Florence Oltrarno: Food Tour & Wine Windows with Gelato

The Wine Windows & Street Food of Florence's Quieter Side

You walk through Florence's Oltrarno neighborhood with a local English-speaking guide, stopping at a traditional deli, a family-run pasticceria, historic wine windows, a fiaschetteria serving since the 1950s, and Florence's best gelateria. You taste Pecorino cheese, Finocchiona salami, cantucci biscotti with espresso, Tuscan soup and wild boar stew with Chianti, lampredotto street food, and artisanal gelato. The tour takes three hours and includes all tastings, wine, and a crash course in spotting real gelato.

Step-by-step itinerary

Florence Oltrarno food and wine tour

• Visit traditional Alimentari for cheese and salami
• Stop at historic pasticceria for biscotti and coffee
• See Porta San Frediano medieval gate
• Try Lampredotto panino at street food stand
• Discover Florence’s wine windows
• Visit historic Fiaschetteria for soup, stew, and Chianti
• Explore Santo Spirito square and church
• Enjoy artisanal gelato at award-winning gelateria

The experience

The smell of fresh espresso hits you before you round the corner into the pasticceria, and that's when you realize you've left the Duomo crowds behind. This is the Oltrarno: the other side of the Arno River, where Florence still tastes like it did fifty years ago. The 3-hour food and wine tour moves at a pace that lets you actually talk to the people behind the counter, not just grab and go. Your guide is a local who speaks English and knows which alimentari has been run by the same family since before the war, which fiaschetteria still serves through a wine window, and why the lampredotto panino (yes, it's cow stomach) is worth trying even if it sounds strange.

You'll stop at a traditional alimentari first and taste two kinds of Pecorino cheese alongside Finocchiona, a fennel-infused salami that tastes nothing like the mass-produced stuff. Then the pasticceria, now in its third generation, where you get cantucci biscotti and a millefoglie cake with coffee or cappuccino. The real moment comes at the wine windows. Those small openings cut into historic building walls where locals used to buy wine directly, no questions asked. You'll see them scattered through the neighborhood, and your guide explains what they meant to the city's social life centuries ago. At the fiaschetteria in Oltrarno, which has been serving locals since the 1950s, you taste Tuscan soup and wild boar stew with a glass of Chianti Classico poured through one of those same windows. There's a street food stop for the lampredotto panino, and you'll pass Porta San Frediano, the medieval gate from 1333 that's still standing in the city's old walls.

The tour ends at an award-winning gelateria where they give you a quick lesson on how to spot real artisanal gelato (it's a 10-minute crash course that actually changes how you taste it), and then you get a 2-flavor cup or cone. By the time you're done, you've eaten your way through Tuscan cucina povera, the poor cooking that became the region's soul, and you've done it in a neighborhood where tourists are the exception, not the rule.

What’s included

Your day includes a local English-speaking guide, tastings at a traditional alimentari (Pecorino cheese and Finocchiona salami), cantucci biscotti with espresso or cappuccino at a family-run pasticceria, a tour of Florence's historic wine windows, Tuscan soup and wild boar stew with Chianti Classico at a fiaschetteria, a lampredotto panino at a street food stand, and a 2-flavor cup or cone of award-winning gelato with a lesson on spotting real artisanal gelato. The guide also shares 'Food & the City' insider tips throughout the three-hour walk.

Options for this experience

2 options

Food tour for small groups (12 people maximum)Guide in English · 10:15Lasts 3 hours

Upgrade to a private food tourGuide in English · 09:45, 10:45 and 11:15Savor a more intimate, personalized food experience, shared only with your own group. Lasts 3 hours

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesMonday to SaturdayDepartures at 09:45, 10:15, 10:45 and 11:15

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (18 and older) · Youth (13 to 17 years) · Child (4 to 12 years) · Under 4: can't be booked

GroupUp to 12

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends at a different place from where it starts.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller-friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Florence Food Tours by Eating Europe

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to eat like a local in Florence without arranging stops yourself. The guide knows which family has run each place for generations and can explain why each dish matters, which turns a food tour into a conversation with the neighborhood.

Traveler reviews

4.96★★★★★★★★★★

593 verified traveler reviews

5 ★575

4 ★10

3 ★8

2 ★0

1 ★0

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (13 to 17 years); Child (4 to 12 years). Children under 4 can't be included in the booking.

How long is the Florence food tour?

Three hours. The pace is relaxed, with time to talk to shopkeepers and locals.

What's included in the tour price?

All tastings, wine samples, gelato, a local English-speaking guide, and 'Food & the City' insider tips about the neighborhood.

What is lampredotto?

A traditional Florence street food sandwich made from cow stomach, seasoned and served on bread. It's a local specialty worth trying.

Are wine windows real?

Yes. They're small openings in historic Florence buildings where wine was sold directly to locals for centuries. You'll see them on the tour.

Can I do the tour if I'm vegetarian or have dietary needs?

Yes. Email the company or add a note at booking, and they'll accommodate vegetarians, gluten-free guests, and other dietary needs where possible. They cannot accommodate severe or life-threatening food allergies.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?

Yes. The tour is wheelchair accessible, and public transportation options are available nearby.

What's the minimum group size?

Two guests minimum. If you don't meet this, the company will contact you to reschedule or offer a refund.

Do the stops change?

The tastings and stops may vary by day or season, but you'll always get a selection of authentic local flavors.

Where does the tour start?

In the Oltrarno neighborhood of Florence, on the other side of the Arno River, away from the crowded Duomo area.