My Ultimate Foodie Bucket List Adventures Around the World
For some, bucket lists are filled with skydives, safaris, or trekking across remote mountain ranges, and I have a few of these in mind, too. But I have a completely separate foodie bucket list that focuses on unforgettable food and wine experiences across the globe. From sipping champagne in France to dining under the sea, these are the tasty moments I want to experience. Follow along to see where my travel adventures may be going next.
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“Bucket List” or “Life Goals”?
I’ve never loved the phrase “bucket list”. It sounds morbid, and seems a desperate wish before I die. Personally, I prefer to think of these experiences as a collection of dreams or life goals. But let’s be honest: “bucket list” ranks high in SEO. With all the algorithm changes and AI creating bad articles, a little blogger like me needs all the help she get.
Plus, if using it helps more food and wine lovers find this list of incredible adventures, I’ll roll with it. Just know that I believe it’s all about savoring life, its moments, journeys, and destinations, not racing against the clock.
How Did I Find These Foodie Experiences?
I love researching travel destinations and spend hours looking up ideas, restaurants, and festivals. The worst feeling in the world is knowing that I was one street away from a particular monument or special tapas bar. So I use variations of keywords in my Google search to narrow down what I am interested in. I start with a broad phrase like “wine festivals in Italy”, then I hone in on more details, which give me more specific things to research:
- wine festivals in Piedmont, Italy
- Food festivals in Piedmont, Italy
- Wine bars in Barolo
- Michelin restaurants in Alba
If you are looking for more precise answers in your Google searches, play around with the keywords, read some of the suggestions, and then tweak your keyword search to more specific words.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s – New York, USA
A good place to start my foodie bucket list is with my namesake, Tiffany’s. The iconic Fifth Avenue boutique is immortalized not only in its exquisite jewelry but also in an Audrey Hepburn movie and a song by Deep Blue Something.
Today, the Blue Box Café offers elegant breakfasts, afternoon tea, and champagne surrounded by its signature color. World-renowned Chef Daniel Boulud inspires his menus with whimsy and tradition in a magical setting (with a bottle of champagne). It’s Audrey Hepburn meets modern indulgence.
Visiting Manhattan?
Why not add the Museum of Modern Art or a Secret Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tour? Check out Viator.com for things to do in NYC.
The Cheese Bar – London, UK
London’s food scene has exploded with innovation in recent years, but The Cheese Bar in Camden entices my tastebuds with a full menu dedicated to British cheese. Think gooey grilled cheese, baked Tunworth with garlic, and strong blue cheese.
Create your own cheeseboards, have a full lunch with cheesy pasta, or nosh on the various cheeses spinning around on the conveyor belt at your leisure. After a few bites of their blue cheese raclette, I imagine I’ll be planning a return visit before I’ve even left the table.
Lobster Festival – Rockland, Maine (August)
Maine’s rugged coastline is the perfect backdrop to the summer Lobster Festival. It’s a dream dipped in melted butter. This annual Rockland festival brings together thousands for a summer feast of steamed lobster, lobster bisque, and fresh sea air.
While lobster is the star of the festival, other seafood delicacies will be available to tickle your taste buds like crab and oysters. This 5-day celebration includes cooking competitions, a parade, entertainment, and features local brews and wines. What else could you possibly need?
Chocolate Festival – Tübingen, Germany (December)
I’ve never met a chocolate festival I didn’t like, but they have always been small, local fairs. Germany’s Tübingen Chocolate Festival takes it up a few notches. The medieval town of Tübingen transforms into a holiday chocolate wonderland, with artisanal chocolatiers showcasing rare single-origin bars, truffles, and cocoa sculptures.
Smack dab in the middle of the Christmas holiday season, the cold air enhances the chocolate aromas, and the decorations and glittering lights add to the atmosphere. I can’t think of a more beautiful way to enjoy chocolate.
Travel Tip:
Stay in Stuttgart as a central base, and visit the Christmas markets of Tubingen, Esslingen, Ludwigsburg, Karlsruhe, and Heidelberg by train.
Find the perfect hotel on Booking.com.
Buy your train tickets on Omio.
