La Spezia Food Tour Review: The Best Way to Spend a Cruise Day in Italy?

If you’ve ever booked a cruise with a stop in La Spezia, you probably noticed that most people immediately rush off the ship to do one of two things: fight massive crowds on the train to the Cinque Terre, or sit on a bus for two hours each way to get to Florence.

On our recent Mediterranean cruise on Legend of the Seas, we decided to do something completely different. Instead of spending half our port day panicking about train timetables or sweating in theme-park-style queues, we booked a small-group local food tour right in the heart of La Spezia.

And honestly? It turned out to be one of the absolute best things we did on the entire week-long cruise.

La Spezia is often dismissed as just a gritty naval transit hub, but if you explore it through your stomach, it is a total hidden gem—full of vibrant markets, historic family-run eateries, and some of the best pesto we’ve ever tasted in our lives.

This guide breaks down exactly what we ate, how the tour worked, whether it’s worth your money, and how you can do it on your next cruise port day.

TL;DR:

If you want a relaxed, insanely delicious, and authentic Italian experience without the tourist crowds of the Cinque Terre, book a La Spezia street food tour. Over three hours, you’ll sample fresh Ligurian focaccia, chickpea farinata, 121-year-old family pesto pasta, fried local seafood, and artisanal gelato. It’s flat, highly walkable, and completely stress-free for cruise passengers.

Watch us eat our way through La Spezia in our full vlog here:

How We Booked It & The Logistics

When booking shore excursions, we almost always try to avoid the big, overcrowded cruise line tour buses where you’re shuffled around with 50 other passengers.

Who We Booked With: We booked our tour through Shore Excursions Group.We’ve used them for years across multiple cruise lines because they are usually significantly cheaper than the ship’s official excursions, their group sizes are much smaller, and they guarantee to get you back to the ship on time.
Group Size: Our tour group promises a maximum of eight people in total - although we were the only two on the tour! That made navigating small bakeries and historic restaurants effortless compared to a giant ship tour group.
Our Guide: We were met in the town (about a 20 minute walk from the port) by our local guide, Nicolette, who was hilarious, exceptionally knowledgeable, and passionate about Ligurian culinary history.
Walking Distance: La Spezia town is very flat and easy to navigate. The tour involved an easy, leisurely stroll between stops through shaded pedestrian streets.
Top Tip: Wear comfortable shoes and bring plenty of water.

What We Ate: The Step-by-Step Food Tour Breakdown

Stop 1: The Central Seafood Market (Mercato Ortofrutticolo)

We kicked off the morning by walking straight into the heart of La Spezia’s bustling indoor central market. Because La Spezia sits directly on the Ligurian coast, seafood is the lifeblood of local cuisine.

Vibrant seafood display at the La Spezia central market

Nicolette walked us through the bustling stalls packed with locals buying their daily produce, cheeses, olives, and fresh catches. It gave us an instant, authentic look at daily Italian life—unpolished, noisy, and full of incredible aromas.

Stop 2: Freshly Baked Ligurian Focaccia

You simply cannot visit the Liguria region without eating focaccia—it’s practically the law over here! Our first actual tasting was at a tiny local bakery (panificio) where they bake fresh slabs continuously throughout the morning.

Now, this isn't an optical illusion on camera—these slices of bread are absolutely massive!

Authentic Ligurian focaccia is amazingly simple:

Basic flour dough and water
A very generous drenching of local olive oil
A light sprinkle of coarse sea salt

It was golden and perfectly crispy on the outside, feather-light and fluffy in the middle, and blooming yummy! Eating it warm straight out of the bakery paper was pure perfection.

Stop 3: Farinata (The Chickpea Mystery)

Next up, Nicolette took us into a cute little shop filled with traditional pastries and specialty breads to try a regional street food called Farinata.

She wouldn't tell us what was in it at first, making us guess the ingredients on camera!

What is Farinata? It is a thin, savory pancake made entirely from chickpea flour, water, olive oil, and salt, baked at high heat in a massive copper tin.

It arrives steaming hot, golden, and slightly crunchy around the edges. Oddly enough, it tastes remarkably like perfectly flattened, savory potato—crispy, salty, and incredibly delicious. It is ridiculously more-ish; honestly, once you pop, you just can't stop! Plus, it's naturally vegan and gluten-free, which is a great bonus for travellers with dietary requirements.

