Hiking & Michelin-Starred Dining in Italy

European Hiking Holidays With Michelin-Starred Dining

Walk through Europe’s gastronomic landscape on a guided hiking tour packed with memorable food and wine experiences, including Michelin-starred restaurants, wine tastings, food festivals and cooking classes. Explore the local gastronomy and culture on a small group guided tour, meeting with food producers and specialist guides.

The fully inclusive hiking tours are graded 1 to 5, suitable for all levels of walking enthusiasts. Most of the tours are in Italy, with several crossing borders into France, Slovenia and Austria.

Hike your way to a Michelin-starred gastronomic experience

TUSCANY

An unforgettable dinner at the extraordinary Arnolfo Ristorante, one of just 38 two Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy, is the last stop on Hedonistic Hiking’s 2023 Tuscan Harvest tour. The dinner is a fitting end to a tour that is the natural choice for hikers looking to learn more about the region’s gastronomy, in which wine-tastings in Chianti vineyards, a pasta-making class with a local chef and a visit to the Chianti butcher, Dario Cecchini in Panzano, are sandwiched between gentle hikes (level 2) through classic Tuscan countryside.

Prices from US$3340pp fully inclusive of 8 nights’ accommodation, all meals with wine, activities, guided hikes and transfers, with www.hedonistichiking.com.

PIEDMONT

Renowned for its legendary white truffles, alpine cheeses, wine, hazelnuts and chocolate, the birthplace of the global ‘Slow Food’ movement provides a glut of experiences for food enthusiasts. On the 2023 Jewels of Piedmont tour, food and wine related activities throughout the week include truffle hunting, an artisanal chocolate tasting, cooking class and visits to local wine producers but the gastronomic highlight is the final dinner at the Michelin-starred Massimo Camia restaurant.

Prices from US$3340pp fully inclusive of 8 nights’ accommodation, all meals with wine, activities, guided hikes and transfers, with www.hedonistichiking.com.

The Wine Bank, food festivals and cooking classes

The Wine Bank

Learn about wine from all over the Italian peninsula on a visit to the Banca del Vino, part of the Jewels of Piedmont tour. This unique wine museum is housed in a UNESCO World Heritage historic palace in the tiny village of Pollenzo. While the area is best known for its robust red Barolo and Barbaresco, the collection of wine here – over 100,000 bottles from around 300 different producers – focuses on winemakers who use traditional techniques and protect the biodiversity of Italy’s different grape varieties.

Food festivals

Join the locals at the Borgotaro Mushroom Fair in the province of Parma on a walking tour through Parma, Tuscany and the Ligurian Sea, or at the Chestnut Festival in Palazzuolo sul Senio in Tuscany’s Mugello region on the Northern Tuscany and Ravenna tour.

Cooking classes

Several tours feature fun, light-hearted cooking classes designed to introduce guests to the specialities of the region. These are available in the Abruzzo, the Tuscan hills, Siena and Piedmont.

TOUR WITH HEDONISTIC HIKING

Established in 2007 by Jackie and Mick Parsons, Hedonistic Hiking organises guided hiking tours, accompanied by gourmet food and wine experiences, in Europe and Australia. All tours are researched, designed and led by Jackie and Mick and graded 1-5 according to difficulty.

Hiking: Hedonistic Hiking tours range from gentle half-day hikes (4 miles) across easy rolling countryside on a level 1 tour, to an average distance of 9 miles per day on rugged terrain, with ascents of up to 1,000m, on a level 5 tour.

Gourmet experiences: Picnic on fresh regional ingredients, and feast on restaurant dinners that showcase the best local cuisine and award-winning wines. Tours may also include a wine-tasting, a visit to a cheese producer or a cooking demonstration.

Stay in hand-picked, locally owned boutique hotels and in Italy’s distinctive alberghi diffusi, an initiative which supports the conversion of empty or abandoned homes in a rural village to provide ‘scattered’ rooms, rather than building a new hotel. 

Destinations: In Europe, destinations include the Dolomites, Tuscany, Piedmont, the Italian Lakes and Alps, Friuli, Emilia Romagna, Umbria, the Basilicata, Sardinia and the Abruzzo in Italy, with several of the tours crossing borders into France, Slovenia and Austria.

Australian tours are focussed on Victoria, taking in the Grampians, the Goldfields Track, the Victorian Alps, the Great Ocean Walk and the area around Beechworth.

Solo guests: Tour groups are made up of solo travellers, couples and keen walkers whose partner may not share the same passion for hiking.  A small single supplement (from US$315) applies with rooms allocated for single occupancy equal to rooms occupied by two.

LEARN MORE: HedonisticHiking.com