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Carmel Food Tours

9th Avenue and San Carlos Street, Carmel by the Sea, CA 93921

• Phone (831) 216-8161
• Tollfree (877) 436-6360

The Carmel Downtown Food Tour is a three-hour, guided tour of Carmel's most interesting attractions, and offers food tastings from seven unique eateries coupled with insightful presentations of Carmel's cultural, historical, and architectural highlights provided by knowledgeable and entertaining local guides. The 1.2 mile tour is suitable for all fitness levels, open to all children, but is most appropriate for ages thirteen and up. Whether you are an occasional visitor or a resident, the walking tour is the perfect way to get to know the culture, sights and foods of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

• Age Range: 13 and up

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• Food Chronicles

Carmel Food Tour

Discovering Carmel

Carmel-By-The-Sea, also simply known as Carmel, is a charmingly picturesque town exemplifying its natural scenery and artistic community.

The best way to really get to know the storybook town is on the Carmel Food Tour .

You will learn about classic Carmel and what the town has to offer today through a local’s perspective. The walking tour allows guests to stroll around the streets and hidden passageways to learn about history, architecture, and culture…all while making stops for food and wine in local restaurants and boutique shops.

The guides are personable and passionate about Carmel. By the end of the tour, it will have felt like your close friend spent the day taking you around their hometown and showed you all the local secrets and the best of what Carmel has to offer.

Tours Offered

Classic Food Tour The original walking, cultural, tasting tour. Stroll around the heart of Carmel to discover iconic restaurants and shops, including 7 stops for food and wine. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 11am to 2pm $79.00, inclusive of food and drink

Gimme-a-Breakfast Tour Explore downtown Carmel’s culture, food, and morning beverages in this walking tour, including 6 stops for food and beverages. Fridays, Saturdays 8:30am to 11am $69.00, inclusive of food and drink

Click here for TripAdvisor reviews and photos of Carmel Food Tour

Carmel Food Tour +1-800-656-0713

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• About this activity

Carmel Small Group Walking Food & Cultural Tour

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Discover the charming coastal town of Carmel and savor a series of tantalizing food tastings (which may include wine or a cocktail) on this 3-hour guided walking tour. Your passionate guide will share stories about the history, culture and architecture of Carmel as you stop at restaurants, stylish watering holes and food shops to meet business owners (when available) and sample different food items. You may visit places like a classic European Restaurant, a local tavern serving mixed fermentation brews and modern takes on classic dishes, purveyors of the freshest tortillas on the Monterey Peninsula, and a local producer of confections made from century-old recipes. In general, the tastings add up to an average lunch. Ideal for both tourists and Carmel residents, this tour is a leisurely and tasty way to learn more about this quaint town.

This small group tour is generally limited to 16 people, ensuring more personal attention from your guide.

Activity location

• San Carlos Street and Ninth Avenue,
• Carmel, California, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

• 93921, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, United States
• Fri, Jun 14 -
• Sat, Jun 15 -
• Sun, Jun 16 -
• Mon, Jun 17 $139
• Tue, Jun 18 -
• Wed, Jun 19 -
• Thu, Jun 20 -
• Fri, Jun 21 $139
• Sat, Jun 22 $139
• Sun, Jun 23 -
• Mon, Jun 24 $139
• Tue, Jun 25 -
• Wed, Jun 26 -
• Thu, Jun 27 -
• Fri, Jun 28 $139
• Activity duration is 3 hours 3h 3h

Duration: 3 hours Includes all tastings Digital Photo Album: When your tour leader takes photos, we tidy them up and send them in a neat digital album for you to enjoy - and share!

What's included, what's not

• What's included What's included All beverages
• What's included What's included All food samplings (enough for lunch)
• What's included What's included Professional foodie guide
• What's included What's included 3-hour food and wine tasting tour
• What's excluded What's excluded Gratuities

Know before you book

• Wheelchair accessible
• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Comfortable shoes recommended
• Please advise of any specific dietary requirements at time of booking; we are unable to provide substitutions without advance notice
• Minimum age is 21 years for alcohol consumption.
• Adult pricing applies to all travelers age 3 and up; tour is geared towards adults but well behaved children are welcome
• Children under the age of 3 should be discussed with tour operator as to the appropriateness of attending.
• ** We can accommodate vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten- and lactose-free diets with advance notice ONLY. Please inform us of any food allergies at time of booking. We are unable to provide substitutions without advance notice, so please note any special restrictions on your reservation.
• Not recommended for travelers who are unable to walk without difficulty or pain

Activity itinerary

Sunset cultural center, carmel food tours.

