Trogir with a local chef

Enjoy a comprehensive cultural experience that takes in Trogir’s history and architecture as well as some of Croatia’s best food and wine. This guided tour includes markets, fortresses, cathedrals and palaces and culminates with a feast of Croatian food in a lush botanical garden. Private guides will lead you along the way and introduce you to Croatian produce as they elaborate on the history of the sights you see. At the end, your guides will also cook you a traditional local meal. This unusual tour gives a broad overview of the region and its many pleasures and offers a far-reaching introduction to Croatian culture.

Your guide will pick you up at your hotel in Šibenik, Trogir or Split and take you to the green market in Trogir, where you’ll meet a local chef and take a tour of the stalls. With fresh fruit and vegetables, local honey, olive oil, cheese and wines piled high along the aisles, there’s plenty to discuss, from Croatian culinary traditions to how to choose the best and tastiest produce.

The chef will walk you through the stalls, pointing out interesting items and choosing ingredients for the afternoon’s lunch menu. Across the street, discover the fish and seafood market, where local fisherman offer the previous night’s catch of sea bream, grey mullet, red snapper and prawns.

Once you’ve toured the markets, you’ll be joined by a local guide who’ll take you through the cobblestone streets of Trogir’s old town, pointing out interesting buildings and filling you in on local history. You’ll see the 15th-century city walls and Kamerlengo Fortress, defenses that allowed Trogir to flourish into one of the richest cities in the Balkans under Venetian authority. You’ll also pass through Saint John Square, where the 13th-century cathedral is adorned with a Romanesque portal carved by Radovan, one of Croatia’s greatest artists.

Nearby is the town’s loggia, which serves as a daily concert venue for traditional klapa music performers, and the former Garagnin-Fanfogna Palace, which is now the town museum with exhibits on Trogir’s traditional costumes, culture and artwork.

After finishing your walking tour, you’ll be driven to the botanical gardens at the base of Kozjak Mountain, where the cooking and tasting part of the day begins. Your chef will prepare a five-course meal using the ingredients you shopped for in the morning, while a colleague will take you through a wine pairing that features a variety of hand-selected Croatian wines. Once your meal is finished, you’ll be driven back to your hotel.