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While Paris is renowned for soufflés as exquisite as its couture and London’s restaurant scene is worth its weight in Ottolenghi cookbooks, what about the cities quietly perfecting their culinary craft in the background? The ones where smoky chorizo is sliced at sunrise, octopus is flame-charred within view of the Atlantic and Michelin-starred meals are matched with mountain views – all without the side of tourist trap fatigue.
On Luxury Escapes’ Ultimate Europe by Private Charter Flight: 25-Day Tour, food becomes your compass. While you soar over the continent in private charter comfort (goodbye, long queues and regional airport roulette), your evenings are reserved for curated culinary experiences that reveal each under-the-radar destination’s identity. The ‘Dine Out’ concept lets you choose your restaurant, with options spanning local gems, fusion hotspots and international favourites. Superior upgrades include free-flowing drinks with every dinner, while Lux upgrades elevate the experience with Michelin-starred dining.
Bergen, Norway
Long before New Nordic became a buzzword, Bergen was quietly serving up a cuisine rooted in its landscape. Cradled by fjords and mountains, this once-Hanseatic port city grew its culinary identity on cured fish, wild game and pickled everything. Today, that same ingenuity fuels a modern food scene obsessed with locality, seasonality and purity.
High on Mount Fløyen, Schou delivers a ten-course sensory menu that’s part theatre, part edible geography. At Marg & Bein, ‘nose-to-tail’ is its gospel, with dishes that celebrate marrow and long-simmered stocks. And if you want to dine with ghosts of Bergen’s past, Bryggeloftet & Stuene, the city’s oldest restaurant, offers rustic stews and traditional fare served beneath centuries-old beams.
San Sebastián, Spain
In San Sebastián, food is its hallmark, with pintxos bars as vital as the architecture. This coastal city has become synonymous with small plates that punch far above their weight, often paired with txakoli (local sparkling wine) poured high and fast. And behind it all? A deep-rooted respect for provenance, technique and the social ritual of eating.
A walking tour of Bretxa Market kicks off your experience here, guiding you through staples of Basque cuisine – ruby-red piquillo peppers, ornate tins of anchovies and smoked chorizo. Evenings are reserved for the pintxos trail, where you’ll hop from bar to bar, sampling each venue’s specialty. And if you’ve opted for the Lux Upgrade, prepare for a seat at the high table – this city has more Michelin stars per square metre than any other, and those reservations are already locked in.
Porto, Portugal
Porto’s cuisine is a product of its unique geography – slow-cooked meats, brothy stews and seafood dishes shaped by the Atlantic’s pull. Add the city’s long-standing wine culture, and you’ve got a culinary identity rooted as much in the glass as on the plate.
Begin your culinary immersion at The Yeatman Gastronomic Restaurant, perched above Vila Nova de Gaia’s wine lodges. With panoramic views and a Michelin star to its name, this is Portuguese dining in full flourish – regional produce paired with bottles you’ll never find outside the country. Antiqvvm, set in a former manor house, takes things even further, with two Michelin stars and vegetarian/omnivore menus that honour Portugal’s culinary traditions while elevating them beyond nostalgia.
Champagne, France
This region’s culinary depth runs just as fine as its wine. This is a place where food and drink are inextricably linked – pâtés en croûte, creamy Chaource cheese and slow-cooked game all designed to sing alongside those fine, persistent bubbles.
On this tour, your Dine Out experience in Champagne includes a stop at Le Millénaire, recommended in the Michelin guide and serving refined dishes like pork with smoked eggplant caviar and candied egg yolk with lovage oil. At Le Restaurant des Amis, rustic classics take centre stage, think slow-cooked tenderloin with local Reims mustard and citrus-infused veal chop. And in between meals? Moët & Chandon cellar tours, vineyard walks and UNESCO World Heritage-listed basilicas await.
Taormina, Italy
Located between Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea, Taormina is Sicily distilled into citrus groves, volcanic soil and the salt-rich Mediterranean. The food is as much about restraint as richness. A few anchovies, a twist of lemon, olive oil that tastes like it came from a grove rather than a bottle – that’s lunch in the understated way of cucina povera.
Your evenings here might include La Bottega del Formaggio for cheese plates layered with cold cuts and caponata, or Euphoria for delicately plated raw fish. Want pizza? La Romana is where the locals go, and for good reason. Those on the Lux Upgrade will find themselves at Principe Cerami, a Michelin-starred sanctuary of slow-paced Sicilian refinement – ideal after a day wandering Taormina’s bougainvillea-draped streets.
Istanbul, Türkiye
Straddling two continents, Istanbul has absorbed centuries of trade, migration and empire into its cuisine. From palatial Ottoman cuisine to street-side döner, charred meats, silky yoghurts and the crunch of just-baked simit – it’s a city that invites you to taste its storied history.
As part of the curated Dine Out experience, you’ll be guided well beyond the usual tourist menus – into the kitchens of locals, through markets buzzing with colour and even into the elegant Çırağan Palace Kempinski for a glamorous themed gala. Expect stuffed vine leaves, lamb slow-braised in clay and pistachio-laced desserts you’ll dream about on the flight home.
Marrakech, Morocco
If Marrakech had a scent, it would be cinnamon, citrus peel and wood smoke. The city’s food scene is built for the whole palate – sweet and savoury, rich and bright, traditional and improvisation. From rooftop tagines to medina market stalls, flavour here hits direct.
A cooking class at a local riad introduces you to the rhythm of Moroccan cooking: the slow coaxing of flavour, the importance of texture, the generosity at the heart of every meal. Later, you’ll head into the Soleiman Palace to raise a glass under the chandeliers and sip free-flow drinks as the sculpted domes, intricate stucco, colourful zelliges and glowing ceilings set the stage for a night of resplendence.
