You meet your guide at 10 am at the Public Store at Syntagma Square. The day begins with a delicious Greek coffee in one of the traditional coffee houses.

Here your guide tells you about the role food plays in the life of the Greeks and what makes the eating habits of the Athenians so special.

We continue our tour with a treat from the street: The Greek sesame bread rings, koulouri, are classic Greek street food and as such can be found everywhere in Athens.

A carefully selected speciality shop with a rich selection of Greek delicacies is the next stop on our culinary journey. Here you can taste different kinds of excellent olive oil, as well as spreads and other surprises. But don’t forget, there are seven more stops to go!

Our culinary adventure continues with a visit to a long-running baklava bakery, where we can enjoy what is probably the best baklava in Greece. Next, it’s time for something hearty; we try an original Greek souvlaki at a popular snack bar.

We then head into the heart of the city to the lively Varvakios Market, the largest and most famous market in the whole of Athens, selling vegetables, fish, and meat. This is where the locals shop for their daily supplies as well as their Easter lamb and Christmas turkey.

The market buzzes with life and the butchers and fish sellers compete for the attention of passers-by with gestures, jokes, and plenty of passion. Though you’ll of course find many familiar foods at the stalls, you are sure to make some amazing discoveries, especially in the fish hall, where the catch of the day often includes unusual deep-sea creatures.

We continue our walk towards the spice street and explore a shop with an almost unbelievable variety of local spices and herbs such as Greek oregano and red Greek saffron. Here you’ll learn how these ingredients are used in Greek cuisine along with other local culinary secrets as you browse the shelves for exotic cooking ingredients.

Afterwards, another sugary treat awaits you. We enjozy a piece of bougatsa (a filo pastry with a cream filling and plenty of icing sugar on top) at a local pastry shop.

Finally, at our last stop in a small bar, it’s time for the delicious little starters that are a fundamental part of Greek cuisine (mezes). Here you can try some classic mezes and a selection of cheeses and sausages.

Now that the tables have been cleared for the last time, we have reached the end of our tour – you will leave with a full and happy stomach and will have surely discovered why the Greeks’ favourite pastime is eating.