Best time for a food tour: truffles, cider and crawfish seasons

When we started running tours outside the United States, the first thing we learned is that Europe eats by the calendar even more closely than America does. A cider house in Astigarraga is closed in August, a Lisbon grill has no fresh sardines in January and a Tuscan olive press is silent in May. Each of our tours runs only in the months when its food is at its best, and none of our Mediterranean tours run in July and August, when the heat makes long tasting days hard work. Here is how the year looks from our side.

Autumn: the harvest, truffles and new olive oil

September and October are the busiest months on our calendar, and for good reason. The grape harvest runs from early September in Provence and the Rhône to the middle of October on the slopes of Mount Etna, one of the latest in Italy. In the Douro Valley the terraces are picked by hand from mid-September, and some quintas still tread grapes in granite lagares. In Chianti and Montalcino the Sangiovese comes in from late September, and the smell of fermenting must hangs over the villages.

November is the month for truffles and oil. The white truffle season runs from October to December, and the truffle fairs of San Miniato in Tuscany and Savigno in the hills above Bologna fill their streets on November weekends. The olive harvest starts at the end of October in Tuscany and Crete, and the new oil, green, peppery and a little bitter, is poured over toasted bread straight from the press. Our Tuscany Food and Wine tour and the Athens and Crete tour both run in November for this.

Late winter and spring: cider, crawfish and blossom

From mid-January to late April the cider houses of Astigarraga open for the txotx season. The cider maker calls “txotx”, opens a tap in a huge wooden barrel, and everyone lines up to catch a thin stream of new cider in their glass, between courses of salt cod omelet, salt cod with peppers and a thick txuleta steak. Our Basque Country Food Tour starts its season in January so that the cider houses are part of it.

Spring is also the best time in Andalusia, with orange blossom in Seville, the April Fair and, from April to June, the bluefin tuna of the almadraba on the coast of Cádiz. Across the Atlantic, Louisiana crawfish season starts in January and peaks in March and April, when the crawfish are big and the boils are everywhere. Our New Orleans and Cajun Country tour runs right through it.

Early summer: sardines and the Sicilian table

June is the last month before most of our multi-day tours pause for the summer, and one of the best. In Lisbon the sardine season opens in time for the Santo António festival on the 12th and 13th of June, when the streets of Alfama smell of grilled fish and sardines are eaten on a slice of bread that soaks up the oil. Sardines are at their fattest from June to September, which is why our Portugal Food Tour runs in both months.

In Sicily, June is the start of summer eating: granita and brioche for breakfast, swordfish from the Strait of Messina, the first apricots and peaches, and evenings warm enough to eat outside until late. The sea stays warm through September and October, when our Sicily departures start again in time for the Etna harvest.

Japan in spring and autumn

Japan has two seasons we love and two we avoid. The rainy season in June and the heat of July and August are hard on a walking tour, and midwinter is cold and quiet. In spring, from late March to May, the cherry blossom is followed by bamboo shoots, sakura mochi and the first bonito of the year. In autumn there are matsutake mushrooms, grilled sanma, chestnuts, new-crop rice and hiyaoroshi, sake rested over the summer and released in the fall. In Kyoto the maple leaves turn in the second half of November.

Mexico: the dry season and the Day of the Dead

Mexico is at its best in the dry season, from November to April, when the skies are clear and the markets are full. The high point is the Day of the Dead on the 1st and 2nd of November. In Oaxaca the markets fill with marigolds, sugar skulls and pan de muerto, families build altars with the favorite foods of their dead, and mole negro is cooked in every kitchen. The October and November departures of our Mexico City and Oaxaca tour fall around these days.

How to choose your month

If you are flexible, choose by the ingredient first and the place second. A short version of our calendar:

• Wine harvest: September and October in Tuscany, the Douro, the Rhône and on Etna
• Truffles and new olive oil: November in Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna and Crete
• Basque cider: mid-January to April
• Sardines: June and September in Portugal
• Crawfish: March and April in Louisiana
• Japan: late March to May, or October and November
• Mexico: November to April, with the Day of the Dead at the start of November

Each tour page lists its exact departures from November 2026 to October 2027, and Lena will tell you which dates are filling. Spring and autumn are popular everywhere, so book those three to six months ahead.

Questions about food seasons by destination

What is the best month for a food tour in Europe?

October: the wine harvest is finishing, truffles and new olive oil are arriving and the summer crowds have gone home.

When is cider house season in the Basque Country?

From mid-January to late April, when the new cider is poured straight from the barrel.