Trentino–Alto Adige Food Tours
The food of Trentino-Alto Adige is Alpine and bilingual: speck sliced thin, canederli dumplings in broth, spinach Schlutzkrapfen, mountain cheeses and apple strudel, tasted in the arcaded streets of Bolzano, at farm taverns and in the mountain huts. Compare the top-rated food experiences below, then read our notes.
Food and speck tasting tours in South Tyrol
Formats: food and speck tasting tours of Bolzano and Trento with their markets; farmhouse (maso) and mountain-hut lunches; Törggelen autumn tavern crawls; cheese-and-wine pairings; strudel and Knödel workshops.
What to eat: speck and other smoked hams, canederli (Knödel), Schlutzkrapfen, Graukäse and alpine cheeses, barley soup, apple strudel and Kaiserschmarrn, with a glass of Lagrein or new wine.
Price and time: roughly 45 to 75 dollars for a food tasting tour of two to three hours; more with a full maso or mountain-hut lunch.
Speck and the smoked-meat tradition
The emblem of the region is speck, ham that is boned, lightly salted and spiced, cold-smoked over beech and juniper, then air-dried in the mountain air – halfway between Italian prosciutto and northern smoked ham, and protected as speck Alto Adige PGI. A tasting tour walks you through the good producers and the market stalls of Bolzano and Trento, with the smoked cheeses and rye breads that go with it.
The mountain kitchen
The cooked food is Alpine comfort: canederli, bread dumplings bound with speck or cheese and served in broth or with butter and sage; Schlutzkrapfen, half-moon ravioli of spinach and ricotta; barley soup; and, for pudding, apple strudel from the Val di Non orchards and the shredded pancake Kaiserschmarrn. Much of it is best eaten where it is made – at a maso (mountain farm) or a hut on the trails, which many experiences build in.
Törggelen and the seasons
The most local time to eat here is autumn, for Törggelen: the South Tyrolean custom of walking between farm taverns in the Eisacktal for the year’s new wine, roast chestnuts, speck and Krapfen. Pair a food day with the wine on our Alto Adige wine tours, and see the regional hub for the wider picture.
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 Trentino–Alto Adige Food Tours
Frequently asked questions
What is the dish to try in South Tyrol?
Speck, and canederli (Knödel) dumplings; finish with apple strudel. All are on the food tasting tours.
What is speck?
A juniper-smoked, air-dried ham unique to Alto Adige, between Italian prosciutto and Alpine smoked ham, protected as a PGI. The region’s signature.
When is Törggelen?
Autumn, roughly October and November, when the farm taverns of the Eisacktal open for new wine, chestnuts and speck - the most atmospheric time to eat here.