Make memories with Florence’s 5 best culinary tours and workshops

Learn how to make fresh pasta and real Florentine tiramisu—that delizioso treat made with savoiardi cookies (you may know them as ladyfingers), espresso and creamy mascarpone—at this three-hour cooking class in the kitchen of a restaurant in the center of Florence. As the red and white wine flows, you’ll learn tips and tricks for making tender homemade pasta and your new signature dessert. Enjoy the fruits of your labor with your fellow classmates, ask your cooking instructor to spill all the best insider spots for a meal in Florence and then end dinner with a limoncello toast to your newfound skills.

Learn all the secrets for making fresh fettuccine from a chef who’s an expert in the timeless techniques of the city’s pasta-makers. Make classics including ravioli and spaghetti, then learn how to pair them with Italy’s most flavorful sauces. For dessert, you’ll spin up some homemade gelato—that’s the airier, eggless Italian answer to ice cream—made with hyper-local ingredients and fresh, seasonal fruit. Perfect the texture to the creamiest scoop, and then flavor it with vanilla, chocolate or whatever else you can dream up. You’ll head home with a full belly and a handful of recipe cards to recreate the dishes for your envious friends at home.

Head to the breathtaking Tuscan countryside for a half-day tour of Chianti wineries, where you can sip some wine, snack on local cheeses, breads and olive oils and learn about the rich history of the region from your expert guide. Just an hour from Florence by bus, you’ll get ferried away from the Piazzale Montelungo bus stop and into the rolling hills of Tuscany, where you can taste “Chianti Classico” and learn more about the region’s famous wines. As you sip and swirl, you’ll also learn about the vineyard’s production methods, take a walk through the hills and—of course—get some free time to explore on your own and take some photos for the grid.

If you’re coming to Florence, you’ve got to eat pizza! For the most authentic experience, head just outside the heart of the city, where you can make your own pies in the wood-fired oven of a bucolic country estate. You’ll work with a professional chef to make and knead the dough, pile on the sauce and local cheeses and even pick the toppings fresh from the farmhouse’s garden. Pair your pizza creation with a glass of local Chianti, and then end the night on a sweet note with gelato you make with just-picked herbs and ripe fruits from the garden.

One of the best ways to get to know a city is through its street food. Impossibly fresh, easy to eat while you stroll and beloved by the locals, these dishes are the beating heart of Florence’s food scene. On this tour with a local expert, you’ll explore the local market and food stalls while sampling Tuscan schiacciata—a flat bread made simply with the finest olive oil, flour and water—and cantuccini, twice-baked cookies studded with almonds that are one of the region’s most traditional foods. Twirl up fresh pasta, slurp up pappa al pomodoro, a robust soup that’s made with bread and tomatoes, and learn about the culture of Firenzi as you taste the city’s living history.