Alicante: Paella & Sangria Cooking Class with Tapas & Market Tour
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Alicante, Spain
- 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Why travelers loved this
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Overview
Experience Alicante through its flavors and culture as you make homemade paella from scratch, as well as sangria and tapas. Learn about the different ingredients essential to each dish and how to shop at the market like a local as you interact with stall owners and support small businesses. Practice new cooking techniques and get tips from a chef so you can make these Spanish dishes at home.
- Cook paella from scratch with a chef and enjoy beer, wine, and soft drinks
- Learn about Spanish cuisine, history and traditions from your guide
- Choose from seafood, meat, or vegetarian paella for flexibility
- Take the recipes home to recreate your favorite dishes
Sample Menu
Starter
Salchicha de Pascua
A traditional Alicante cured sausage, typically enjoyed as an appetizer.
Starter
Tomato Salad with Capellán
Fresh tomato salad with traditional salted fish. You’ll toast and prepare the capellán yourself before adding it to the dish.
Starter
Iberian Ham Tasting
Taste two premium Iberian hams — green and red label — and discover the differences between two of Spain’s finest ham categories.
Main
Paella
Choose your favourite: seafood “del Senyoret” with prawns and cuttlefish; meat paella with pork (or chicken) and vegetables; or vegetarian paella.
Dessert
Seasonal Fruit
A fresh selection of seasonal fruit to finish the meal.
What's Included
- Chef-led workshop: Guided market visit, hands-on paella cooking class, and homemade sangria.
- Full meal & drinks: Enjoy your paella alongside a tapas tasting, drinks, and local appetizers.
- All-inclusive setup: Authentic restaurant venue, aprons, equipment, fresh ingredients, and recipes.
- Choice of seafood, meat or veggie paella
- Bottled water for all participants
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Plaza 25 de MayoPl. 25 de Mayo, 03004 Alicante, Spain
Meet at the market entrance, by the Civil War memorial — a large metal plate on the ground. Your guide will be there with a traditional shopping basket, wearing a black T-shirt with “Alicante Cooking Workshops” in white.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
1
Mercados de Alicante
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Minimum age requirement for alcohol consumption is 18 years of age
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
We are still buzzing from the incredible paella and sangria cooking class. From start to finish, it was an unforgettable culinary experience.
We began by selecting fresh ingredients at the market, which added an authentic touch to the class. Our instructor, Fred, was absolutely fantastic - passionate, positive, and with a great sense of humor that kept us all laughing and engaged.
The class was truly interactive and educational, with Fred sharing his expertise and tips with infectious enthusiasm. Whether you're a beginner or novice cook, this class is perfect for anyone looking to learn new skills.
The best part? The results were absolutely delicious! Our paella and sangria turned out perfectly, and we got to enjoy the fruits of our labor afterwards with real recipes to take home.
Fred's teaching style was engaging, patient, and fun, making everyone feel at ease in the kitchen. I highly recommend this class to anyone looking for a fun and informative culinary experience in Alicante. Gracias, Fred, for an unforgettable experience!
Reviews
4.9
based on 140 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Fredrico was an excellent host ! Fun and interesting with local facts , really worthwhile day and paella and sangria along with the salted fish salad was luscious !! Would highly recommend !!
Federico was an excellent teacher and chef! He took us shopping at the market to buy everything we needed, helped us prepare and make the "Alicante" style Paella and homemade Sangria. We made both chicken and seafood Paella. The best part was eating the Paella and drinking the Sangria!
We really enjoyed the class. The instructor was very prepared and made the class fun. I would highly recommend this class when you are visiting Alicante.
Great experience. Fred our tour guide was very patient showing us around the market. The cooking experience was a lot of fun. We had a group of 10 and he did a great job keeping everyone busy. The Paella and Sangria were wonderful. This was one of our favorite tours.
