Michele Topor, Inc.

I have been on this tour twice with Michelle and Jim as guides. Their energy and passion for the North End is obvious. They were entertaining, informated, warm, and professinal. I cannot recommend this tour enough. I learned plenty again and plan to return to the North End with the excellent hand-out resources Jim provided. The window into the stores that are unchanged in so many years, the excellent quality of the foods, and the history of the neighborhood are enthralling. My only caveat is that the tour involves a lot of standing. My knees (not I) have aged in the 5 or so years since I took the tour last and my knees require more movement and sitting rather than just standing. So do plan to wear comfortable shoes. If one does need to take a break from standing, do so rather than being uncomfortable. That was the ongoing conversation among my siblings, but none of us could not bear to tear ourselves away from the excellent content!

My husband and I took this tour at the beginning of our long weekend stay in the North End. We absolutely loved it! It was incredibly entertaining and educational, and hey the samples were fantastic. I think that locals and tourists can benefit from the tour, especially if you take it early on in your vacation, as you will know all of the great local places to hit up during your visit. I think this may have been the best tour I have ever taken. I cannot wait to come back and try their Chinatown tour as well. We had Jim as our guide and he was perfect. I loved this so much, I am going to tell all of my foodie family members to go to Boston and do this tour! We ate like Kings the whole trip, and brought stuff back home. Also, most of the places will ship! Just do it!

Dick was our tour guide on March 19, 2011. He was wonderful! A book of knowledge. It was nice of this company to add another tour at 1, since their 2 o'clock one was full. My husband and I ended up having a private tour with him. It pays to right in and let them know you are interested even if the tour is full. There's so much history in the North End. We now appreciate the area all the more! We usually dine at the restaurants at night, so this gave us a better insight as what goes on during the day in the neighborhood. Thanks again for a great experience. I have an on line travel business and will definitely recommend this to my friends and clients.

we were told we couldn't purchase anything during the tour? Why not ? if you didn't plan 3 hours to try to go back and find all these shops in an area you were unfamilar with you were out of Luck. so the cheese shop, meat shop and all the others were were not able to get to , allow time for the group to shop it would make shop owners happy as well, many times they had no one in the shop and would have been glad to make a sale.

The tour was fun and interesting, although I felt it was overpriced. The tastings are small and we did not have an opportunity to have wine tastings which would have been nice to end the tour on. If the number and quantity of the tastings are increased I would have given the tour 5 stars.

The North End Culinary Tour was educational and interesting. We learned many facts about the North End. The shops that we toured offered authentic Italien cuisine and many tasting opportunities. Our guide was a wealth of information and entertainment-three hours well spent! I highly recommend this tour.

The tour was very informative not only about Italian cooking and food items but also about the history of Italian cooking and the history of the North End. Loved it!

It was a wonderful tour, although I have taken it in the past it was still fresh & exciting. My Father-in-law went in with some trepidation, but left loving it!

All four of us, very different people, can't say enough about this tour. We can't get together often anymore, in our 26 years of friendship. This tour was the heart of a perfect day together and will be a great memory. Every goal mentioned on the website was met, and more. The history was fascinating. We had fun!

The North End Market Tour was fun, informative and ,tasty -food and history a great way to spend an afternoon. Our guide had a good rapport with the shopkeepers and they genuinely seemed glad we had stopped in. The guide, altho a teacher ,was also a"foodie" and had good recipe ideas. I recommend this tour to anyone who likes to get to know an area,likes food and culture.

I wondered how 3 hours could be filled up with in such a small district, but no worries! The tastings were good, the guide was knowledgeable and interesting and the lunch was delicious!

Our North End/Little Italy tour was so good we went back another day to shop and visit the markets and people we met during the tour. Market owners were appreciative and welcoming. Our guide (Jim) was highly respected by the market owners as the best! We never would have found all of the places on our own. The tour provided authentic, interesting and useful culinary information and advice. Whether you are a chef or a "wannabe", if you like to cook, eat and/or enjoy wine and want to learn more, you will definitely enjoy this tour!

We had heard great things about Michelle Topor's tours, but were delighted with our guide, Jim. He was extremely knowledgeable and a great guide. We had high expectations and they were exceeded! We finished the day with dinner at a restaurant he recommended. We plan to return for his Chinatown tour!

What an interesting way to learn about this wonderful neighborhood in Boston. The tour was fun and interesting and gave us a good feel for this special community within a large city. We felt like we entered both the lives and shops of the merchants who so kindly allowed our tour to visit with them.

Had so much fun with Jim and learned a lot too. It was great to learn a little of the history of the North End and to experience beautiful food too. Thanks very much