Culinary Adventures are best with a Travel App: Explore Cities Bite by Bite

Food is more than a meal, it’s a story of the city you’re in! Every sip, every bite carries the weight of tradition, history, and community. With self-guided travel apps like MyGuideGuru, exploring a city’s culinary heart becomes simple, immersive, and flexible. This post shows how self-guided food tours can transform travel: where to go, what to try, and how food reveals the soul of a city.

‍

Why Self-Guided Food Tours Are the Best Way to Travel

Unlike traditional tours, food travel apps let you explore at your own pace. You’re free to wander down alleys, linger at a café, or slip into a bustling bar where locals gather. A self-guided tour ensures that:

• You taste authentic local dishes
• Stops are curated for both flavor and history
• You experience the culture through food, drink, and the customs around them

Read on for some quirky stories that you’d find out on some of our tours on MyGuideGuru.

‍

Venice Beyond Pasta: The Story of Cicchetti

Venice is famed for gondolas and canals, but its food scene is just as iconic. Cicchetti, the Venetian answer to tapas, are small plates that locals share in buzzing bacari (wine bars). Think crostini topped with salt cod, or meatballs paired with a glass of local prosecco.

• Stop at a family-run bacaro to sample house specialties
• Learn how cicchetti connects Venice’s maritime trade past to its modern dining culture
• Compare them with pintxos from Spain’s Basque Country, showing how food cultures echo across Europe

‍

Lisbon in a Glass: Ginjinha and the City’s Sweet Tradition

Lisbon isn’t only about pastel de nata. A sip of ginjinha, a sour cherry liqueur, takes you straight into the heart of Portuguese tradition. Sold in tiny bars scattered across Lisbon, locals often take a shot on their way home. This is a personal favourite of mine - I actually travelled Lisbon with my dad, and sipping ginjinha in squares has a special place in my heart! 

• Discover how ginjinha became Lisbon’s unofficial drink after monks experimented with cherries and aguardente
• Pair it with a custard tart for the perfect sweet-and-tart balance
• Visit a hole in the wall bars or century-old taverns

For more tips on exploring Lisbon, read our blog on Top 10 Places in Lisbon to Discover Without a Tour Group.

‍

Edinburgh’s Bold Bite: Haggis and Heritage

Few dishes divide opinion like haggis, Scotland’s national dish. But beneath the mystery lies a story of resourcefulness and tradition.

• The locations that haggis is available are usually as historic as the food!
• Learn how this humble dish reflects Scotland’s farming history and frugality
• Pair it with whisky while listening to tales of Burns Night, where poetry and food come together

‍

Linking Food, History, and Culture

What makes a MyGuideGuru Culinary tour special is how it weaves history into your bites. Each stop is more than a tasting; it’s a window into the city’s past. A Venetian cicchetti bar tells the story of trade routes, Lisbon’s ginjinha taverns reflect monastic experiments, and haggis reveals resilience in Scottish pubs and cuisine.

In MyGuideGuru its actually possible to search for a particular neighbourhood or suburb, which allows you to focus on areas that are rich in food culture. Cannaregio in Venice, Alfama in Lisbon, or Grassmarket in Edinburgh are great examples where you get to walk, eat, and live the city as locals do.

‍

Ready to Plan Your Culinary Adventure?

With travel apps like MyGuideGuru, your next trip can be an unforgettable blend of flavor and history. From small bites in Venice to sweet sips in Lisbon and hearty plates in Edinburgh, food becomes your compass.

Download the app today on the apple and google play stores and start building your own self-guided food adventure. Or if you want some travel inspiration for food tours, take a look at our guide to The 10 Best Cities in Europe for Self-Guided Food Tours.