Some of us eat to live, but others truly live to eat. Either way, one thing is true for us all: We have to eat, so it might as well be delicious! One of the first things I look up in my travels is what to eat while I’m in a new place, and I’ve always found it fascinating. So, if you’re a foodie like me, it might be fun to pick your next trip based on a destination’s foodie-friendliness. Here are the top foodie destinations around the world!
Greece
Greece has ruined me for food forever. But in a good way! How is it that a tomato can taste more like a tomato? How is it that real Greek feta is not dry and gross? How can yogurt be at the same time creamy, yet sliceable? Greek food is the freshest, least processed, tastiest food I’ve ever had, and anyone who enjoys food will taste the difference.
Before we went to Greece, every blog post I read, and every person I asked who had been before, told me the food was amazing. But honestly, I didn’t have any major expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone was right! The food was not just delicious, but epic. We never had a bad meal in Greece, and I’d love to go back to explore more of the country and its flavors!
More here: The Best Food in Athens and The Best Places to Eat on Santorini
Italy
Everyone loves Italian food! It’s the one cuisine that just about everyone in a group can agree on. Why? Pasta and pizza. They are clear winners. But Italian food in Italy is so much more than that!
What’s interesting about Italy is that, even in the 21st century, when you can literally get any thing, any time of year, Italy is still very regional. What you’ll have in Northern Italy is different than Southern Italy. Sicily has different flavors and food traditions than the Veneto region. Squid ink pasta is popular on the Adriatic coast, but less so elsewhere in the country. A trip to Italy is a foodie’s dream: Diverse, local, and delicious!
More here: What to Eat in Venice and Where to Eat in Verona
Japan
In Japan, food isn’t merely food. It’s a beautiful presentation, a ritual, and a gift. There is an artistic element to every meal or snack, but there’s also a genuine quality of excellence and pride. Sushi and sashimi are perfectly formed, perfectly sliced, and perfectly placed. There will likely be a pop of color from an edible flower or a complementary fruit or vegetable. Whatever you order, it will look too good to eat… Almost!
Living in Japan in my 20s introduced me to so many new things, and it had a hand in truly changing my whole relationship with food. Food isn’t just something to fill you up, something to supply you with nutrients, or something to eat while you do something else. Japanese food, in particular, is something to bring delight, something to cherish, and something to enjoy.
Keep eating: The Foods You Must Try in Japan
France
Fine dining is synonymous with France. More than any other country, France “takes the cake,” if you will. The French have made their mark on everything from breakfast (quiche Lorraine, anyone?) to dessert (Napoleon or millefeuille is my husband’s favorite), and they are beyond confident that their cuisine actually defines food.
France has a place on every foodie’s bucket list, as it should. Many cooking techniques, from slicing to presenting, were invented or developed by the French. The very word chef itself is French!
Read on: The World’s Best Desserts
Hawai’i
If you’ve been following along on my travels for more than a minute, you know I have a passion and special affection for Hawai’i! It’s such an eclectic mix of Asian, European, and South American flavors, and yet it’s also distinctively Polynesian.
Foods like poi, lilikoi, and wild boar make their menus truly unique, and their natural isolation means that the vast majority of the food you’ll eat there will be truly local. Very often, you’ll be chowing down on produce grown on a nearby farm, fish caught offshore that morning, and fruit picked off trees on your accommodation’s property!
Aloha: The Foods You Have to Try in the Hawai’ian Islands
Want more? Get all my best foodie material on my dedicated World Foods Page!
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