Alicante: Food & Tapas Tour with Local Market Guide

Ten stalls, sixteen tastes, one market that's been feeding Alicante for over a hundred years

You'll taste 16 regional specialities across 10 market stalls while a local guide introduces you to sellers with decades of experience and explains the history behind each product. The tour includes 4 local wines and supports small producers and traditional artisans. It's wheelchair accessible and vegetarian options are available.

Step-by-step itinerary

Alicante food and tapas tasting tour

• Meet at central market
• Visit 10 historic food stalls
• Taste 20 regional snacks and tapas
• Try orchard fruits and local meats
• Sample Mediterranean fish and cheeses
• Enjoy handmade sweets and drinks
• Meet sellers and learn product history

The experience

Hands move across the counter: wrapping cheese, pouring wine into small glasses, pointing at the handwritten sign above the jamón. You're watching a seller who's been doing this for thirty years, and in a moment you'll understand why. The Alicante food and tapas tour starts at the central market, where you meet your local guide and step into the rhythm of a place that's been the city's stomach since before your grandparents were born. The market itself is the first stop, and it's not a quick walk-through. You're there to listen, to taste, and to meet the people who've kept these traditions alive.

Over the next few hours, you'll visit 10 different food stalls, some of them more than a century old. The guide knows the sellers by name and knows what each one does best. You taste 16 local specialities in total: orchard fruits and vegetables that came in that morning, meat from local farms, Mediterranean fish prepared the way it's been prepared here for generations, cheeses, handmade sweets. Four local wines come with it: both with alcohol and without, depending on what you want. The aromas aren't manufactured for tourists. They're just what happens when you're standing in front of someone who's been curing ham or aging cheese in the same spot for decades. Vegetarian and pescatarian options are built in, so dietary preferences don't mean you miss anything.

What makes this different from a generic food tour is that you're not just tasting. You're learning the story behind each product and the tradition that's kept it alive. The sellers talk about where things come from, why they choose certain producers, what's changed and what hasn't. You get a sense of why the Mediterranean diet works the way it does, not as a health trend but as something that's been feeding people here for centuries. And because you're booking directly with small businesses and local artisans, the money goes to the people who are still doing the work the way it used to be done.

The tour is wheelchair accessible, and all areas and surfaces in the market are accessible as well. Public transportation options are nearby if you need them. Infants and small children can come along in a pram or stroller. The whole experience is designed to work for different fitness levels. You're moving through the market at a pace that lets you stop, taste, and talk without rushing.

What’s included

Your day includes 16 local food specialities (orchard fruits, local meats, Mediterranean fish, cheeses, handmade sweets), 4 local wines, a local guide who introduces you to sellers at 10 different stalls, and the stories and traditions behind each product. Vegetarian and pescatarian options are available.

Options for this experience

2 options

Lunchtime Tapas TourGuide in English · 12:30Lasts 2 hours, with 16 food tastings and 4 wines. The stops are at stalls inside the market.

Dinnertime Tapas TourGuide in English · 18:00Lasts 3 hours, with 8 tapas and 4 wines or beers. In the evening, tours starting at 18:00 skip the indoor market, which is closed by then, and instead visit the outdoor stalls and some authentic tapas bars.

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

Before you book

Lasts 2h, runs Monday to Saturday at 12:30 and 18:00, from € 29 per person, with a live guide in English, in groups of up to 10 and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.

Days and timesMonday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday: 12:30Thursday and Friday: 12:30 and 18:00

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (18 and older) · Infant (2 to 17 years)

GroupUp to 10

Live guideEnglish

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.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 4 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller-friendlyPublic transport nearby

Operated by Alicante Tasting Club

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to taste the region's food the way locals do (through the people who make and sell it) without arranging your own market route or translation. The small-group format and experienced guide are what make the sellers' stories and the market's history come through instead of just the food.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Infant (2 to 17 years).

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What's included in the 16 specialities?

Orchard fruits and vegetables, local meats, Mediterranean fish, cheeses, handmade sweets, and 4 local wines (alcoholic and non-alcoholic options).

Are vegetarian options available?

Yes, vegetarian and pescatarian options are available throughout the tour.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?

Yes, all areas and surfaces in the central market are wheelchair accessible, and transportation options are also wheelchair accessible.

Where does the tour meet?

The tour meets at Alicante's central market, where you'll visit 10 different food stalls.

Do I need to be fit to do this tour?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels. You're moving through the market at a conversational pace with plenty of stops.

Will I learn about the market's history?

Yes, the guide shares the history of the central market, its hidden places, and the traditions behind each product and seller.