France Food & Wine Tours
France is where the idea of eating well as a way of life was written down, and it is still the country where a market, a bakery and a wine list are taken personally. This is our France hub. Below are the top-rated food and wine experiences in the country, then our detailed pages: Paris first, with its food tours, cooking classes and wine tastings, and the wine regions as we add them.
Top-rated food and wine experiences in France
Start in Paris: our Paris hub compares the city’s best food tours through Le Marais, Montmartre and the markets, its cooking classes from croissants to a full market-to-table lunch, and its wine tastings in the city and the Champagne day trips beyond it.
What to eat: a croissant from a bakery that laminates its own dough, raw-milk Comté and Brie from a fromagerie, steak frites in a bistro, oysters on a market stall, a macaron that is crisp outside and soft within, and a glass of something from a cave à vin where the owner picks for you.
Loire Valley: France’s largest white-wine region and its castle country – Loire wine tours, Touraine from Tours & Amboise, and château-and-wine day trips from Paris.
Where to go in France for food and wine
Paris is the obvious start and it deserves it. The city has more good bakeries, cheese shops and wine bars per street than anywhere else, and the best way through them is a guided walk: Le Marais or Montmartre food tours that move from fromagerie to charcuterie to pâtisserie with wine on the way. Cooking classes here lean sweet, croissants and macarons above all, but there are serious market-to-table classes too. For wine, Paris tastings cover the whole country in one sitting, and Champagne is under an hour away by train.
The regions are here. Burgundy for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the Côte d’Or; Bordeaux for the châteaux of the Médoc and Saint-Émilion; the Loire for Sancerre, Vouvray and the castles; Champagne for the cellars of Reims and Épernay; Provence and Lyon for the food, and Provence’s markets and bouillabaisse, with Marseille, Saint-Tropez rosé and Bandol and Cassis on the coast. These pages are now live, including the French Riviera and Nice; the Loire is the one still to come.
When to come
Paris is a year-round food city; markets are best in late spring and autumn, and August closures are real, so check that the bakery you wanted is open. The wine regions come alive at harvest, September into October, when the cellars are busy and the vineyards turn. Winter is oyster season on the coasts and in Paris brasseries, and the quietest time to book a class.
Booking in France
Most experiences on this site are on GetYourGuide and Viator with free cancellation, usually up to 24 hours before. Paris classes and tours sell out on weekends in high season; book a week ahead. Tours run in English unless stated. Tipping is not expected but a few euros for a guide is appreciated.
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.
FAQ about France Food & Wine Tours
Frequently asked questions
Why France for food?
Because the basics are extraordinary: bread, butter, cheese and wine that people cross the world for, and a restaurant culture built on them.
Is Paris or the countryside better for a food trip?
Paris for variety and convenience; the regions for wine. If you have one week, spend four days in Paris with a food tour and a class, then take the train to Champagne or Burgundy for two nights.
Do I need French?
No. Every experience listed here runs in English, and guides handle the ordering and the questions.
What does a Paris food tour cost?
Expect roughly 90 to 140 dollars for a three-hour tour with tastings and wine, and 100 to 260 for a cooking class depending on length and whether lunch is included.