• Admission ticket included

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The Best Walking Tours in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in the world. I’ve been visiting it regularly for over a decade and even spent some time living there. It’s a city with a misunderstood reputation, often glossed over as simply a place to party and partake in the illicit Red Light District.

But Amsterdam has so much more to offer.

If you want to explore the city, there are really only two ways to get around: biking and walking. And fortunately, for those who like to walk (and/or bike) the Dutch capital offers a legion of picturesque strolls: along leafy canals, past centuries-old churches and cozy canal houses, and down narrow cobblestoned lanes.

To really get a glimpse below the city’s surface, take a walking tour. I take them in every city I visit. They’re the best way to learn about the history and culture while connecting with an expert local guide who can share their tips and insight.

Amsterdam, unsurprisingly, offers an array of unique tours: from sex worker-led tours through the famed Red Light District to tours that explore the city’s recreational drug culture to strolls that focus on the history of the city.

To help you decide which ones to take, here’s my list of the best walking tours in Amsterdam!

BEST PAID TOUR

Take Walks is my go-to tour company. Their tours are fun, detailed, and use expert local guides so you always learn ton. They also get you behind the scenes with special access to attractions that other tours just can’t get (they have an early-access tour to the Rijksmuseum so you can beat the crowds). If you want to really learn about the city and connect with a knowledgable guide, this is the company for you! I love their tours the best.

Best Free Tour

Sandemans New Europe

Sandemans does free tours in many big European cities and they know what they’re doing. With a local guide leading the way, their three-hour walking tour hits all the major sites in Amsterdam. Start at the National Monument and end at the Anne Frank House and in between stroll along canals while stopping in the Jewish Quarter, various churches, bridges, and canal-side houses along the way.

  For more suggestions, here’s a few other walking tours worth checking out in Amsterdam:

1. Amsterbike

This tour with AmsterBike a perfect way to connect with the local pace of life. AmsterBike offers a few different types of tours, including a cycling tour around the canals and tours out into the countryside.

For their Amsterdam city tour, spend three hours pedaling along canals and down narrow atmospheric streets of this loveable city, learning the history of the place as you go along while stopping at some of the city’s most iconic spots.

Tours from 34.50 EUR.

Book your tour here!  

2. Free Food Tour Amsterdam

Dutch gouda cheese, scrumptiously sweet and gooey stroopwafels, deep-fried savory bitterballen, and fresh herring are all on offer during this free two-hour walking tour that explores the food of Amsterdam. The expert local guides give a nice overview of the history and culture of Dutch cuisine while you nibble on samples of traditional foods. And yes – you really do get free food on the tour (just be aware that these are tasting bites, don’t expect to get full here). Just tips the guide at the end.

3. Hungry Birds

For nearly a decade this female-owned tour company has been feeding hungry visitors with knowledge and food of Amsterdam. “Mother birds,” as they refer to their guides, lead food-loving visitors around this charming Dutch metropolis for 4.5 hours, snacking on all manner of edible Dutch delights. Tour-goers get the chance to sample street food, traditional Dutch fare including herring and stroopwafels, some non-Dutch treats like Surinamese and Indonesian cuisine, as well as food at an old-school atmospheric food market.

Tours from 79 EUR.

4. HistoryWalks

Despite the country’s neutrality during World War II, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands in 1939 shortly after the war broke out. Led by a retired history professor, their “World War II and the Holocaust in Amsterdam” tour takes visitors on a whirlwind around the city viewing it through the lens of World War II. It’s a fascinating three hours and the guides really know their stuff. If you’re a history buff like me — or if you just want to learn more about the war from a Dutch perspective — this is the tour for you.

Tours from 40 EUR.

