Cooking and Walking in Le Marche
Personalize this tour to your travel dates and activity level
Le Marche has been called by an Italian critic Toscana per i furbi ("Tuscany for the clever"). Trying not to exaggerate, it could be pointed out that the food is better, the countryside prettier, the inhabitants friendlier, and the prices much lower. But then that's coming from someone who has lived in Le Marche for over ten years (Girosole founder and director Peter Crawford) and who loves its untouristed, charming hilltowns and countryside. With some trepidation, therefore, he has allowed the addition of yet another tour in this ("his") pretty region, this time a cooking tour to complement our self-guided and guided walking tours. You'll spend five days with a local family which owns a small countryside inn, a local tradition for five generations. Along with learning to cook distinctly marchigiana specialties like vincis grassi (a particularly delectable lasagna-style dish) you'll get to go wine-tasting, walking and truffle hunting – and whoever finds the biggest truffle gets a prize ciavuscolo (sorry, you'll just have to come over for the translation of that one).
Highlights
- Learn Marchegiani cooking from a professional chef
- Take walks in the countryside of Le Marche
- Explore the towns of Camerino, Tolentino and San Severino
- Enjoy Umbrian specialties and cuisine
Itinerary Outline
Here is an outline of a suggested daily itinerary. You can shorten or lengthen this tour to fit your travel dates. Request a detailed itinerary using the contact form below:
- Day one: Your guide meets you in San Severino, acclaimed by Italian art critics as one of the major cities of art in Central Italy. You tour the town, enjoying its charming piazza and the view from its fortifications and then continue to your country inn, your home for the next four nights. Here you receive your first lesson in the preparation of antipasti.
- Day two: A walk near the hilltown of Camerino brings you past abandoned churches and hillside farms. Afterwards, you explore Camerino itself, famous as a university town since the 1200s. After picking up fresh ingredients at a local market, you return "home" to learn about the preparation of first courses and pastas.
- Day three: You walk with your host in search of the perfect truffle, and depending on the season, you may just find one. Later, you visit Caldarola, known to the connoisseur for its prize-winning olive oils, of which you enjoy a tasting. In the afternoon you learn to prepare some delicious second dishes.
- Day four: This morning you tour Tolentino and its beautiful basilica, with frescos by the school of Giotto. Afternoon finds you cooking again, this time contorni (side dishes) and dolci (desserts).
- Day five: We help you on your way to your next destination with a transfer to Tolentino train station.
What's Included
- 4 nights accommodation with en-suite facilities
- breakfast and dinner each day
- cooking lessons with a professional chef
- full-time Tour Leader
- private tours hosted by local experts
- wine and specialty foods tastings
- paid entrance to all included activities
- all land transfers to and from tour area, and during tour
- all taxes and service charges at hotels and restaurants
- travel guidance for pre/post-tour activities
(Not included are airfare, wine and other beverages with alcohol, personal purchases such as laundry, phone calls, frigobar items etc., and anything not specifically included above.)
Pricing
We price this tour for the following categories of accommodation. We also tier-price based on the tour's final group size. You can keep your tour private to your own group or you can open your tour for other travelers to join, thereby taking advantage of our tier discounts. All prices are quoted per person in USD.
| accomm. level | 2-3 p | 4-5 p | 6+ p | sing. supp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| comfort/select | 2590 | 2230 | 2020 | 390 |
Scheduling
You can schedule this tour to start on any day of the week, all year long. As with all our tours, you tell us the dates you would like to start your tour, allowing you the maximum in flexibility and convenience.
Check for open departures of this tour already scheduled by other travelers. Or schedule your own departure and open it for others travelers to join.
What's next?
Proceed to our booking area to book this tour now.
Or write to us, and we'll send you the detailed itinerary for this tour and other relevant information.
