Porto Local Market Visit & Cooking Class / Showcooking
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Porto, Portugal
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Enjoy a convivial introduction to Portugal’s rich food and wine traditions on this small-group cooking and market tour. Meet your guide at one of Porto's traditional markets, where you’ll meet vendors, see how locals shop, and pick up fresh and seasonal ingredients. Then, help your host prepare a multi-course meal. At the end of the class, sit down, enjoy your lunch together, swap stories, and sip local wine.
- Shop for ingredients at a local market before class
- Learn to cook traditional Portuguese dishes from scratch
- Pair your lunch with delicious Portuguese wines
- A small group means more attention from your instructor
Sample Menu
Starter
Alheira Croquettes
Main
Cod with cream
Dessert
Pastel de Nata
What's Included
- LunchLunch will be dishes prepared during the tour. Alheira croquettes, cod dish, and pastel de nata.
- Portuguese cuisine workshop
- Alcoholic BeveragesLocal wine
- Coffee and/or Tea
- Mercado do Bolhão visit / Local Market visit
- Changes to the pre-established menu
- Gratuities
- Pick up and drop off from accommodation or any other meeting point other than the established one
- Other means of transport than those announced.
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- R. Formosa 324, 4000-248 Porto, Portugal
Inside the Mercado do Bolhão, in front of the main fountain, the guide will be present 10 minutes beforehand, identified with a C&D Porto Local Tours umbrella. Participants who are not present at the scheduled time will miss the Market tour.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.10:00 am
What To Expect
1
Mercado do Bolhao
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 12 hours of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Children and teenagers will have limited participation. For safety reasons, the guide will not allow children to participate in certain stages, even if their guardians claim that they are capable of doing so.
- Minors will not be accepted without being accompanied by an adult.
- Animals, including service animals, are not allowed
- This activity requires a minimum of 4 participants to be hosted
- Not recommended for vegetarians and those who are lactose intolerant.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 206 reviews
Charles_H, Oct 2025
Wonderful from start to finish. Was an interactive experience with terrific hosts. Started in the market obtaining ingredients for the meal as well as a great history lesson regarding food and the culture. The meal was a traditional dish with salted cod in addition to two different types of sausage and a super dessert. The wine was delicious. Our hosts were very friendly and professional. Recommend this experience for folks of all ages and backgrounds.
DanDolak, Oct 2025
It was very entertaining and a bonus to tour the market and buy the food.
The cooking was also wonderful. Loved the location as it was cozy and super clean.
Out two teachers were very knowledgeable and engaging. Would definitely recommend this!
Donald_D, Jun 2025
Highly recommend this experience to all travelers to Porto. The hosts were incredibly warm and welcoming. The market tour was both educational and fun. The cooking class afterwards was set in a beautiful kitchen near the River. We had a great time and all of the food was so good!
jonathan_l, May 2025
Great insight into the local market produce then excellent showcase cooking class. We were able to join in and this made the experience even better.
Christopher_K, May 2025
We met Nuno at the public market and learned all about the foods we would prepare and purchased most items from individual vendors in the Market. Nuno is a high energy individual with an obvious passion for food and Portuguese history, along with a great sense of humor. A short walk, and two stops on the subway, brought us to the cooking classroom. We watched/participated as Catia and Nuno led us through the preparation of a great meal including bread, olives, jams, cheese, two starters, a traditional fish stew and Pastis de nata with coffee for desert. Vinho Verde and tea were also included. The conversations flowed easily from food and cooking to families and history. A truly fun and memorable way to spend a few hours in Porto!
Leilani_S, Apr 2025
Nice local tour through the market with history of the food. Easy short walk and train to kitchen room with local chef. Both Nuno and Maria were lovely. Hands on cooking with detailed instructions and delicious food and wine. Great time to start our day before walking the beautiful city of Porto!!
Samantha_J, Feb 2025
Everything was amazing, the whole experience was just what we wanted. The food was incredible as well and I feel like a learned a lot in a fun way.
Jerry_L, Jan 2025
The most fun cooking class we’ve done in Europe! We started at Porto’s Mercado do Bolhao. What a great place to start. Sooo clean and friendly and full of Portuguese culture, food and drink. The cooking setting was amazing and reminded us of Chopped. We can’t wait to get home to try the recipes we were taught to make! Anna and Joseph were fantastic!!!!
Jo_L, Jan 2025
Love the whole experience from the market tour to the studio where we were shown and explained how to make the dishes, with chances to participate. I prefer this to cooking the whole time; this allows me to understand the culinary aspects better.
Kevin_W, Oct 2024
One of the instructors Ana, met up with our group at the Mercado do Bolhao. She then took us on a tour of the market giving us the history of the place and taking us to different stalls to pick up fresh groceries we would use for the class. She also gave us insightful knowledge of the way the locals would shop, what ingredients they would normally use, and how they would cook.
We crossed the river over to their cooking studio located in Gaia. The studio was very clean, cozy and inviting. There we met Joseph who, with Ana, taught us to make some local dishes that I would've never thought to try. We started off with a local rye bread called Broa, which was served with olive oil, cheese, and jam. We then had a seared chorizo and learned to make a Alheira sausage croquettes. The main dish was a local comfort food called Bacalhau de nata (codfish in cream) which was delicious. We then finished off the class learning how to make Pesteis de Nata custard tarts.
Overall, it was a very memorable experience and one of the highlights of my trip. The instructors Joseph & Ana were very friendly, engaging, and funny. I would highly recommend this class as it was a very unique experience, and I got to learn a lot while enjoying great food!