5. Ultimate Party Amsterdam

These wild, party-themed pub crawl tours are festive and fun. Hop on the Red Light District pub crawl where the tour begins with unlimited vodka shots for the first 30 minutes (and then at every stop you get another free shot of booze). The tour concludes with free entry into Amsterdam’s biggest nightclub. This tour isn’t all just about getting drunk (though that’s a big part of it) but is a good way to discover some cool party spots so you can come back later and explore more on your own. It’s a great way to meet people too if you’re traveling solo.

Tours from 25 EUR.

6. Eating Europe

Started in Italy a decade ago, Eating Europe now has tours in many big European cities, including Amsterdam. The local guides know how to eat — and where! The food tour through the hip neighborhood of Jordaan gives a great taste of the amazing food scene there. The 3.5-hour walking tour hits some of the coolest spots in the neighborhood, plus street food and food markets to sample traditional and creative takes on Dutch food as well as some great international food. The knowledgeable guides also give a great account of the history of Dutch cuisine and the history and culture of feasting in Amsterdam.

Tours from 94 EUR.

7. O My Amsterdam Tours

Amsterdam is famous for its tolerance of recreational drug culture, particularly marijuana. In certain cafes, it’s totally fine to light up a joint and get higher than a kite. This 2.5-hour tour takes a bong-sized hit of drug culture and history in Amsterdam, leading curious visitors to cannabis grow rooms and the marijuana museum, among other spots, all the while explaining drug culture here. The guide even explains the difference between bad weed and good weed. It’s a real trip!

8. Prostitute Information Center Tours

The Prostitute Information Center, or PIC, in Amsterdam aims to dispel some myths and misconceptions about prostitution, in general, and in Amsterdam, in particular. Every Wednesday to Saturday at 5pm, a current or former sex worker leads tours around the Red Light District, explaining the practices of the trade and taking tour-goers into an actual room where prostitutes entertain customers. And of course, you can ask a lot of questions. It’s everything you ever wanted to know about sex work but were afraid to ask.

9. AllTourNative Amsterdam

This Dutch metropolis has a huge alternative culture scene. And the best introduction to it is to take a guided walking tour. AllTourNative Amsterdam’s “Street Art and Alternative Amsterdam” tour takes visitors to see some of the city’s best street murals, galleries, and coffeehouses that support and create alternative culture in Amsterdam. The 2.5-hour tour will definitely take you to spots you would not normally have heard of as a tourist. They even have a street art bike tour for a different perspective of the city’s vibrant murals.

Tours from 20 EUR.

Book your tour here!

Amsterdam is an amazing city that really does have something for everyone — and every budget. Whether you want to learn about the drug scene and the Red Light District or have tamer tastes and are interested in the city’s storied past, there’s a walking tour for you. Start with Take Walks and go from there!

Get Your In-Depth Budget Guide to Europe!

My detailed 200+ page guidebook is made for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel while in Europe. It has suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, bars, safety tips, and much more! Click here to learn more and get your copy today.

Book Your Trip to Amsterdam: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned!

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. Some great places to stay in the city are:

• St. Christopher’s at the Winston
• Flying Pig Downtown

If you’re looking for more place to stay, here is a complete list of my favorite hostels in Amsterdam .

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance protects you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• SafetyWing (best for nomads)
• Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
• Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too.

Got a comment on this article? Join the conversation on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter and share your thoughts!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

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Exclusive first look at the food at Intuit Dome, including Steph Curry’s favorite popcorn

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It was the pretzel that left all others in a pile of stale dust. Light glinted off the golden brown crust, its curves radiant with a light sheen. Tiny nodes of salt littered the surface. It was perfectly chewy, with crunchy pops of salt giving way to a warm, soft center.

The twisty masterpiece is the culmination of a week of training with a chef in Salzburg, Austria, followed by six months of development in the United States. It’s a level of dedication and care to detail one might expect from a Michelin-starred restaurant. All the airline miles and effort were spent so that there will be fresh pretzels waiting for you at the food concession stands at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood.

“Very few arenas have taken this approach to move forward with doing a handmade product like this until now,” said Steven Maak, senior vice president for 310 Provisions, the group behind the food at Intuit Dome .