This was a fun experiences to learn how to cook Alicante style paella, try the expensive Spanish ham, and have a nice meal
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for joining us! We’re glad you enjoyed discovering the Alicante way of making paella—and tasting some special Iberian ham along the way. Learning is always better when it ends with a good meal around the table! 😊🥘
Super fun way to explore the market and get a taste of Alicante paella. We learned so much and we had a great time talking to all the other travelers and the chef! Shoutout to the chef for their patience.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you, Gabriella! Good food has a wonderful way of bringing travellers together, and we’re so glad you enjoyed sharing the experience with the group. We’ll pass your special shoutout on to the chef—patience is essential when a kitchen is full of new paella experts! 😊🥘
Freddy was an excellent guide and teacher. We enjoyed his humor and our food was delicious. We look forward to taking another classz
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you, Dennise! Freddy’s humour is one of his favourite ingredients, so he’ll love reading this! 😊 We’re delighted you enjoyed the class and the delicious results. We’d be very happy to welcome you back—perhaps for a tapas class next time!
Frederico was great. Explained each of the ingredients and where to get them. He ensured we understood the steps in cooking. Excellent time and fun. We highly recommend this and Frederico.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for the wonderful recommendation! Federico has a real talent for making every ingredient and step easy to understand without taking the fun out of cooking. We’ll be sure to share your kind words with him. Hopefully your next homemade paella will bring back some great memories of Alicante! 😊
It was interesting in the market learning about the produce, especially the Iberian ham.
Everybody had a chance to take part in the preparation and cooking. It was a fun experience
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you, Lesley! The Iberian ham is always a fascinating—and delicious—part of the market visit. We’re glad you enjoyed discovering the local produce and getting hands-on in the kitchen. A class is always more fun when everyone joins in! 😊
It was a really informative lesson and 2 lovely hosts.everything explained everybody got to partake in doing something, we were also lucky to have had a good varied sociable group of ppl, to enjoy the experience with.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you, Heather! Great guests and a sociable group bring something special to the kitchen, and it sounds like yours was a wonderful mix. We’re delighted that our hosts made everyone feel included and gave you all a chance to get involved. Thank you for cooking and sharing the experience with us! 😊
shopping in the central market was the highlight of the experience. browsing the different market stalls was fun
Response from Host, Jul 2026
The Central Market really has a special charm, doesn’t it? We’re so glad you enjoyed exploring its colourful stalls and discovering the local ingredients. Thank you for joining us and sharing this part of Alicante’s food culture! 😊
This class was excellent. Our guide was Federico and he was amazing. He effortlessly switched from English to Spanish while giving information the whole time. He was very informative at the market, teaching us about Iberian ham, got everyone involved in the class and taught us about what we were eating, which was all delicious. I volunteered for the "worst job" prepping the dried fish, bit of a joke i guess because it wasnt bad at all. Our class was a smaller one apparently, there was only 7 of us. I feel like 7 or 8 is a perfect number but apparently it can a lot more.
Tour/class is totally worth it and Federico was amazing at his job and genuinely seem like a nice guy.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you, Amber! You handled the “worst job” like a pro—it wasn’t so bad after all! 😄 We’re delighted that Federico made everyone feel involved and brought the market and local food culture to life in both English and Spanish. It sounds like your small group had a fantastic time together. Thank you for the wonderful recommendation!
This is great fun as it gives an insight into shopping for local produce at the wonderful market, and then cooking everything from scratch. Frederico our cooking teacher has amazing English language and interpersonal skills. The food we all cooked was absolutely delicious. Everyone was very friendly. Highly recommend!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
“Do it!” might be our favourite recommendation, Emily! 😊 Thank you for bringing such great energy to the class. Fred will be delighted to hear your kind words, and we’re so happy you enjoyed the whole journey from choosing local ingredients to sharing the finished dishes. We’d love to cook with you again!
The tour started with a walk through the largest indoor market in Spain and it was so cool to see all the vendors. Then we walked to a small restaurant where we all got to help prepping the ingredients and then take turns cooking the paella. The food turned out great.
