Top Lecce Food & Drink

Lecce is best known for its sumptuous baroque architecture, but the city has an equally rich cuisine worth exploring. Discover both its cultural treasures and gastronomic delights with this tour that combines a guided walk past the Basilica of Santa Croce, the cathedral, and other highlights of the historic center with stops to sample traditional specialties like savory “rustico” and “frisella” pastries, and the sweet custard-filled “pasticciotto”.

Get an authentic taste of local culture during this 3-hour cooking class in a private Lecce estate. Join the estate’s owners, both professional sommeliers, to create a meal of Pugliese specialties, and then enjoy your meal with a selection of fine wine.

- Learn how to make orecchiette "pasta fresca" in the heart of Lecce old town with the locals and in a wonderful location over an incredible Baroque view - Enjoy a guided wine experience with local experts and learn the ins and outs of Puglia wine production - make pasta and taste wine with the locals in a wonderful location with a gorgeous view

You'll have the opportunity to get to know a local tour guide and to walk in his company listening to the history and characteristics of Lecce.

Immerse yourself in the history and culture of Lecce on a leisurely bike tour. Pedal through the flat, bike-friendly streets and piazzas with a local guide and visit highlights like the Basilica of Santa Croce, Piazza del Duomo, and the ruins of an ancient Roman amphitheater. Enjoy the fresh air and flexibility of a 2-wheeled tour, and stop often to snap photos, browse local boutiques, and sample regional food and wine.

The day takes place visiting two wineries: in each we will taste 3 or more selected wines ("NO entry level wines") Furthermore, my tours always have a convenient organized and private transfer, with their own insurance, which will allow you to taste the wines without worrying about having to drive. IMPORTANT: I always accompany my guests personally throughout the day and, as a professional sommelier, I am available for technical and non-technical information. During the experience we will visit historical and traditional companies while during transfers between one winery and another, I will have the pleasure of telling you the history of the wine of my region; in this way you will be able to appreciate the visits in the cellar, understanding how the Apulian wines were born and evolved. I visited and selected numerous wineries throughout Puglia and chose very small wineries often run by families, historic wineries or even cellars with an attached wine museum.

I worked for 15 years as a biochemical researcher of wine. Now I have transformed my dream and my passion into an activity dedicated to the world of wine, offering my clients an exclusive experience in the authentic culture of Salento wine. Thanks to my experience of online wine sales matured with my website I know perfectly all the cellars and wines of Salento. And now I want to use all my knowledge to give you the best and most complete wine experience you can find in Salento. Make yourself comfortable because the tour is about to start.

I am considered by many an expert in wines and atoria and traditions of Salento. My main activity is to sell Salento wines all over the world. Now I am ready to offer you the opportunity to taste the best local wine labels and traditional dishes with me to discover together all the secrets of Salento wine and food.

Enjoy a quiet experience away from Lecce's tourist crowds. In a cozy wine bar with an inspiring deco, learn about Puglia wines and wine culture as you sip several different types of wine while enjoying delicious local food. Learn all about the local wine culture from your wine expert.

Get to know the sunny, seaside region of Salento through its most famous product: wine. Departing from Lecce, you'll be introduced to native grape varieties and learn how wines have flourished in the arid climate. Visiting two wineries with an expert sommelier, you’ll cover the ins and outs of local wine-making, with a chance to savor some of the keysest wine selections — paired with savory regional treats.

This is the only experience of Salento cuisine that offers you a taste of the real typical products of our region. I will be happy to explain to you the whole history and the food and wine culture of Salento while we will prepare lunch or dinner tasting together the best wines of Salento.

Tasting is a unique and overwhelming moment, just like our wine, to be tasted slowly to savor nuances, smells, characteristics and properties. We love to accompany our visitors and let them enjoy a 360° enogastronomic experience: the taste of our wine goes perfectly with products and typical specialties of Salento, because it is the son of the Salento land and its most genuine fruits.

Explore Puglia's gems—including Lecce and Gallipoli—on this full-day tour with wine tastings. See ancient architecture in Lecce and visit Gallipoli's Old Town, built on an island now connected to the mainland by a bridge. Taste wines such as Primitivo, Negromaro, Sussumaniello, Aglianico and Bombino Bianco at several vineyard stops.

You can't visit Italy without trying at least one pasta dish... So, we'll teach you two! Learn how to roll 'sfoglia' (fresh pasta) by hand and how to prepare 2 simple different kinds of pasta (filled pasta + fresh pasta) from scratch with your Cesarina. As the icing on the cake you will learn to prepare also the iconic Tiramisu. Share your passion for the Italian cuisine as you make new friends in this hands-on cooking class. It's a great way to truly experience Italian culture. • Learn to roll 'sfoglia' (fresh pasta) by hand • Learn to make 2 iconic pasta types • Learn to make the iconic tiramisu • Small-group cooking class with a maximum of 12 people. Share your passion for the Italian cuisine with other lovely guests • Enjoy an Italian Aperitivo to warm-up Le Cesarine is Italy’s oldest network of home cooks all over the country. They are welcoming hosts that open the doors of their own homes to curious travellers for immersive culinary experiences.