Maak, along with CEO of Halo Sports and Entertainment Gillian Zucker, 310 Provisions executive chef Hagan Whelchel and senior executive chef Adam Brown, recently walked me through the food items at the new stadium, scheduled to open Aug. 15.

A dedicated team of 10 people is responsible for mixing, rolling, shaping, proofing, baking and topping the pretzels by hand. Every detail at the stadium, from the pretzel rolling to the maximum amount of time it takes to travel the route from your seat to the bathroom to the snack bar and return (it’s 123 seconds, according to pedestrian modeling), has been studied and debated.

When the Intuit Dome opens its doors, there will be 21 food and beverage markets; 31 kitchens; 26 pizza ovens; 140 fryers; six clubs with individual menus; 24 food entrees (excluding packaged food); 14,000 square feet of completely electric prep kitchen space; and a food and beverage staff of 850 people.

All the concession stands will feature a touchless payment system. You download an app on your phone, walk into any stand and walk out with whatever you want.

“The goal for the dome from a food and beverage perspective is to focus on speed, quality and consistency, so we prided our selves on every single detail,” said Jessica Cesta, 310 Provisions vice president of hospitality strategy. “Every sauce. The packaging. It’s all for the ultimate, best experience for every fan in the building.”

Jenn eats ALL the food at SoFi Stadium | Stadium Eats

Sept. 12, 2021

The following is a breakdown of the food items at the new venue, in addition to the stellar pretzel mentioned above:

Buttered popcorn and butter toffee popcorn

When it came time to choose a popcorn, Zucker turned out to Golden State point guard and popcorn expert Steph Curry for help.

“Steph Curry has actually ranked every single facility for their popcorn,“ Zucker said. “And we’re like, we want our popcorn to be the best so maybe he’d come and try it. We asked him and he said he would.”

She presented him with 10 varieties. Curry chose a butterfly popcorn from Nebraska. It’s crunchy, butterfly in shape and with a texture that melts on your tongue.

The flavored popcorn went through an even more rigorous selection process, incorporating feedback from the entire Halo Sports and Entertainment organization, which includes Clippers basketball operations crews, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum and San Diego Clippers (the G league team). The group decided on a butter toffee popcorn with a sweet, crunchy coating that’s as addictive as your favorite potato chip.

Hot dog and street dog

Zucker and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer attended a tasting of 11 hot dogs before deciding on the right one.

“Then before we’re leaving, the chef who put together the tasting said, ‘Hey, before you go, I just want you to try my favorite hot dog.’ ”

The chef presented a sausage from Niman Ranch , one of the best-known meat purveyors for high-end restaurants around the country. It was an all-beef frank smoked over hickorywood with no added nitrates or nitrites.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s a really good hot dog,’” Zucker said. “Steve Ballmer gets up to leave and he says, ‘You make the decision. Whatever you want is fine with me.’ And he starts walking out the door yelling, ‘Niman! Niman!’”

The dogs will come plain to dress as you like, or as an iteration of the late-night dogs you find outside concert venues and nightclubs. The latter is wrapped in bacon and overflowing with sautéed peppers and onions and zigzags of garlic aioli. Even buried under all the toppings, there’s a distinguishable snap.

Eating all the food we can at Staples Center | Stadium Eats

Nov. 3, 2021

Detroit-style pizza

It’s the sort of pizza you can find at pizzerias all over Detroit, rectangular in shape with a crunchy cheese crown around the perimeter of all four edges. There’s “The Meats,” cheese and pepperoni. The Meats is sheathed in a blanket of proteins, the bits of bacon, sausage and pepperoni so plentiful it’s impossible to see the cheese underneath.

Double cheeseburger

The double cheeseburger falls somewhere between a backyard smashburger and the more refined option from your favorite steakhouse. The patties are a blend of coarsely ground brisket, short rib and prime chuck. They’re thin but not smashed, covered in melted New School American cheese. The burger is dressed with Clippers sauce, a close cousin to Thousand Island, and topped with dill pickle chips on a Martin’s potato bun.

Vegan cauliflower wrap

The stadium’s main vegetarian and vegan option is presented as a wrap stuffed with crispy breaded and fried cauliflower tossed in a tangy Buffalo sauce with a slaw of romaine, kale, quinoa, tomato, red pepper and vegan ranch vinaigrette, all tucked into a spinach tortilla. There’s an extra side of ranch for dipping. If they ever decide to offer a basket of the fried cauliflower on its own, I’ll order that too.

