Boston North End: Italian Pizza & Clam Chowder Food Tour

Walking Hanover Street for Pizza, Chowder & 400 Years of Boston

You walk Boston's North End for three hours with a local guide, stopping at six or more spots to taste clam chowder, wood-fired pizza, pastrami, cannoli, and a signature secret dish. The tour weaves in 400 years of Boston history (from Native American paths to the American Revolution to Italian immigration) as you move through cobblestone streets and past landmarks like the 1680 Paul Revere House. Dietary needs can be accommodated if you mention them in advance.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Boston North End and food tastings

• Visit Boston Public Market
• Walk along Hanover Street
• See historical plaque at 256 Hanover Street
• Stop at North Square for a break
• Pass by Boston’s oldest building

The experience

You turn onto Hanover Street and the rhythm changes: narrower, older, the smell of garlic and wood smoke already in the air. This is Boston's North End, and your guide is already pointing out the brick facades and the plaques, the ones that mark where the American Revolution happened and where Italian families built their lives. The tour runs three hours, and it moves. You're not standing in a classroom. You're walking the same cobblestone path that used to be a Native American trail, renamed in 1708, now lined with restaurants and bakeries that have been here for decades.

The first stop lands you at Boston Public Market, where you taste cheese with prosciutto and get your first real sense of what "local" means here, not a marketing word, but actual merchants who've been sourcing the same suppliers for years. Then you move through the North End itself, stopping at North Square (on the National Register since 1961) and in front of the Paul Revere House, built in 1680 and still standing, the oldest building downtown. Your guide talks about Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, the anarchists whose trial and execution in 1927 left a mark on this neighborhood that people still remember. It's the kind of history that doesn't feel like a lecture because you're eating while you hear it: New England clam chowder at one stop, authentic wood-fired pizza at another, a mini pastrami sandwich somewhere in between.

By the time you reach the secret dish (the one they don't tell you about until you're there), you've had six tastings or more, plus a mini cannoli and a lemon slush. The walking is real, comfortable shoes matter, but the pace is built around eating and listening, not rushing. If you've got dietary needs, you contact them ahead and they work around it. The whole thing wraps in the afternoon, and you leave knowing the North End isn't a theme park version of Italian Boston. It's the actual place where those flavors and that history are still happening.

What’s included

• Your 3-hour tour includes entry to Boston Public Market, six or more food tastings (cheese with prosciutto, authentic wood-fired pizza, New England clam chowder, mini pastrami sandwich, mini cannoli, lemon slush, and a signature secret dish), and a local guide who shares stories of Boston's 400-year history as you walk through the North End.
• The 2-hour express option includes a Boston cream donut, clam chowder, pizza, cannoli, and the secret dish.
• Dietary accommodations can be arranged if you notify the operator in advance.

Options for this experience

3 options

2-Hour Express TourGuide in English · 13:00Express Boston food tour: Pick this option to join our 2-hour Boston Express Food Tour with a group of 15 people or fewer. Starting point: Samuel Adams Memorial, 6 Faneuil Hall Sq, Boston, MA 02109, USA

Small group food tour, 3 hoursGuide in English · 11:00, 12:00, 13:00 and 14:00Small group tour, 3 hours: Pick this option to join our 3-Hour Secret Food Tour Boston with a group of 12 people or fewer. Starting point: The New England Holocaust Memorial, 98 Union St, Boston, MA 02129, USA

Private food tour, 3 hoursGuide in English · 11:30, 12:30 and 14:30Private tour upgrade: Pick this option to upgrade to a 3-hour private food tour of Boston North End just for you and your group. Starting point: The New England Holocaust Memorial, 98 Union St, Boston, MA 02129, USA

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

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day7 departure times: the first at 11:00, the last at 14:30

Book up to2h before

AgesAdult (18 and older) · Youth (13 to 17 years) · Child (3 to 12 years) · Infant (under 3): free

GroupUp to 15

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 due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

ConfirmationConfirmation within 48h

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Secret Food Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to eat your way through Boston's actual North End rather than read about it. The guide handles the history and the route, so you just show up with comfortable shoes and an appetite.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (13 to 17 years); Child (3 to 12 years); Infant (under 3): free.

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.

How long is the Boston North End food tour?

The full tour is 3 hours. An express version runs 2 hours and includes a Boston cream donut, clam chowder, pizza, cannoli, and the secret dish.

How many tastings are included?

Six or more tastings, depending on the tour option. The 3-hour tour includes cheese with prosciutto, wood-fired pizza, clam chowder, pastrami sandwich, cannoli, lemon slush, and a secret dish.

What is the secret dish?

The guide reveals it only during the tour. It's included in both the 3-hour and 2-hour versions.

Is the tour suitable for people with dietary restrictions?

Yes. Contact the tour operator in advance to discuss your dietary needs, and they'll work to accommodate you at the stops.

How much walking is involved?

A fair amount. The tour covers the North End on foot along cobblestone streets. Comfortable shoes are recommended.

What is the Paul Revere House?

Built in 1680, it's downtown Boston's oldest building and one of the few remaining 17th-century dwellings in a large U.S. urban area. You'll see it during the tour.

Can infants come on the tour?

Yes, infants are welcome and must sit on an adult's lap.

Is public transportation available?

Yes, public transportation options are available near the tour route.

What if the weather is bad?

The itinerary and menu may change based on weather and location availability. Contact the operator if you have concerns about a specific date.

Do I need to be fit to do this tour?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels, though it does involve walking on uneven cobblestone streets.