Unlock the secrets of Puglian cuisine during a cooking class in Lecce. Set in the historic center and offered at two times, it’s easy to fit this culinary experience into your schedule. With expert guidance from your host, prepare classic macaroni pasta, along with orecchiette and maltagliati noodles. After the hands-on lesson, sit down for a typical meal of regional dishes and your expertly prepared pasta.

Explore one of Lecce’s finest wineries at the most magical time of day on a sunset tour from Porto Cesareo. Designed with lovers of wine and nature in mind, this tour includes hassle-free pickup and drop-off from your accommodation, and the chance to sample several varietals of wine.

Take a break from the beaches and discover Salento’s food and wine, instead. With a private guide, you’ll visit two award-winning Salento wine estates where varietals using the primitivo and malvasia grapes, among others, are produced. As you sip, you’ll learn about viticulture in the region, and enjoy a light lunch either at the winery or nearby. Choose to add on a third winery or a swim stop at Porto Cesareo on your way back to Lecce.

Go deeper than is possible on most food tours. This private tour is an immersive culinary experience. First, you’ll visit a local market in the company of your local host, then you’ll go to their home to get a hands-on experience making three authentic regional recipes. Afterward sit down to enjoy your meal together, accompanied by a glass of local wine.

Experience a bit of Italian culture at a cooking class in Gagliano del Capo. You'll learn how to make Apulian dishes from an instructor, who tells you about the culinary traditions of Puglia that have been passed down through generations. Then enjoy your creations served with wine pairings.

First time you visit Lecce and want to know the city and its food specialties? This tour is the perfect solution for you! Stroll into the city center and taste the best known local street food. Your guide will tell you the history related to the main highlights, such as the Basilica of Santa Croce, considered the emblem of Lecce's baroque style, the Cathedral, and the many palaces you will find on the way. From one place to the other, you will stop and delight your palate with the most famous and tasty delicacies of Salento, like the "rustico", a soft puff pastry disc filled with mozzarella, tomato and béchamel; the "frisella", a twice-baked bread roll topped with fresh tomato and olive oil; or the pastry star "pasticciotto", a shortcrust pastry stuffed with custard. You'll also taste other fantastic samples of Salento specialties. Take this tour either at lunch or dinner time, as it is an ideal way to do some sightseeing while having a light meal as you make your way through the city.

Enjoy this 3.5-hour food tasting tour into one of the most enchanting and magic cities of the Southern Italy. Walk through the historic city centre, stopping to sample the traditional cuisine: be impressed by the taste of the rustico, the flavour of local salami, the crunchy bite of tarallini and even more! An amazing walking and tasting food throughout the alleys of breathtaking embroideries of Barocco architecture with an exciting tasting experience of the best local food.

Italy has a vast and varied culinary heritage, and our local hosts are proud to share its hidden secrets. Share your passion for Italian gastronomy with other lovely guests, immerse yourself in the vibrant local market and enjoy an authentic hands-on cooking class. You'll visit the local market with your Cesarina host, who will teach you all about how to select the best ingredients with the seasons. Then, you'll return to their home, warm up with an Italian Aperitivo and enjoy the class. You'll learn how to make one iconic Pasta type, typical of the city you are visiting, and the famous Tiramisu. After the class, you will enjoy everything you've prepared with local wines. This experience is the perfect choice if you want to encounter the real Italian regional gastronomy through genuine connections, food, and friendship.

Eat and drink your way through Lecce on a culinary tour designed to highlight the city’s rich gastronomic culture. Visit the Mercato Ortofrutticolo all'Ingrosso di Lecce food market and experience the raw flavors of Salento. Explore with a guide and sample distinctive Puglian dishes, including puccia, rustico, “pezzetti di cavallo”, pasticciotto, cotognata. Coffee, local wine or salentine beer included.

If your aim is to discover Salento in the deep, this is the tour that suits your expectations. You will visit two gems of Salento territory, the elegant city of Galatina, 20 km far from Lecce, famous for the Basilica of Saint Catherine and its frescoes and the cosy Otranto, on the Adriatic coast, with its legacies of the Turkish invasion. Art and history are not enough to catch the soul of a region; you need to savor its aromas and flavors, especially if you are in one of the best Italian regions for oil and wine production. Your professional, local guide, will lead you in a typical farmhouse, the so called "masseria" to discover how people lived and worked two centuries ago. Inside you could visit the old oil mill, underneath, the bottaia, the place where wine is left aging. This will be also the location for a sensorial tasting of local food and wine. This will be a unique experience to enjoy Salento and its peculiarities!