Chicken tenders and waffle fries

The tenders are lightly breaded and fried until completely encased in a crunchy, golden shell. They’re served alongside a mountain of waffle fries, the only style of fry you’ll find on the property. Even at room temperature, the fries were crispy. Instead of ketchup or ranch, there’s a small cup of barbecue sauce on the side.

“It’s an homage to the South by way of California,” chef Whelchel said.

It’s a tad sweet but with a powerful tang of mustard.

“We needed to go with a sauce that kind of held and still maintained its integrity,” Whelchel said. “That’s why we went with a barbecue sauce base rather than a cream base.”

If you insist on ranch, get your friends to order one of the vegan cauliflower wraps, then steal their vegan ranch.

The churros will rival the ones from your go-to vendor in Los Angeles or Mexico City. They’re the smaller, snack-sized churros, about 4 to 5 inches in length. The extruder creates defined ridges for maximum, supernal crunch and surface area to trap the cinnamon and sugar coating. The middle is soft, almost custardy, but fully cooked. On the side is La Zagala dulce de leche that’s more like a hot glob of fresh caramel than a loose sauce. It’s a churro you’ll be thinking about long after you leave the parking lot.

Imagine a nearly foot-long sushi hand roll wrapped in paper you can peel away with each bite. There’s a California roll with imitation crab or a spicy tuna roll that actually packs a punch of heat. Both feature rice that’s seasoned well and neither hard nor overcooked. There’s soy sauce for dipping, but the culinary team has a more efficient condiment in the works.

“Chef Hagan is working on a bespoke soy sauce flake,” Zucker said, referring to a soy sauce seasoning that you sprinkle onto your hand roll.

Of course there will be a proprietary soy sauce flake that will save your Clippers jersey from a possible stain. With the Steph Curry-approved popcorn, gourmet hot dogs and the pretzels that required 12,000 miles of travel, I’d expect nothing less.

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Eat your way across L.A.

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Jenn Harris is a columnist for the Food section and host of “The Bucket List” show. She has a BA in literary journalism from UC Irvine and an MA in journalism from USC. Follow her @Jenn_Harris_.

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INSTAGRAM MURAL PHOTO TOUR

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Explore Vibrant Murals on a Walking Tour through Sand City!

The Monterey Peninsula has long been a hub for creativity. On this walking tour, get ready to discover and photograph Instagram-worthy murals in Sand City’s eclectic West End Arts District — a must for art lovers who are visiting Carmel and Monterey.

What to expect

This Instagram Mural Tour takes you on a delightful journey through the most colorful streets of Sand City, known for some of Monterey County’s best art and music festivals including Sand City’s West End Celebration which typically takes place every August. Your guide will share with you the history and charm of its West End Arts District, where streets and alleyways are filled with inspiring murals by both local and traveling artists. Throughout your walking tour, expect to see several murals and learn the story behind the art.

Your guide is there to take photos of you and your group in fun, expressive, and creative ways on a smartphone, but you are welcome to bring your own equipment to photograph these colorful public art pieces in your own way. Within 48 hours of your tour, your guide emails you edited photos in a digital album to use however you wish.

At a glance

• Enjoy a 1-1.5 hour tour exploring Sand City’s many murals
• Learn about Sand City’s West End Arts District
• Capture your own unique photos along the way
• Your guide will take photos to share with you after your tour
• Available almost any day or time
• Great for any level of photography skill
• Bathroom access may be limited

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Carmel-by-the-Sea Classic Food Tour

Discover Carmel’s culinary delights and hidden gems on our Classic Carmel Food Tour, featuring five to six tastings at local eateries and shops, all while exploring the town’s unique charm. Book your Carmel food tour online today!

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Carmel Bikes, Bites & Bevs

The Bikes, Bites & Bevs Tour is a 2.5-hour e-bike tour of Carmel-by-the-Sea, followed by a 2-hour food tour with tastings at four local establishments. You’ll see some of the most scenic vistas on the Pacific Coast and learn about the town’s history, culture, and architecture.

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