These days, wanderlust can strike anywhere, but many of us have become the kind of travellers who see the world first through a screen. We scroll through glossy feeds, double-tap photos of turquoise coastlines and cobblestone alleys, and save every “hidden gem” we can find. Some plan their trips with their ears, jetting off to concerts and festivals in far-flung cities as gig-tripping becomes a serious rival to sports tourism. But for a growing number of travellers, the real compass is the stomach. If you’re someone who travels to taste, there’s a newly unveiled ranking that deserves your bookmark. Tripadvisor has just released its 2026 Travellers’ Choice Awards for food and drink tours around the globe, and the results are based on reviews and ratings collected from travellers over the past twelve months. That means these aren’t just polished marketing choices; they come from real people who laced up their walking shoes, showed up hungry, and left genuinely impressed. As Laurel Greatrix, chief communications officer at Tripadvisor Group, put it, “Food is at the heart of how we experience a destination, and these awards recognise the restaurant and culinary experiences travellers consider among the very best.” She added that these are the kinds of experiences that can become a highlight of a trip—or even the reason to take one. That rings true for anyone who has ever booked a dinner reservation before a flight. A great meal doesn’t just fill an empty slot in the itinerary; it can define a place, spark a conversation, and stay with you far longer than any souvenir. Whether it’s learning to make pasta in a Roman kitchen, sipping wine on a sun-warmed terrace, or discovering the best street-food stall in Osaka, the tastiest travels are often the ones you feel as much as you see. And this year’s winners certainly make a strong case for planning an entire vacation around what’s on the plate.
At the very top of the global food tour list, and also the best in Europe, is a three-hour walk through Reykjavik that celebrates the quirky, comforting flavours of Iceland. The Reykjavik Food Walk takes visitors to half a dozen local spots, ranging from food trucks to fine dining restaurants, and introduces them to dishes that don’t always make it into mainstream travel guides. Icelandic hot dogs, artisanal cheeses, and ice cream are among the tastings, and what makes the experience stand out is its mix of high and low, street snack and sit-down meal, all woven together with stories about local life. It’s a reminder that the best food tours are not just about eating; they are about understanding why a particular dish matters to the people who make it. Coming second overall, and topping the wine and beer category in Europe, is a Tuscany wine tasting tour from Florence. This half-day excursion takes you through different wine estates, where you can sample wines, olive oil, cheeses, and cured meats, and then sits you down for a traditional Tuscan lunch or dinner. It’s the kind of unhurried, scenic experience that has made Italian food and wine culture so beloved. European experiences dominate both lists this year, and it is easy to see why. From an undiscovered Lisbon food and wine tour that takes you into the city’s lesser-known neighbourhoods, to a Greek food walking tour in Athens that runs on olives, feta, and generous hospitality, to a historic pub tour in Prague that turns beer into a storytelling medium, the continent is a banquet waiting to be explored. These tours are not just tastings; they are intimate encounters with local customs, family-run businesses, and centuries-old traditions.
The full top ten list of food tours around the world reads like a culinary bucket list. In second place after Reykjavik is the Undiscovered Lisbon Food and Wine Tour by Eating Europe, which offers a deep dive into the Portuguese capital’s hidden corners and the flavours that define them. Third is an Amsterdam Food and Cultural Tour with ten tastings, a comfortable, canal-side stroll through Dutch specialties. Fourth takes you from Split to the Krka Waterfalls, combining nature with food and wine tasting—a reminder that a tour can satisfy a love of landscape and lunch in equal measure. Fifth is the Rome Twilight Trastevere Food Tour by Eating Europe, which takes place after dark in one of the city’s most atmospheric districts, pairing candlelit streets with generous portions of Roman classics. Sixth is the Hungry Osaka Street Food Tour, which promises fifteen tastings and three drinks with a local guide, all while threading through the Japanese city’s famously lively food stalls. Seventh is a half-day trip from Barcelona to Montserrat, pairing dramatic mountain views with tapas and wine. Eighth is the Greek Food Walking Tour in Athens, where ancient history and modern meze share the spotlight. Ninth is the Devour Paris Ultimate Food Tour, a loving ode to the French capital’s bakeries, fromageries, and bistros. And tenth is the Lima Ultimate Peruvian Food Tour, which showcases why Peru has become one of the most exciting food destinations on the planet. What is striking about this list is how varied it is: not just in geography, but in style. There are walking tours, day trips, small-group tastings, and immersive street-food crawls. They all share a common thread, though. Each one was designed to treat local cuisine not as a pit stop but as a genuine destination, and each one was chosen by travellers who took the time to rate what they experienced.