I LOVED this tour!!! LOVED Every second. From shopping for fresh ingredients in the local market ( I learned so much about choosing shrimp, pork…even olives!) to cooking our Paella and mixing our sangria! Frederico educated us on the wonderful hams, the brines of the olives, the squid and cuttlefish and the myriad of shrimp! EVen the wine for the sangria was in a barrel and poured into a large thermos just for us! WOW. Book it. Fred, our guide, was superb. I cannot say enough good about this tour. Book it. You will not regret it!
It was a great introduction to the world of making paella. From history and regional differences to buying the ingredients in the local market to cooking a delicious paella. In addition we now know what it takes to make sangria as well.
I had a wonderful time learning about paella, sangria, and the variations on the dish and drink and the traditions behind each. Federico was a knowledgeable teacher. The group I found myself in all enjoyed ourselves immensely.
Very educational and fun experience. The paella was delicious and fresh! It was a lot of fun going through the market to collect ingredients.
Excellent experience ..!
Fede make the whole process so much enjoyable and interesting.
From Market to Kitchen to Table.. great way to taste Alicante’s Charm.!
Muy Recomendado.!
Fred Madison in front of the Central market took us for a shopping trip to buy everything and then we walked about three blocks to a commercial kitchen where we prepared sangria, paella, and tomato salad. It was really fun. Everyone got to participate recipes were given, and we took the entire time.. Fred was very patient. Did a great job explaining what we needed to do and led the group with precision. It was well worth the time for the price..
Visiting the market for fresh ingredients was informative. Preparing the ingredients to cook was fun. Actually cooking the food was amazing. Freddy our guide was very knowledgeable & friendly. Meeting very nice people & enjoying our meal was a terrific experience.
Freddy was an incredible host—thorough, informative, and super passionate about food. He guided us step-by-step to cook like locals, and the experience felt both authentic and hands-on. Easily one of the best things I did in Alicante.
Excellent activity. Met Fred as agreed outside the market. He took us inside to buy all the food required for the cooking activities. He was very informative on all the ingredients we brought.
Cooking and preparation was all explained clearly and with a passion for what we were doing.
Best bit, we got to eat what we’d cooked which was delicious.
Would happily do it again.
We are still buzzing from the incredible paella and sangria cooking class. From start to finish, it was an unforgettable culinary experience.
We began by selecting fresh ingredients at the market, which added an authentic touch to the class. Our instructor, Fred, was absolutely fantastic - passionate, positive, and with a great sense of humor that kept us all laughing and engaged.
The class was truly interactive and educational, with Fred sharing his expertise and tips with infectious enthusiasm. Whether you're a beginner or novice cook, this class is perfect for anyone looking to learn new skills.
The best part? The results were absolutely delicious! Our paella and sangria turned out perfectly, and we got to enjoy the fruits of our labor afterwards with real recipes to take home.
Fred's teaching style was engaging, patient, and fun, making everyone feel at ease in the kitchen. I highly recommend this class to anyone looking for a fun and informative culinary experience in Alicante. Gracias, Fred, for an unforgettable experience!
A good guid and a good Instructor. Good food.. 2 times I did this workshop and I recommends it for every groupe
Very good explanation, in the market and in the shop. We will come back with more family next week kon
Our guide Fred and chef Maria were absolutely amazing throughout every step of shopping at the market, food prep and making sangria, a tasty salad and the arroz/paella. Highly recommend this workshop if one is interested in the history of a dish central to the Alicante cuisine and culture.
Fred was fantastic! We had a fabulous time, met some lovely people and got to make and taste amazing Paella and Sangria. Would highly recommend!!
Our guide, Fred, was incredible! Kind, talented, fun! I highly recommend this tour. The paella and sangria were delicious!
We really enjoyed this experience and highly recommend it. Our tour leader, Federico, was great !!! He was fun and seemed to really enjoy sharing interesting details at the Mercado and about cooking. The final dishes that we made were excellent !
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Alicante: Paella & Sangria Cooking Class with Tapas & Market Tour
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