Spain Food & Wine Tours
Spain eats late, eats standing up, and eats better than almost anywhere in Europe for the money: tapas and pintxos, rice cooked over fire, jamón carved by hand, and cava, Rioja and sherry to go with it. This is our Spain hub. Below are the top-rated food and wine experiences in the country, then our detailed pages: Barcelona first, with Madrid, Seville, San Sebastián and Rioja to follow.
Top-rated food and wine experiences in Spain
Start in Barcelona: our Barcelona hub compares the city’s tapas tours through El Born, the Gothic Quarter and Gràcia, its paella cooking classes with a Boqueria market visit, and its wine and cava tours to the Penedès and Priorat.
What to eat: jamón ibérico, pan con tomate, patatas bravas, boquerones, a proper paella or fideuà, pintxos in the north, gazpacho and fried fish in the south, churros with chocolate, and a glass of cava, vermut, Rioja or fino.
Beyond the big cities: Granada for free tapas, Málaga for espetos and sweet wine, Córdoba for salmorejo and Montilla, Santiago for Galician seafood and Albariño, and Ribera del Duero for Tempranillo.
Where to go in Spain for food and wine
Barcelona is the start for most people and it is a strong one: the Boqueria and Santa Caterina markets, tapas in El Born and Poble Sec, Catalan cooking that is its own thing, and cava country an hour away. See the Barcelona hub.
Madrid has the best tapas bars in the country and the Mercado de San Miguel; Seville is tapas as a way of life, with sherry from Jerez down the road; San Sebastián is pintxos and the highest density of Michelin stars in Europe, with Rioja an hour inland; Valencia is where paella was invented and the only place to eat the real one. Madrid, Seville, San Sebastián with Rioja, and Valencia now have their own pages, alongside Barcelona.
When to come
Spring and autumn are best for food travel: mild weather, full markets, and the harvest in September and October in Rioja, Penedès and Priorat. Summer is hot in the south and Madrid; the coast is fine. Calçots, the grilled spring onions of Catalonia, run January to March. Sherry country celebrates in spring.
Booking in Spain
Most experiences on this site are on GetYourGuide and Viator with free cancellation. Spain eats late: tapas tours start at seven or eight in the evening and run past ten. Cooking classes and market tours are morning affairs. English is standard on everything we list.
Read next: Sherry explained: Fino to Pedro Ximénez
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 Spain Food & Wine Tours
Frequently asked questions
Why Spain for food?
Because the everyday is excellent: a bar with a good jamón, a market with the morning’s fish, a bakery, a glass of vermut at noon. Guided experiences get you past the tourist menus into that.
Where is the best food in Spain?
San Sebastián for pintxos and fine dining, Seville for tapas culture, Barcelona for markets and range, Valencia for rice. There is no wrong answer; pick by the rest of your trip.
Is paella in Barcelona authentic?
Paella is Valencian; Barcelona’s versions are seafood rice dishes and fideuà, which are good in their own right. A cooking class teaches the real technique wherever you take it.
What do tapas tours cost?
Roughly 65 to 100 dollars for three hours with five or six stops, tapas and drinks included.