We like to travel on a smaller scale. Forget countries and cities, for us the neighborhood is the ideal unit of exploration. Celebrating neighborhood life and businesses is, of course, essential to what we do as Culinary Backstreets. Since our founding in 2012, we’ve been dedicated to publishing the stories of unsung local culinary heroes and visiting them on our food walks, particularly in neighborhoods that are off the beaten path. Plus, we recognize that tourism, while a justifiably important economic force in many cities, can devastate the urban ecosystem if not distributed responsibly into neighborhoods otherwise neglected by the travel industry. To help that process along, two years ago we launched an annual “Neighborhoods to Visit” guide, featuring areas off the main tourist trail from all the cities that we cover.

Sunday is traditionally a day of leisure for the average Greek, dedicated to two important aspects of life: food and family. Most Greeks enjoy the largest meal of this day at lunchtime, sharing it with an extended family that usually includes children, cousins, grandparents and aunts and uncles. On this walk – our own take on a classic Athens Sunday – we will start off at a leisurely pace, enjoying the quiet streets of normally bustling downtown. At our first stop, a dairy bar that has been around since the 1930s, we’ll get a taste of true Greek yogurt, topped with nuts and honey, as well as of galaktoboureko, a traditional custard-filled dessert sandwiched between syrupy layers of phyllo. Crossing Aiolou Street – one of the oldest paved roads in Athens, dating back to the 3rd century – we’ll walk past buildings and monuments representing the breadth of Athenian history and then catch a glimpse of parishioners at a nearby Greek Orthodox church as they leave the Sunday service. From there we’ll continue to a local spot where we’ll taste loukoumades, small balls of fried dough drizzled in honey that are traditionally enjoyed at weddings, while in a neighborhood spot that serves regional delicacies from across Greece we’ll sample ladenia, parcels of dough filled with feta, capers and chopped tomato, a specialty of the small Aegean island of Kimolos.

On this week-long seafood pilgrimage, we’ll delve deep into the world of barnacle hunters, oyster fisherman, lobster trap builders, razor clam-diggers, and net menders, along with the local chefs who are harnessing the incredible offerings of their coast, transforming Galician cuisine into something new and exciting.

For millennia, Istanbul has been the connection point for a vast web of places with distinct cultural identities, landscapes, and, of course, cuisines. These disparate influences form the great mosaic that is modern-day Istanbul cuisine, which is so much more than simply “Turkish food.” Question the origin of any dish in a typical neighborhood restaurant and you’ll find yourself falling down a rabbit hole that may lead out to Albania or maybe over the peaks of the Caucasus to Chechnya. As they have for centuries, people come to this city with their own tastes from home; food in Istanbul these days often bears the fiery hallmark of the largely Kurdish southeast and the myriad of flavors of the Syrian kitchen, brought to the city by refugees who now call it home. Filter this through the older urban traditions of Ottoman Turkish, Armenian, and Greek cooking, and something very uniquely Istanbul — bewildering, fascinating, in perpetual motion — comes into focus.

The Romans once considered Galicia, the rugged coastal region of northwestern Spain, the end of the world. Today, it is still one of Europe’s least-explored, but most fascinating corners: the region’s Celtic heritage, seafaring tradition, and language – closer to Portuguese than Spanish – all contribute to a distinct Galician identity. Here, active fishing villages, monasteries, lighthouses, and ancient settlements punctuate panoramic views of the sea. For many visitors, the region’s allure is the pilgrimage route known as Camino de Santiago, but what draws us here is another mission entirely: exploring its incredible and diverse bounty of seafood.

Journey beyond Lisbon’s tiled buildings and narrow streets to discover how the city’s global legacy, traditional heritage and vibrant present connect through its food. Lisbon is one of Europe’s most ancient, cosmopolitan cities, with a food culture that’s fittingly rich and complex. The city’s kitchens trace the contours of Portugal’s once-global trading empire, one which linked Brazil to India, and West Africa to Macau. On this multi-day culinary trip, you’ll taste the very best of this gastronomic capital, and meet the people who make the city what it is. Together we’ll visit markets and farms, spend time with fishermen and bakers, learn to make Portuguese specialties, enjoy exclusive visits and cultural performances, and of course, eat and drink our way through it all!

