Private Tour
Cesarine: Market Tour & Cooking Class at Local's Home in Bologna
Overview
Available languages
4 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
Visit the vibrant local market and the traditional food shops with a local home cook and immerse yourself in a private cooking class at a local's home, learn the secrets of the most famous dishes of Bologna cuisine and taste the fruit of your labour accompanied by local wines.
During the lesson, your host will reveal the tricks of the trade of 3 authentic Bologna recipes. Have fun putting your cooking skills to the test. Participants will have a workstation equipped with utensils and all the ingredients to make the dishes. Then, taste everything you have prepared accompanied by a selection of red and white local wines.
This experience is held by Cesarine, Italy’s oldest network of home cooks and wine experts. Cesarine are passionate and welcoming hosts that open the doors of their own homes to curious travellers for immersive culinary experiences. Every host is reviewed for authentic culinary traditions.
Additional Info
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
• Visit the vibrant local markets or the traditional Bologna food shops: learn how to recognize the best ingredients for the perfect Italian meal (1 hour) • Attend a private cooking class in the morning or in the afternoon: learn the secrets of the Bologna recipes and have fun by learning how to reproduce the Italian specialties at home (3 hours) • Connect with local people: meet the Cesarina at the market you will receive the exact address once the booking is completed. Our Cesarine are located in Bologna city centre. • Taste an authentic Bologna 3-course menu with drinks included (2 hours). • Enjoy a selection of red and white wines from Emilia-Romagna cellars: our Cesarine offer only wines of the territory. • Take the official Cesarine apron and shopping bag back home
What‘s Included
Learn and taste 3 Italian recipes (starter, fresh pasta and dessert)
Hands-on private cooking class
Private guided market tour
Water, local wines and Espresso
Meeting points
Bologna
Bologna Italy
End points
This activity ends back at the meeting point.
Options
AM: Market + Cooking class
Visit the local market in the morning, enjoy a cooking class and a 3-course menu at a local's home
Reviews
18 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
All I can say is, Oriana...
Stephanie B,,Oct 13, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00All I can say is, Oriana is Bologna’s hidden gem. Smart, genuine, skillful, wonderful teacher. I could have chilled with her all day. Also, finders keepers!
Company and food were wonderful
Marcelle R,,Jun 21, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00Maurizio was awesome! We loved the local market he took us to. The piadina was delicious, will definitely try that at home. Tagliatelle with porcini sauce from mushrooms foraged by his dad was memorable, finished it off with a lemon tart!
Great local experience
lauramG5426RE,,Sep 5, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Rosa is fantastic. She adapted the menu on the fly around my likes and dislikes and to meet my experience/skill level. She had me do all the cooking, which is so much better than watching someone else. And she topped it off by recommending a number of different restaurants, enotecas, cafes, and gelato shops that I can easily walk to. She is also very friendly and speaks English very well.
Cesarina Paola is outstanding
Roberta W,,Jun 25, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was one of the most enjoyable and valuable experiences I have ever had in all my travels. My adult daughter and I met Paola in the city center and she took us on a tour of the Mercato delle Erbe, a public market with food stalls and places to eat and drink. We then continued on to her lovely home for the cooking lesson. Paola had everything set out and pre-measured in her spacious, well-appointed kitchen. She provided us with all the recipes for safe-keeping in advance of the lesson. We then learned to make piedine, garganelli, and tiramisù. Paola explained everything clearly and made sure we both got turns to work on all aspects of the preparation of each dish. Her directions were not only clear and easy to follow, but were filled with explanations, culinary history and tradition, and many helpful hints to ensure the best results. While we kneaded, rolled dough, and made garganelli, we also engaged in conversation about ourselves. Paola is a delightful and very interesting, warm person and she was wonderful to get to know. Once the food was prepared she served us our lunch in her dining room where she had set a beautiful table. She provided a choice of wines, and we chose a very tasty Lambrusco to accompany the garganelli al ragù. She had prepared several other antipasti to add to our meal, and everything was delicious! Added to the meal was more stimulating conversation and by the time we were done eating, we felt we had made a new friend. We had so much fun during this lesson, but also learned a lot. Even though we are both experienced cooks (for example, we had both made tiramisù many times before), we learned new tricks and techniques to increase our expertise. Rolling garganelli was so enjoyable that we followed Paola’s advice and bought a riga gnocchi on the walk back home to be able to make these pasta shapes again when we return home. We are happy to be able to provide the highest recommendation possible for this experience with Cesarina Paola. We made some wonderful food, warm mother-daughter memories, and a lovely new friend.
CANNOT MISS!!!!! Best part of our trip by far
Max P,,Jun 10, 2023
- Review from Viator
5.00How do I begin to describe this cooking class. This was absolutely the best part of our entire trip. I cannot say that enough. This was more than a cooking class, it was a look into the life of a true bologian. Learning about the local markets, stopping to say hello along the streets to venders, business owners and friends. The cooking portion of this experience was excellent and so much fun but this experience was much more than just a cooking class. Oriana welcomed us into her home as strangers and we left as friends. We decided as we left that if we every come back to Italy we definitely have to go to Bologna.
Food with heartwarm and humor!
R8174OAlynns,,May 16, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
3.00Then we had the pleasure of visiting an Italian home and making Fafalle and got briefly shown tortelloni. Plus a dessert from Bologna. Our babysitter Alfred (Alfredo) was both deified and spoiled!
Cooking with Paola!!
Tadeo R,,May 9, 2023
- Review from Viator
5.00My wife and I were matched with Paola and we are so happy that this happened! We met her by the Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune Fountain) in downtown Bologna and asked her to show us the city market more frequented by locals (versus the more touristy one) and so she did. We went and bought a few ingredients together and she explained everything around the market. We then all chatted on our way to her beautiful home, where she led us through preparing a three-course meal of Piadina, Tortelloni, and Tiramisu. We ate the food we made at her table and she made us feel at home. It was honestly an amazing value because we can now go home and make this on our own. It’s not out of our reach, and that was her intention. She is kind, super intelligent, fun, and a great teacher. A Bolognese local! Ask for Paola and I hope you get her as a guide.
Cooking lesson with a true Bolognese
suzannehI3860DQ,,May 5, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Alessia was and excellent host. We did local market tour in Bologna. Then to her house to make Tiramsu, tortelloni and tagliatelle. We actual made everything but the Bolognese sauce. Once completed we eat our pasta and tiramisu. Don’t miss this opportunity with Alessia! Great experience!
Cooking in Bologna 👌
Penny M,,Apr 26, 2023
- Review from Viator
5.00Paola was delightful and very generous in sharing her wealth of knowledge 🥰 The food was delicious.
Unique and brilliant!
guybI8098WD,,Mar 7, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Such a perfect way to spend a few hours. I had such a wonderful time, learnt plenty and really felt I was doing something unique and special. My guide, Paola was an exceptional host, warm, friendly and simply fabulous. Can't recommend this enough!!
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