Europe’s Best Food Cities: 10 Destinations for Food Lovers

European cuisine changes every few hundred kilometres. Discover where to eat in Bologna, Paris, Athens and Ljubljana, and how to plan a culinary trip in 2026

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Europe’s cuisine changes faster than the scenery outside the window: drive a few hundred kilometres and you meet a different pasta, a different cheese, a different wine with lunch. That is why a culinary trip through Europe never feels quite like the last one, even when you return to the same countries.

We picked ten cities where the food alone justifies the journey. In some you will need a table booked a week ahead; in others, a paper bag and half an hour by the market will do. Below, each city gets its own section, and closer to the end you’ll find what to check before you set off in 2026.

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Which cities made the list of Europe’s best places for food lovers?

European food destinations are easiest to sort by mood. Bologna, Paris and Lyon deliver the classics that half the world’s cooking is built on. Athens, Thessaloniki and Split smell of olive oil, fish and grilled meat. Manchester and San Sebastián suit those who like to eat on their feet and skip the tablecloths. Munich and Ljubljana save their hearty dishes for cooler evenings.

The Best Food Cities in Europe for Lovers of Classic Cuisine

Bologna, Italy: the city nicknamed “the Fat One”

Photo: Magnific

Rome is the Eternal City, Venice is the Most Serene, and Italians have nicknamed Bologna La Grassa, “the Fat One”. It is no insult: this is where tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini in broth and mortadella, sliced almost transparent, were born. The best place to start is the Quadrilatero, a maze of lanes near Piazza Maggiore. Delicatessens, fresh-pasta shops and market stalls stand shoulder to shoulder there. If you have time left, give a day to the surroundings: Emilia-Romagna is famous for its Parmigiano Reggiano makers, and those after genuine balsamic vinegar head to neighbouring Modena.

Read also: in 2025 Italian cuisine was added to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list. What does it mean for travellers?

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Paris, France: a day that starts with a baguette

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In 2022 UNESCO added the art of the French baguette to its intangible cultural heritage list. Parisians, it seems, took this as confirmation of what they had been doing every day anyway. Croissants are baked long before dawn, so look for the freshest ones early in the morning, and not in the cafés on the main boulevards but in neighbourhood bakeries. A good starting point is the pedestrian Rue Montorgueil near Les Halles, where bakeries sit beside cheese shops and fishmongers. The street markets on Rue Cler and Rue Mouffetard are handy if you want to put together a picnic for the banks of the Seine. In the evening, a bistro serving steak frites, onion soup and duck confit is a safe bet. And in Saint-Germain or the Marais you can work your way through cheese shops, chocolatiers and wine bars in a single day.

Lyon, France: where food is taken seriously

Lyon lays claim to the title of France’s gastronomic capital, and arguing with the locals is not advisable. The old town is packed with bouchons, small restaurants serving simple, hearty dishes. Order quenelles in a creamy crayfish sauce, a Lyonnaise salad with a poached egg and a pink praline tart. Locals shop at the covered market Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, named after the city’s most famous chef, and cheese and cured meats from there are easy to take home. The wine part of the story unfolds outside the city: the Beaujolais vineyards lie to the north of Lyon.

Mediterranean Flavours: Athens, Thessaloniki and Split

Athens, Greece: the market where it all begins

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The Central Market, Varvakios Agora, has stood on Athinas Street since 1886. Under one roof it sells fish, meat, olives and spices, and old tavernas still line its edges. Breakfast can come from a street cart: a sesame koulouri. For lunch, souvlaki in a pita; save loukoumades, fried dough balls drenched in honey, for dessert. The best place for dinner is Plaka, right under the Acropolis, or neighbouring Psyrri, where people order meze and grilled lamb.

Thessaloniki, Greece: a city recognised by UNESCO

Since 2021 Thessaloniki has held the title of UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, and many Greeks consider it the country’s culinary capital. Start the day with bougatsa: phyllo pastry filled with custard, cheese or minced meat. Then head for the Modiano and Kapani markets, which sell olives, cheese and spices, while small bars serving ouzo hide between the rows. The city is young and noticeably less formal than Athens. When you tire of sitting at tables, the first beaches of Halkidiki are about an hour’s drive away, traffic permitting.

The best food tours in the world in 2026: a selection from Visit World.