On this mouthwatering week-long trip we’ll explore the birthplace of wine, Georgia, and its unique feasting tradition. We’ll enjoy home visits, rural excursions, exclusive performances, historic and cultural tours, cooking workshops and much more. Tucked between the Black and Caspian Seas and in the shadow of Europe’s highest mountains you’ll find Georgia – a tiny country with an astounding culinary heritage and a winemaking tradition tracing back eight millennia. We’ll be delving into this gastronomic wonderland during rtveli, the annual grape harvest, Georgia’s most inspiring time of year. And we aren’t only going to witness the harvest – we’ll be taking part in it, too.

Nestled between Europe’s most volatile volcano, Mount Vesuvius, and the sparkling blue waters of the Mediterranean, Naples is a city of vivid beauty and intense street life, where a rich and deeply layered history is matched only by the local – and now world-famous – cuisine. This is a city of multitudes, and one which will stimulate all your senses. On this six-day, five-night culinary adventure in and around the city of Naples, we’ll be exploring the cuisine and culture of this fascinating city, from the richly ornate to the rough and ready. We’ll use the city’s famous cooking as a window into daily life and culture, meeting culinary artisans who keep the city fed and visiting producers of specialty products.

The oldest city in Western Europe, once the hub of a trading empire that connected Macau in the east to Rio de Janeiro in the west, Lisbon today feels staunchly Old World European, a sleepy town of nostalgic storefronts and scenic churches. But that’s only its façade.

Quick Bite: On this walk we’ll seek out the hidden gems of Mexico City’s famous historic district, uncovering them layer by delicious layer.

As the calendar year turns over, we’ve grown accustomed to the barrage of lists telling us where to travel during the next 12 months. Oftentimes these places are a country or even a whole region – you could spend an entire year exploring just one of the locations listed and still barely make a dent. We like to travel on a smaller scale. Forget countries and cities, for us the neighborhood is the ideal unit of exploration. Celebrating neighborhood life and businesses is, of course, essential to what we do as Culinary Backstreets. Since our founding in 2012, we’ve been dedicated to publishing the stories of unsung local culinary heroes and visiting them on our food walks, particularly in neighborhoods that are off the beaten path.

As the calendar year turns over, we’ve grown accustomed to the barrage of lists telling us where to travel during the next 12 months. Oftentimes these places are a country or even a whole region – you could spend an entire year exploring just one of the locations listed and still barely make a dent. We like to travel on a smaller scale. Forget countries and cities, for us the neighborhood is the ideal unit of exploration. Celebrating neighborhood life and businesses is, of course, essential to what we do as Culinary Backstreets. Since our founding in 2012, we’ve been dedicated to publishing the stories of unsung local culinary heroes and visiting them on our food walks, particularly in neighborhoods that are off the beaten path.

As the calendar year turns over, we’ve grown accustomed to the barrage of lists telling us where to travel during the next 12 months. Oftentimes these places are a country or even a whole region – you could spend an entire year exploring just one of the locations listed and still barely make a dent. We like to travel on a smaller scale. Forget countries and cities, for us the neighborhood is the ideal unit of exploration. Celebrating neighborhood life and businesses is, of course, essential to what we do as Culinary Backstreets. Since our founding in 2012, we’ve been dedicated to publishing the stories of unsung local culinary heroes and visiting them on our food walks, particularly in neighborhoods that are off the beaten path.

As the calendar year turns over, we’ve grown accustomed to the barrage of lists telling us where to travel during the next 12 months. Oftentimes these places are a country or even a whole region – you could spend an entire year exploring just one of the locations listed and still barely make a dent. We like to travel on a smaller scale. Forget countries and cities, for us the neighborhood is the ideal unit of exploration. Celebrating neighborhood life and businesses is, of course, essential to what we do as Culinary Backstreets. Since our founding in 2012, we’ve been dedicated to publishing the stories of unsung local culinary heroes and visiting them on our food walks, particularly in neighborhoods that are off the beaten path.

As the calendar year turns over, we’ve grown accustomed to the barrage of lists telling us where to travel during the next 12 months. Oftentimes these places are a country or even a whole region – you could spend an entire year exploring just one of the locations listed and still barely make a dent. We like to travel on a smaller scale. Forget countries and cities, for us the neighborhood is the ideal unit of exploration. Celebrating neighborhood life and businesses is, of course, essential to what we do as Culinary Backstreets. Since our founding in 2012, we’ve been dedicated to publishing the stories of unsung local culinary heroes and visiting them on our food walks, particularly in neighborhoods that are off the beaten path.