Stop 4: The 121-Year-Old Pesto Spot

For the main sit-down portion of the tour, we visited the oldest restaurant in La Spezia - Osteria all'Inferno dal 1905. This historic trattoria is 121 years old and has been run by the exact same family across four generations! To put that into perspective, this kitchen is older than some whole countries and roughly half the age of the USA.

We sat down for a dish of traditional trofie pasta tossed in fresh, locally made pesto.

The color was a total revelation—it was so vividly green that it makes the dull pesto we buy in jars back home look embarrassing! It was creamy, packed with aromatic fresh basil and pine nuts, and topped with a bite of fresh parmesan cheese.

Ben enjoying Trofie pasta coated in bright green Ligurian pesto

Vlog Highlight: Ben suffered a classic case of "food stage fright" when David pointed the camera at him, completely forgetting how to roll pasta onto his fork for about 30 seconds! But once he got it into his mouth, it was absolute bliss.

Stop 5: The Fishermen’s Co-Op (Fried Seafood Cone)

Heading back towards the waterfront, we stopped at a bustling spot set up directly by a local cooperative of fishermen. Because there’s no middleman involved, the seafood is as fresh as it gets, and the prices are remarkably cheap—which explains why there was a big line of locals stretching down the street!

We were handed a heavy paper cone filled to the brim with freshly fried prawns and octopus, served with a wedge of lemon. The batter was paper-thin, incredibly light, and satisfyingly crunchy. Eating piping-hot seafood by the harbor was a real highlight.

Stop 6: Authentic Gelato at La Dolce Vita

You can't possibly finish an Italian port day without gelato, even if you are already completely stuffed! We wrapped up our tour at a gorgeous local gelateria called La Dolce Vita.

David went for a classic option, but Ben ordered a combination of pistachio and white chocolate coconut. It surprisingly came packed with real chunks of white chocolate and coconut flakes inside! It was ridiculously creamy, intensely flavorful, and the ultimate way to beat the 35°C (95°F) Italian heat wave.

Is a La Spezia Food Tour Worth the Money?

And honestly? Yes, 100%.

If you compare this to paying $100–$150 per person for an official cruise line excursion where you spend most of your day sitting on a hot tour bus heading to Florence or waiting in massive train platform queues for Cinque Terre, this food tour is phenomenal value.

What We Loved:

Zero Stress: No panicking about missing train connections or getting stranded far from the ship.
Small Group Vibe: With only us people, it felt like wandering around town with a friend rather than a tour guide.
Authentic Flavours: Every single venue was a real local business loved by residents, not a tourist-trap restaurant selling overpriced freezer food.
Generous Portions: You get a lot of food. Come with an empty stomach!

Minor Drawbacks to Keep in Mind:

The Summer Heat: Walking around Italy in peak July/August can get very hot. Luckily, La Spezia’s pedestrian streets have plenty of shade.
Tender Port Delays: If your ship is anchored out and tendering, make sure you factor in time to get ashore for your tour meeting time.
Lots of Walking: The meeting point is a twenty minute walk from the port and you will walk around the town.

Practical Tips for Cruisers Doing This Food Tour

Skip the Ship Breakfast: Don't go heavy at the cruise ship buffet before heading ashore. You will be eating massive slabs of focaccia, farinata, full pasta dishes, fried seafood, and gelato within three hours!
Wear Comfortable Walking Shoes: While La Spezia is flat, you will still cover a few thousand steps on uneven cobblestones. Leave the flip-flops on the ship!
Carry a Little Euros Cash: While the tour covers all your food tastings, if you want to buy extra jars of fresh pesto or bottles of local olive oil to take home, small local shops prefer euro notes.
Pace Yourself: It’s very easy to eat too much focaccia at Stop 2 because it tastes so good, but remember there is a sit-down pasta course waiting for you later!
Bring Water: Even on a cool day, you will want to keep water with you as you are eating lots and walking between locations.

Final Thoughts

We went into La Spezia open-minded, but we walked away genuinely loving the city. It’s visually charming, full of character, and offers a real slice of authentic Italian life without the overwhelming theme-park feel of neighboring tourist hotspots.

If you are visiting La Spezia on a cruise, don't feel pressured to rush off to Florence or Cinque Terre. Staying local, booking a small food tour, and eating your way through town is a brilliant, memorable, and utterly delicious way to spend your day in port.

👉 Planning your overall day in port? Make sure to read our complete La Spezia Cruise Port Guide for full details on ship tendering logistics, train station tips, and alternative sightseeing options!