Robert_D, Oct 2024
We had a great time! We met at the market, bought some food, and learned about the local cuisine. Then we went to a professional kitchen where we participated in cooking the main dish and dessert. There were 8 people in the group. We got to make friends and have alot of fun.
Take this food tour! You won't regret it!
Angelica_L, Oct 2024
Such a fun unique way to learn about the city through its history of food. The market experience was so awesome and our tour guide Ana was bubbly and knowledgeable. Joseph was also a great cooking teacher and patient. It was obvious both guides love what they do. The food we made was also delicious. Highly recommend!
Ann_H, Oct 2024
Our tour guide in the market shared so much fun and interesting information about Portuguese food and cooking!! Also, the cooking experience itself (and the eating) was so unique and enjoyable. I would highly recommend this particular experience!!
Albert_N, Sep 2024
Great Mercado tour and cooking class! Ana and Joseph did a great job. Interesting info about the food, wine, and history of Portugal and Porto. Very hands on cooking class where we made Alheira Croquettes, Salted Codfish & Cream, and Pastel de Nata… all delicious! And our glasses were never empty of Vinho Verde! We had a great time and highly recommend this tour/class!
PaulJ_C, Sep 2024
The chefs were friendly and their skill made it seem easy to prepare these dishes. We discovered the grilled chourico and had to find the ceramic dish so we can make it at home. The class was fun and the food was excellent.
marc_b, Sep 2024
Overall, this activity was as advertised but not as ‘hands on’ as we would expected for a ‘cooking’ class…it was more of a ‘demonstration’ class.
Both hosts were very nice and attentive to our needs and questions.
Michael_G, Sep 2024
Very fun experience. learning about the market was wonderful and a highlight as it added a ton to the experience. The staff Ana and Nuno was so fun and nice. We all had a very nice time. Meal was lovely.
Joanne_G, Sep 2024
Anna and Jose were the best! Wonderful time in the market with lots of historical pearls. Got to learn how to make 3 beautiful Portugese dishes in the cooking studio with some hands on tutorial. Very memorable experience I recommend to anyone visiting Porto!
2r8yht4s85, Aug 2024
This was a fantastic way to learn about and enjoy the local Portuguese cuisine. The trip to the market was informative and fun and the cookery school is modern and clean with a great set up for enjoying watching and joining in with the cooking and of course eating it as well. The food was plentiful and very tasty and the hosts are warm, lovely and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend this tour, it added something special to trip to Porto!
Malinda_Q, Jul 2024
The entire experience was fantastic! The tour of the market was interesting, and the cooking facility was set up wonderfully. We tried a variety of traditional foods and dishes as well as helped to prepare parts of each course. Our guides/chefs were incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. This is an experience that I will not forget!
Michelle_L, Jul 2024
This cooking class was recommended to me by a friend who had taken it the previous week with her daughter. I chose this activity for my last day in Porto and absolutely loved it! The leaders were professional, knowledgable and fun. It began with a visit to the beautiful market where the Nuno explained many interesting facts and stories about the origins of different foods. It was fun to shop for the ingredients we used. Even the metro ride to the cooking space was fun since it went over the bridge with excellent views of the river below. The best part was cooking together. I felt like I was a guest at a lively dinner party. The hosts invited us to participate in every step of making an appetizer, main course, and dessert, all while serving us apps and wine throughout. We talked, we laughed, and we ate. I highly recommend this experience.
Matt_G, Jun 2024
Would highly recommend this tour. Loved beginning in the market and learning prior to cooking. The hosts were knowledgeable and fun!
Michael_M, Jun 2024
Had a great time. Very professional and exceeded our expectations.
Great experience.
Highly recommended.
Cheers
DrZee, May 2024
Our guide was very knowledgeable and humorous. He told us the history of food in Porto. The cooking experience was also very good but he did not return us to our original meeting place. Instead, we had to take a metro near the market. We could have gotten lost. I do not recommend this to tourists that may get lost easily in a busy city
Elizabeth_B, May 2024
Excellent tour of Mercado and explanation of how the locals shop and prep food. Great cooking class. Excellent food. Learned so much of the culture and history of Porto. Guides were Nuno and Joseph, both very excellent!
Maria_R, May 2024
We had a great experience and loved the tour at the market. It was great seeing how the locals live and shop.
Deborah_S, Apr 2024
Loved learning about the Porto fresh foods market. The cooking class was fantastic! We made traditional Portuguese dishes. The kitchen set up was perfect for our group of 7. Highly recommend.
Nhi_N, Apr 2024
Great tour and class by fun and knowledgeable guides. A great changeup from the usual walk and eat type of food tours. The market they took us to is the biggest one in Porto and the produce and products there are high quality, which makes for a fun tour (I wish we could sample more of the food we saw, but understand that would interfere with lunch which is what we cooked in class). Highly recommend for a fun and useful experience!
Laurie_C, Apr 2024
We really enjoyed walking through the market and our host, sharing with us the history of Porto. He was knowledgeable and funny. When we went to the kitchen, his partner was also knowledgeable and a lot of fun. Both did a great job of including the whole group and we enjoyed the others in our group. We came home with great recipes and skills.
Stacey_T, Apr 2024
Nuno is a passionate, knowledgeable guide through the market tour. I felt it was one knowledge bomb after another in terms of Portugal history, the linguistic influence, and food history. It was truly astounding how much we learned!
The cooking class is more of a demonstration. Yes, you can take turns to cut/stir, but majority of the time you're just watching. The food was still yummy and filling.
From $119.47
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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