Michele Topor, Inc.

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!

Our tour guide, Jim, was extremely knowledgeable and amiable. It was an insider's tour to a foreign culture given in a very relaxed way. The tour stops included a wide variety of diversions covering culinary experiences from sweet to salty and from indulgences to medicinal remedies. By far the most informative and entertaining tour I've experienced.

Althought the tour itself and the guide were truly excellent, I found Chinatown to be unwelcoming. While we were on tour with Jim and receiving a thorough history and "tasting" of Chinatown which were delightful and well researched... off tour my friend and I received very unwelcoming response from shopkeepers. We ventured back to the locations we had just been well received in with Jim to realize we were not quite welcome on our own. My response from the locals is not at all a reflection on the tour or the tour company. I would give the tour a grade letter of "A" but the location would be graded a "C".

Enjoyed the tour. Jim was so very knowledgeable. The dim sum was great. After the tour my friend and I went back to some of the stores we visited with Jim on our tour. We were not well received. The same people we saw with Jim were not courteous at all and acted liked they didn't know what we were asking for. The Silky Way and the Herb Shop were the two shops. I will never go back to Chinatown for that reason. The tour is a great take for anyone and I would recommend the tour highly. Joan Pierro

Tour guide was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, organized and entertaining. Will go back to Chinatown often now on my own.

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

I bought tickets for my mother and I for her b-day. After reading all the reviews I was extremely excited for our scheduled date - but, even with all the positive reviews...I was still unsure if this was going to be truely enjoyable and hold my attention. Boy was I wrong!! I haven't stopped talking about the tour since it ended..we had the best day together - I am 26, my mother 55. Michele taught us so much about Italy, italian cuisine, the North End's hidden restaurants, shops, and bakeries, and all the charm the North End has to offer. We truley had the best day together. Michele was even so sweet to have a cake ready for my mother at Maria's Bakery :). I highly recommend this to everyone!

Really enjoyed the tour, pace, samples and stories. A really fun way to connect to Boston. We did it at the beginning of our stay in the area and it really helped appreciate all Boston has to offer. I fell in love with North End and returned more than once during the trip. Only recommendation is that I could not find places on my return. The round about way we toured without connecting us to the map Michelle provided made it hard to remember where things were. Tour guide was pretty good, but I would not rave about him. The activity sold itself and the area is charming. Well put together. Her card at the end was cute. I liked the handouts.

This was a family and friends groups, the woman was just fabulous, we're dying to do the Chinatown one