Our family did an Eat Mexico tour in Mexico City last year. When we made plans to visit Puebla this time, we booked another tour. Because we have young children, we booked a private tour. Maria was an excellent guide. Her English is very good, she is extremely knowledgeable about the history and cuisine of Puebla, and she’s super nice.
Taste Of Puebla
Downtown Walking Tour
Visit a Traditional Market
Eat Famous Local Snacks & Candies
Led by a born-and-raised Poblana, this tour offers an inside look at the city’s exciting food scene, which is completely distinct from Mexico City. (And it’s hard to navigate unless you know a local.) You’ll try a half-dozen popular foods, including cemitas, mole, spit-roasted tacos árabes, and Puebla’s nationally recognized candies.
Highlights
Stroll through the aisles of the historic Mercado La Acocota
Try the best cemita in the whole city—a Poblano sandwich stacked-high with cheese, meat, and salsa, served on crunchy bread
Visit an old-fashioned Pueblan candy shop, with treats invented by nuns
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Trip Details
Trip Details
Price
Adults: $94USD ($1,699MXN)
Children (8-13): $32USD ($576MXN)
Young children (0-7): free
Private per adult: $117USD ($2,099MXN)
Availability & departure time
Daily at 1PM
Meeting point
The Tourism Information Office near Puebla’s main public square (Zócalo), located on Av. Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, between Ayuntamiento and Calle 2 Norte streets
Duration
3 hours
Group size
Minimum 1 person, maximum 6 people
Included
- As much food as you can eat (enough for a large breakfast and lunch combined)
- One agua fresca
- A taste of pasita (a traditional alcoholic beverage from Puebla)
- Filtered water throughout the tour
- Traditional Mexican candy
- Generous tips for all street vendors
Not included
- Transport to/from the meeting and end points of the tour
- Souvenirs
- Tip for your guide
- Additional personal beverages, outside what’s included on the tour itinerary
What to bring
- Comfortable walking shoes
- A sun hat
- An appetite
- Water to stay hydrated
- Tip for your guide if desired
- An umbrella during the rainy season months (June through October)
Participation requirements
Guests should be able to walk for three hours, with some stops to rest; most of the streets are cobble-stone. Families traveling with children in strollers interested in this tour, please contact us at hola@eatmexico.com to discuss some alternate options.
Number & type of staff for tour
You’ll be accompanied by one of our local, bilingual culinary guides. Each has a degree in gastronomy and/or has worked in local kitchens. They’ll enrich your experience by sharing their knowledge of Puebla’s food scene, their own personal traditions, and the vendors’ stories. Read more about our guides here.
Taste Of Puebla
Nationally known for its mole, tacos, sandwiches, candies, and fried masa snacks, the city of Puebla is a food lover’s paradise. We’ll start the tour near Puebla’s Zócalo, before we criss-cross through the nearby neighborhood, trying local specialties along the way.
You’ll feast on tacos árabes (grilled, spit-roasted pork in pita bread) with smoky chipotle salsa, which were invented not too far from the Zócalo. You’ll try a crunchy pelona, a sandwich of shredded beef, Mexican cream and salsa served on fried bread. You’ll try dessert, too, with a tasting of artisan candies such as tortitas de Santa Clara (a sort of cookie topped with pumpkin-seed icing), originally developed by the local nuns.
At the oldest market in Puebla, La Acocota, you’ll learn about typical Mexican ingredients and taste native fruits. You’ll indulge in a taste of mole poblano, the spicy, chocolate-tinged sauce that Puebla is famous for. And you’ll try the cemita, Puebla’s most famous sandwich, filled with pounded-thin, breaded steak, stringy quesillo, sweet chipotles, and bitter pápalo herb, all on a lightly crunchy roll.
Because usually our stomachs will be filled nearly to the limit, we end with a taste of an artisan liqueur. You’ll finish the tour knowing why Puebla’s food scene is unlike any other.
Important Facts about Our Puebla Tour
- The tour is conducted rain or shine.
- We like to blend in with the locals. Dress in comfortable clothing, and leave any flashy or expensive clothes and jewelry at home.
- This tour includes a lot of food. We recommend arriving hungry, and not eating breakfast beforehand.
- Vegetarians can be accommodated on this tour, but meat and vegetables will be cooked on the same surface.
- Feel free to bring your own water bottle. We’ll stop to refill it with purified water.
- Puebla is about a 2 ½ hour drive from Mexico City. If you plan to arrive on the same day you’ve scheduled your tour, please allow yourself plenty of extra time to get to Puebla as there can be delays on the road caused by heavy traffic and/or construction.
- If you’d like to make any purchases (see our FAQ on souvenirs), bring cash and a small tote bag. Credit cards are not accepted everywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
3 hours.
No. This tour meets at the Tourism Information Office near Puebla’s main public square (Zócalo), located on Av. Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, between Ayuntamiento and Calle 2 Norte streets. It will end at Bar La Pasita on Av 5 Ote 602 in the city center. If you need help getting back to your hotel at the end of the tour, your guide will help you find the nearest subway station or an Uber.
Yes! You’ll try at least 6 items, and you can eat as much food as you want. Our guide will let you know how many stops there are throughout the tour so that you can pace yourself—no one knows your appetite better than you.
If you plan to tip your guide, you should bring enough cash to cover that—about 10 to 15 percent is standard. You may also choose to bring a little bit extra if you’d like more beverages or wish to purchase any souvenirs along the way. All the food you can eat, plus at least two drinks and purified water, are covered by us.
Of course! Our guides are culinary experts and speak perfect English.
Not really. It is a good place to buy food or Mexican ingredients. The market does not carry items such as colorful ceramics, Mexican textiles or folk art.
We have offered this tour since 2011 and never had an issue with violence or theft. That said, Puebla is a touristic city and pickpocketing can happen. If you wear plain clothing, leave your jewelry at home, and keep your wallet and cellphone tucked away, there should be no problem.
Yes!
Have more questions? Check out our FAQ page!
See what previous guests have to say
We toured with Maria who is a delight – full of food knowledge and enthusiasm. We tried many of the delicious Puebla food specialities from different dedicated vendors. A highlight for us was a visit to Mercado de la Acocota – fantastic and off the beaten track. This was our first day in Mexico and could not have been better!