if you're with friends, on a date, or simply out for a day of fun on your own.

Being from the Boston area, I was looking for a different tour to take visiting family members. I came across "Market Tour of the North End". I found the cost prohibitive for four people, but decided at a later date to take my husband as a birthday gift. We had a very enjoyable time. The rest of the group was friendly. The tour guide, Beth,was full of interesting information about Italian cooking. Some things we knew, some we learned. We followed up by dinner in the North End. All in all, no complaints and have recommended this tour to friends.

A tour not just for tourists--in fact almost all of our group of 10 or so were from within an hours drive of Boston. The tour provided a great overview of the neighborhood, took you into 7 or so of the best of the best for bakeries, delis, wine shops, and such--plus lots of valuable handouts on good neighborhood restaurants, speciality shops, and more. Well worth the time and money.

very informative and fun Learned a lot.

The tour was very informative and the guide was excellent. Will do the tour of Chinatown next time we're in the city.

Learned some of the history of Boston's North End. Visited many specialty shops and learned about what makes US Italian and imported Italian foods different. Got to taste samples of everything from cheeses to meats to pastry and more. Maps and handouts provided were most helpful. Went back to some of the markets, remembered (enough) of what I learned on the tour, and bought some delicious food to take home. Highly recommend this tour!

It rained hard the afternoon that we did this, but it did not interfere with the tour. We got a lot of information, and are trying to buy some of the things that we heard about near our home in N.H. We have already recommended the tour to other people.

The tour was the best. We saw the North End as you only can if you walk slowly and really look. The guide, Jim, was amazing. Very knowledgeable and interesting. The materials provided were excellent. It was the favorite Boston activity of everyone in our group, 2 men and 2 women.

Even though the weather was cold, windy and potentially rainy, the trip was well worth it. We learned alot about Italy from our guide Jim, and were able to visit shops that the "tourists" don't know about. I would recommend this tour to anyone who has an interest in Italian food/cooking.

Our fabulous adorable tour guide, Michele, who has lived in the North End for 30 yrs., knows everything you could possibly want to know about Italy, from the history of Italy and how the North End has become what it is today...along with the history of how each region in Italy differs agriculturely which in turn determins what ingredients are used in each region to create the variety of dishes each region has to offer, as well as the many different types of olive oils, cheeses, vinegars, wines and so much more . This is all explained to you in a very friendly and relaxed way as you visit from one market to the next including tasty samples!! I hope my next tour will be food shopping in the North End markets and delis with Michele with some of her old school recipes! Thanks for the tour Michele! Sincerely, Julie