Best Food Vacations: 9 Trips Where the Menu Is the Reason
The classic food cities
Tokyo and Paris are the two cities where a serious food trip can last a full week without repeating cuisine type. Tokyo pricing for a week runs $2,500 to $5,500 per person with mid-tier hotels and reservations at mid-high end restaurants. Michelin stars are spread across more neighborhoods than any other city in the world. Paris is a two-to-five night food trip at $2,000 to $4,500 per person; after five days most travelers want a scenery break. Rome and Bangkok are the two second-tier picks: Rome at $1,800 to $3,800 per person with Italian cooking in its home geography, Bangkok at $1,500 to $2,800 for Thai cuisine at a level you cannot replicate elsewhere.
The regional-cuisine deep dives
Barcelona and Lisbon both have food scenes worth four to six days on their own, with distinct regional traditions (Catalan and Portuguese respectively) you cannot get anywhere else at the same quality. Both run $1,400 to $3,000 per person for a four to five night trip with mid-tier hotels. New Orleans and Nashville are the two best US regional food trips: New Orleans for Creole and Cajun, Nashville for hot chicken, barbecue, and the new wave of Southern restaurants. Both run $1,100 to $2,500 per person for a long weekend to five nights.
The wine-and-food trip
Napa Valley is the single clearest food-and-wine destination in the US. A four to five night Napa trip runs $2,500 to $5,500 per person with mid-tier hotels. Food is dense at every price point from casual restaurants in Yountville to the Michelin-starred French Laundry (which requires booking exactly 60 days ahead at 10 a.m. Pacific). Pair with San Francisco for a longer week.
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