On the wine and beer side of the ranking, the number one spot goes to a South African tour that takes you through Paarl, Franschhoek, and Stellenbosch, with stops at three wineries. It’s a full day of sweeping vineyard views, cellar tastings, and the kind of warm, unhurried hospitality that Cape Town’s wine country has become known for. Second is the Tuscany Wine Safari from Florence, which happens to be the same tour that placed second overall in the global wine and beer list—a testament to its popularity and quality. Third is a Douro Valley small-group tour from Porto, which combines two wineries, a traditional lunch, and a river cruise through one of the most beautiful wine regions in the world. Fourth is the Maipo Valley Wine Tour from Santiago, Chile, where four vineyards open their doors to visitors eager to explore a landscape shaped by the Andes. Fifth is the Prague Historic Pub Tour, a lively alternative to standard sightseeing, with drinks included and stories about the city’s beer-drinking culture along the way. Sixth is a tour and wine tasting in Mykonian Land, where Greek island charm meets local grape varieties. Seventh returns to Italy with a day trip from Florence to Siena, San Gimignano, and the Chianti wine region, a classic journey through medieval towns and rolling vineyards. Eighth is the Toledo Tour and Vineyard Experience from Madrid, which mixes Spanish history with an elegant tasting. Ninth is Santorini Wine Stories, a sunset tour with tasting and dinner that might just be the most romantic way to drink wine anywhere. Tenth is the Royal Historic Pubs Walking Guided Tour in London, a charming reminder that you don’t need a passport stamp and a vineyard to enjoy a good pour—you just need a good story and a comfortable pub bench. Taken together, these tours show how much the wine and beer world has expanded beyond traditional destinations. Whether you prefer bold reds in Tuscany, crisp whites in Chile, or a proper pint in London, there’s a guided experience designed around your curiosity.
Beyond the tours, Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards also celebrated restaurants in several categories, including fine dining, hidden gems, and plant-based meals. That last category feels particularly timely, as more and more travellers are seeking out restaurants that put vegetables at the centre of the plate rather than treating them as an afterthought. The awards also include a new “viral right now” category, which highlights eateries that are currently generating serious online buzz. Among the ones named are London’s Dishoom, a beloved spot known for its Bombay-style comfort food, drawn from the Irani cafés of old Mumbai; Banh Mi Huynh Hoa in Ho Chi Minh City, which has built a devoted following around one of Vietnam’s most satisfying sandwiches; and Cremeria Santo Stefano in Bologna, an ice cream shop that has become a stop on any serious food lover’s journey through Italy. These are the kinds of places that make you understand why someone would cross a city—or an ocean—for a single bite. They also highlight a shift in how we discover food. A restaurant can now find a global audience overnight, thanks to a well-timed video or a shared post, and suddenly a local favourite becomes a destination in itself. That is the joy and the chaos of modern travel, and it is wonderful to see an official list embrace it. The fact that these viral spots share space with formal, fine dining establishments and carefully hidden neighbourhood gems says a lot about what travellers want today: not just a table, but an experience with personality, story, and something worth posting about.
In the end, this year’s rankings are a celebration of food as a reason to move. They remind us that the world is full of places where the best way to understand a culture is to let go of the guidebook and follow your appetite. You might fly to Reykjavik for hot dogs and ice cream, or to Lima for ceviche that changes how you think about citrus. You might spend an afternoon in the Douro Valley watching the river curve through the vineyards, or an evening in Trastevere eating pasta at a table squeezed between ancient walls. What these experiences have in common is a sense of generosity: someone is feeding you, and through that meal, they are showing you who they are. That is why food tours have become so popular. They are not just about convenience or avoiding the stress of navigating an unfamiliar restaurant scene. They are about connection. A good guide does more than order for you; they open doors, tell stories, and hand you a taste of home, even if that home belongs to a stranger you’ve only just met. So whether you’re planning a trip around a lifelong list of Michelin stars or simply want to wander through a new city with a snack in your hand, let the 2026 Travellers’ Choice Awards be a delicious starting point. After all, the next great story you tell might begin with a meal you almost missed.
