When we travel, one of the first things we’re looking for are tours, typically food and/or beverage tours wherever our travels may take us. And just last week the Winchester Food Tour happened to be in Philadelphia for a couple of days and we kept with our commitment to experience not only the locality, but how other tour operators conduct their operations! This visit was no exception and our tour destination was Philadelphia’s Historic Italian Market!
There are a litany of reasons why this is a great idea and one we regularly recommend to family, friends, and of course our tour patrons. Just to name a few:
- It’s fast and easy to arrange. You don’t have to do much in the way of research and the extent of your planning is booking your tour — no muss, no fuss, no hassles.
- While your pre-trip planning may find you doing some research to find out about the history and points of interest at your destination, one of the quickest ways to find out about it is with a professional guide who knows and loves the area in which they’re working.
- If you are on an extended stay and looking for places to eat, a food tour should offer you an abundance of options along with scoping out the town, trying some samples, and perhaps engaging with restaurant staff and/or owners.
- It’s downright fun! Read on and see our abundance of photos!
From the Italian Market Philly Website:
America’s Oldest & Continuously Operating Outdoor Market is located in South Philadelphia’s Bella Vista & Passyunk Square communities. We are a collection of nearly 200 individual businesses situated ​between ​2 Public Parks & 2 beautiful Churches. Our Market spans over 20 city blocks including 8th, 9th & 10th Streets ​from Fitzwater Street at the north thru Wharton Street at the south. We are the Home to generations-old family businesses as well as many new, ethnic family businesses eager to share their traditions. We proudly host Philadelphia’s Largest & Best Block-Party, ​the S. 9th St. Italian Market Festival.
We utilized the services of freetoursbyfoot.com and met our guide at the Welcome Center on 9th Street right in the heart of the Italian Market. They utilize the “pay-what-you’d-like” model and operate on much appreciated tips. Do bring extra cash if you want to partake of the samples of some of the outstanding eateries you’ll visit on your tour… and they were all out-of-this-world! The pace was perfect, the stops included a solid number of shops, restaurants, countless street vendors and curb markets, and specialty stores over the course of just over two hours. The tour included some historical stops along the way with interesting and informative narratives by our guide. We won’t give the tour away entirely, and just let the photos do the talking so that you can see the stops that were in the rotation on our tour day!
We recommend it if you’re ever visiting Philadelphia. A great city also with rich history and culture dating back to the beginning of the country… and of course, outstanding food!
 
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