Split, Croatia: Dalmatian cooking beneath the palace walls

Split often comes up because of Game of Thrones, since the cellars of Diocletian’s Palace really did appear on screen. But the cooking is the reason to come. Italian-style pasta and risotto sit alongside grilled fish, olive oil and the wild greens typical of the eastern Mediterranean. Among the classics, try pašticada, beef stewed in wine, often with prunes; black risotto made with cuttlefish ink; and peka, meat or octopus slow-cooked under an iron bell. Peka takes hours, sometimes a whole day, so mention it to the restaurant when you book a table.

Street Food in Europe: Manchester (UK) and San Sebastián (Spain)

English cooking has an unfairly bad reputation, and Manchester refutes it better than any other city. Here you’ll find the Curry Mile, a stretch of Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, a few bus stops south of the centre. There are dozens of South Asian restaurants, grilled kebabs and dessert shops open until midnight. If you’ve heard of Brick Lane in London, picture a similar story, only longer. Even if spicy food isn’t your thing, the street is worth a stroll: next to the street stalls stand some quite upscale places. It is busiest in the evening.

San Sebastián answered tapas in its own way. Basque pintxos are served on a slice of bread with a topping, speared with a skewer. The heart of the food scene is the Parte Vieja, the old town, and Calle 31 de Agosto. The tactic is simple: one or two bites and a drink in each bar, then on to the next. Crowds peak at lunchtime and after 8 p.m. Locals wash pintxos down with txakoli, a light local white wine. And La Concha beach is a few steps from the centre, so there is somewhere to rest between bars.

The Alpine Side: Munich and Ljubljana

Munich, Germany: pretzels, pork knuckles and beer gardens

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Bavarian cooking is simple and filling. Beer halls and gardens serve pretzels, pork knuckles and dumplings. Munich, though, is more than big mugs. Locals start the day at the Viktualienmarkt, an open-air market a few steps from Marienplatz. It is open Monday to Saturday and closed on Sundays and public holidays, and it is liveliest on Saturday morning, when Münchners shop for the weekend. A pretzel and a stein of beer in a beer garden in the English Garden count as a classic lunch. In the evening, if there is still room, order pork knuckle with sauerkraut in a traditional brewery.

Which cities made Time Out’s list of the best gastronomic gems of 2026? We tell you here.

Ljubljana, Slovenia: a small capital with a taste of its own

Slovenia is tiny, but its cuisine stands out on the map. Slovenes took the best from their neighbours (Italian pasta, Hungarian goulash, Austrian schnitzel) and turned it into dishes of their own. Try Carniolan sausage (kranjska klobasa) and teran, a local red wine. Every Friday from March to November, weather permitting, Odprta kuhna (“Open Kitchen”) takes over Pogačar Square next to the Central Market, with dozens of restaurants cooking right beside their counters. Lake Bled is less than an hour from Ljubljana, so the day can easily be split between food and views.

Discover the most underrated places to travel in Europe in 2027 at this link.

How to plan food tours of Europe in 2026

Border and documents

If you are not an EU or Schengen citizen, get used to the new EES entry system. Since 10 April 2026 it has been running at all external borders of the Schengen Area: passport stamps have been replaced by a digital record, and at first entry your facial image and fingerprints are taken. Processing speed varies from one checkpoint to another, so it is wise to leave extra time at airports. The situation with ETIAS is less clear: it was planned for the last quarter of 2026, but no firm date has been confirmed. Before you travel, check the current status on the official portal travel-europe.europa.eu.

Booking and timing

A few things are best arranged in advance:

- book peka in Split and tables at popular bistros in Paris and San Sebastián ahead of time;

- the Viktualienmarkt is closed on Sundays and public holidays;

- odprta kuhna runs on Fridays and depends on the weather;

- pintxo bars need no booking, so just hop from one to the next.

If you are driving

Driving between Munich, Ljubljana and the coast is convenient, but toll roads should be planned for in advance. Slovenia abandoned stickers long ago: the e-vignette is tied to your licence plate, and cameras check passage automatically. The official 2026 rates from operator DARS for a passenger car are €16 for a week, €32 for a month and €117.50 for a year, and there is no vignette shorter than a week. The Karawanken Tunnel on the border with Austria is paid separately. Similar digital systems operate in Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary.

On Visit World it is enough to enter your departure and arrival points, and the system will tell you exactly where a vignette is needed. Get it online before you leave and spend the time you save on one more pintxo bar.

You can’t cover ten cities in one trip, and you don’t need to. Choose by mood, not by ranking: three days in one city will give you more flavour than chasing the whole list at once.

Reminder! In 2027 America’s railroads mark 200 years. We have already covered the most beautiful routes, historic trains, hotels in railway carriages and prices.

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