Bogotá food tour: Taste La Candelaria with a guide

Walk Bogotá markets and neighborhoods tasting empanadas, chocolate with cheese, and Amazonic ice cream

A four-hour walking food tour through Bogotá's historic neighborhoods where you taste regional Colombian dishes and meet the people who cook them. You start at La Perseverancia market (a working-class food hub from the early 20th century), then walk through La Macarena's art galleries and restaurants, along the 7th Street's street vendors and artisans, and finish in La Candelaria's colonial district with a meal at a restored house. A live guide in your language explains the stories behind each flavor and the culture that shaped them.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Bogotá's culinary and cultural sites

• Meet guide at Origen Bistro Restaurant
• Visit La Perseverancia food market
• Talk to cooks and taste fruits
• Walk through La Macarena neighborhood
• Stroll along 7th street "Septimazo"
• Stop at La Florida Bakery for pastries and hot beverage
• Enjoy artisanal Amazonic fruit ice-cream
• Have savory meal in La Candelaria colonial house
• Visit indigenous store and learn about coca leaf

The experience

You meet your guide at Origen Bistro Restaurant before heading into La Perseverancia, a traditional Colombian food market built by working-class people at the start of the 20th century. There you talk to cooks and locals, taste fruits you may not find elsewhere, and feel the rhythm of how Bogotá eats. The market is the real thing, not a tourist version of one.

From there you walk through La Macarena, Bogotá's former bohemian center that has transformed into a zone of international restaurants and art galleries, then along the 7th Street, called the Septimazo, where street artists, singers and food carts line the path. You stop at La Florida Bakery to taste pastries and a hot drink like aguapanela or hot santafereño chocolate with cheese, a pairing that sounds odd until you try it. You also get artisanal ice cream made from Amazonic exotic fruits, and you see the contrast between colonial buildings and the new cultural and residential structures downtown.

The tour ends in La Candelaria's historic district, where you eat a savory meal at a colonial restored house and taste recipes from different regions of Colombia. Before leaving, you visit an indigenous store and talk with a woman from the Embera group about coca leaf products, why coca is sacred in indigenous nutrition, and how indigenous communities have worked to preserve their culture and traditions. It is not a performance. It is a conversation.

What’s included

• Designated meals and snacks throughout the four hours.
• a live guide in your choice of English, Spanish, Portuguese, French or another language.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 09:15, 11:00 and 14:00

Book up to12h before

AgesAdult (10 and older) · Under 10: can't be booked

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortPublic transport nearby

Operated by Impulse Travel

Is this one for you?The guide speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, French or another language you choose at booking, so you follow the stories and the history without translation delays or confusion about what you're tasting.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese.

What is La Perseverancia market and why does the tour start there?

La Perseverancia is a traditional Colombian food market created by working-class people at the beginning of the 20th century. The tour starts there because it is where locals actually shop and eat, and where you can talk to traditional cooks and taste fruits while experiencing the real atmosphere of how Bogotá's neighborhoods feed themselves.

Do I walk the whole tour or does transportation move us between neighborhoods?

You walk through the neighborhoods: La Macarena, along the 7th Street, and through La Candelaria. Public transportation options are available nearby if you need them, but the tour itself is built around walking and stopping to taste and talk.

What exactly do I taste during the four hours?

You taste fruits at the market, pastries and a hot beverage like aguapanela or hot santafereño chocolate with cheese at La Florida Bakery, artisanal ice cream made from Amazonic exotic fruits, a savory meal at a colonial house in La Candelaria, and coca leaf products at an indigenous store. Meals and snacks are included. Lunch is not.

Is this tour physically demanding?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels. You walk through neighborhoods and stop frequently to taste and talk, so the pace is steady but not strenuous. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes.