Our distinctive Gourmet Explorer Tours, offered exclusively aboard Seven Seas Explorer, allows guests the unique opportunity to experience the culinary culture of the world’s most delicious destinations. From savoring the authentic flavors of a region to learning new techniques in local cooking classes, guests can choose from a variety of optional tours that take them to local markets to find exotic spices, sample delicious wines at breathtaking estates and savor gourmet meals expertly prepared by renowned chefs. See below a list of Gourmet Explorer Tours currently available.
NEW! NICE MARKET VISIT & CHATEAU EZA LUNCH – FROM MONTE CARLO, MONACO
This excursion offers a memorable day on the Cote d’Azur complete with an exquisite lunch at the restaurant, Chateau Eza. Guests will be hosted by the Chef Instructor from the Culinary Arts Kitchen, as they wander through the open-air seaside market in Nice, known for elegant flowers, photo-perfect fruit and vegetable stalls, and quaint cafes.
NEW! CHEF MARKET TOUR AND TAPAS CLASS – FROM BILBAO, SPAIN
Accompanied by the Chef Instructor from the Culinary Arts Kitchen, participants of this tour visit the Mercado de la Ribera in central Bilbao, followed by tapas and pintxos snacks in Plaza Nova. Guests will also enjoy a short photo stop at the exterior of the famed Guggenheim museum, and then back to the ship for a 90-minute Tapas and Pintxos cooking class for lunch.
*Class fee included in price of Gourmet Explorer Tour
NEW! ATARAZANAS MARKET & ONBOARD TAPAS CLASS – FROM MÁLAGA, SPAIN
Participants of this tour experience Málaga like a true gourmand with a visit to the Atarazanas Central Market, an architectural gem housing a vivid collection of fresh fish, Spanish hams and cheeses and produce. Accompanied by the Culinary Arts Kitchen Chef Instructor, guests will shop for ingredients for their onboard tapas cooking class.
*Class fee included in price of Gourmet Explorer Tour
NEW! MASTER CHEF, PROVENCE LUNCH & WINES – FROM PROVENCE, FRANCE
Renowned Michelin-starred Master Chef Rene Berard hosts guests at his private property where they enjoy a tour and Provencal cooking demonstration. An elegant lunch at Le Bistrot de Jef is included and it features the very best of seasonal Provencal wines. Under the glass rooftop, guests enjoy the view of beautiful Provence and savor Mediterranean inspired dishes prepared especially for our group.
NEW! CHEF’S MARKET TOUR & PAELLA LUNCHEON – FROM VALENCIA, SPAIN
Guests will shop for the ingredients for their paella cooking class at the Central Market, a fabulously restored and vast modernistic building. After shopping in the market, participants will journey to Malvarrosa Beach for a causal seaside luncheon at one of Valencia's most popular paella restaurants, La Pepica. Then, they return on board for a private cooking demonstration with the ingredients purchased.
*Class fee included in price of Gourmet Explorer Tour
NEW! CHEF MARKET TOUR, DEMO, LUNCH & GELATO – FROM VENICE, ITALY
Accompanied by the Chef from The Culinary Arts Kitchen, participants immerse themselves in the traditions of Venetian cuisine by browsing the centuries-old Rialto Market and then watching a cooking demonstration with a Venetian master chef at her private villa. Afterwards, they enjoy a sumptuous and authentic lunch at the villa.
NEW! FISH WORKSHOP & TALLINN’S OLD TOWN – FROM TALLINN, ESTONIA
Accompanied by the Chef from The Culinary Arts Kitchen, participants journey to a quaint fishing village for a culinary workshop on fish and fish cookery from a local fish expert. Then they travel to Upper Old Town Tallinn for a short guided tour that includes a photo-stop, which offers up a panoramic view of this enchanting old city.
NEW! ST. MALO WALKING TOUR & CASTELBRAC – FROM ST. MALO, FRANCE
A tender ride brings guests to the picturesque city walls of St. Malo, where they will enjoy a special meal at the restaurant of Castelbrac, prepared by Chef Julien Hennote. Chef Hennote is the recipient of the prized Escoffier trophy and specializes in using local products to produce his gourmet dishes. At the conclusion of lunch, guests will take a guided walking tour of the old city.
NEW! CHEF’S MARKET TOUR & LATVIAN COOKING – FROM RIGA, LATVIA
Along with the Chef from The Culinary Arts Kitchen and a local Latvian Chef, participants of this tour enjoy a tour through the Central Market of Riga – deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site and considered Europe’s largest market and bazaar – where they’ll shop for produce and ingredients that will be used later for a Latvian cooking class and lunch once back on board the ship.
*Class fee included in price of Gourmet Explorer Tour
NEW! CHEF’S MARKET TOUR & NORDIC COOKING – FROM HELSINKI, FINLAND
This tour takes guests to Helsinki's oldest food market where they will shop for produce, fish and Nordic ingredients under the guidance of the Chef from The Culinary Arts Kitchen. These ingredients will later be used for a hands-on cooking class. Along the way, participants enjoy tasting some local specialties at the market and taking in the sights on a brief panoramic tour through the city and along the seaside.
NEW! BALLYMALOE COOKING SCHOOL – FROM CORK, IRELAND
Together with the Chef Instructor from the Culinary Arts Kitchen, guests visit one of the world’s top culinary destinations, Ballymaloe. The estate includes a luxury inn in the Irish B&B tradition, as well as a world- renowned cooking school complete with kitchen gardens, herb gardens, free range chickens, greenhouses, a demonstration kitchen and an impressive culinary and wine shop. After touring the property, participants indulge in an intimate 3-course lunch.
CHEF MARKET TOUR: CANNOLIS & LUNCH WITH WINES – FROM TAORMINA (SICILY), ITALY
Accompanied by the Chef Instructor from the Culinary Arts Kitchen, guests visit the renowned fish and produce market in Catania, learn how to make delicious cannoli from a Sicilian pastry master and cap off the day with lunch and a cooking demonstration at a famed Taormina restaurant with slow food Chef Turi. Wines from Etna’s award-winning Benanti winery will be paired during lunch by the winemaker himself for an authentically Sicilian wine-and-food experience.
CHEF MARKET TOUR: PESTO, PASTA & LUNCH – FROM PORTOFINO, ITALY
Accompanied by the Chef Instructor from the Culinary Arts Kitchen, guests enjoy a short boat ride along the coastline to Rapallo. Upon arrival, they are greeted by Guido, a local culinary expert for tastings of the famous Ligurian olive oil and a guided stroll through the local farmers market. Later, they travel to Recco for an unforgettable pasta making class with a true master followed by a lunch of local specialties and wines.
CHEF TOUR OF CÁDIZ MARKET & TAPAS LUNCH FROM SEVILLE (CÁDIZ), SPAIN
Accompanied by the Chef Instructor from the Culinary Arts Kitchen, guests will stroll through a traditional open-air fish and produce market in the Old Quarter. A spectacularly authentic market, the bounty of southern Spain’s land and sea are meticulously displayed by the local vendors here. The tour includes a tapas lunch at historic El Chato along the seaside.
CITY FOOD MARKETS & MICHELIN 2-STAR LUNCH – FROM BARCELONA, SPAIN
Guests join their Culinary Arts Kitchen Chef Instructor for an insider’s tour of Barcelona’s trendy food and wine scene. They visit the Boqueria and Santa Caterina markets to get acquainted with the ingredients used by both Catalonian chefs in Barcelona’s haute restaurants as well as local chefs. Then, experience an extra virgin olive oil tasting before enjoying lunch at 2-star Michelin restaurant ABaC and an insider’s peek at the kitchens of famed Chef Jordi Cruz.
MARKET-TO-TABLE CHEF TOUR & COOKING CLASS – FROM CORFU, GREECE
Guests embarking on this tour receive a shopping assignment from their Chef Instructor to gather produce, cheeses and specialties at the local market. They also get to enjoy a light lunch at a famed local taverna, before returning on board for a cooking class on Corfu cuisine using the bounty of their foraging efforts.
*Class fee included in price of Gourmet Explorer Tour
TUSCAN FOOD & WINE AT PRIVATE VILLA – FROM LIVORNO, ITALY
Guests enjoy a day in the countryside and a truly authentic food and wine experience. They visit the Mercato Centrale with their Chef Instructor and local guide. They travel to Villa Dianella for a cooking demonstration and sumptuous luncheon with wines, in addition to learning about the olive oil and winemaking traditions dating back to when the Medici family used the villa as their country home in hunting season.
PLEASE NOTE: Gourmet Explorer Tours are available on select voyages and priced from $69 per person. Tours may be cancelled if minimum participation levels are not met. Tours are based on availability and subject to change at any time without notice.