Vinum – Alba, Italy (April-May)
In the heart of Piedmont, Vinum Alba is more than a wine fair—it’s a celebration of one of the world’s most noble grapes: Nebbiolo. This springtime festival fills the town’s cobbled streets with Barolo and Barbaresco producers offering tastings, pairings, and insight into the land that makes these wines so iconic.
And what pairs better with bold reds than local truffles, agnolotti, and hazelnuts? Vinum promises a total immersion into northern Italian cuisine, and I dream of spending a weekend wandering from stall to stall, glass in hand, sampling the best of the Piedmont region. Luckily, it takes place over two weekends: the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May.
(P.S. This one is on the list for 2026!)
Champagne Houses – Épernay, France
Champagne is the epitome of luxury. No foodie bucket list is complete without the champagne houses of Épernay and Reims. The Avenue de Champagne in Epernay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is lined with legendary names like Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, and Pol Roger. Imagine walking from one great champagne house to the next, indulging in glass after glass of perfect bubbles.
Best time to visit:
Anytime is a good time for champagne! At the end of July, the region celebrates Route du Champagne en Fête, where over 20 small grower producers in the region open their doors to the public. For a party complete with DJs, antique car parade, and over-the-top Christmas lights, visit Habits de Lumiere during the second weekend in December.
Sakana & Japan Festival– Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan (February)
Held in the heart of Tokyo’s trendiest district of Shibuya, the Sakana & Japan Festival is where culinary tradition meets street food spectacle.
Picture a sushi matsuri where revered itamae (master sushi chefs) carve massive cuts of bluefin tuna with poetic precision. The air is heavy with the aromas of yakitori and butter-drenched Hokkaido scallops. Feast on plump uni, snow crab legs, seared wagyu beef, and a mountain of shaved black truffles layered over rice bowls.
Every bite is a symphony of umami, paired with a glass of crisp sake or an ice-cold Japanese lager. It’s not just a festival—it’s a full-sensory immersion into Japan’s reverence for food: a blend of art, ritual, and indulgence.
Tuna, Sushi, and Wine Festival – Zadar, Croatia (April)
Speaking of sushi, did you know Zadar, Croatia, hosts a Tuna, Sushi, and Wine Festival every April? Combining Adriatic bluefin tuna with Japanese techniques and local Croatian wines, it’s the perfect east-meets-west foodie fusion.
Zadar celebrates with cooking demos, wine tastings, and street performances, all celebrating Croatian and Japanese culture. I imagine wandering with a glass of Pošip or a sparkling brut, sampling sushi made from tuna caught just miles offshore. It’s the ultimate seafood and wine festival, celebrating two cultures in one historic destination.
Haro Wine Experience – Rioja, Spain
One of the most walkable and enjoyable wine destinations on Earth is Haro, in Spain’s Rioja region. This small town is home to six legendary bodegas, all within easy walking distance—like La Rioja Alta, CVNE, and Muga.
Wine tasting here can be as immersive or flighty as you want: visit stone cellars, sip from large format bottles, and discover the aging rituals that give Rioja its signature smoothness. And if you time it right, you can even join the Batalla del Vino—a wine fight where revelers in white throw red wine on each other. Messy? Yes. But unforgettable.
Batalla del Vino takes place in Haro on June 29 every year during the Festival of San Pedro.
Technically, I could cross Haro off my foodie bucket list as Tom and I did visit last year. But it was so much fun, I want to go back and visit again! You can read more about Haro in our post: Wine Tasting in Haro, Spain.
Tapas Festival – Valladolid, Spain (November)
Valladolid hosts a tapas competition that transforms the city into a culinary battleground of miniature masterpieces. Chefs from all over Spain descend to compete, and visitors like me get to taste the results.
It’s not just about jamón and croquetas (though they’re excellent)—here, you’ll find foie gras bonbons, squid ink tempura, and avant-garde bites paired with Ribera del Duero reds. The creativity, flavor, and sheer variety make this a must-experience food crawl on my list.
On our trip across Spain, we visited Los Zagales in Valladolid, a tapas bar that consistently gets recognition for its creative tapas. They have a special menu of all their winning tapas for the last 10 years.
Les Grands Buffets – Narbonne, France
France may be synonymous with haute cuisine, but Les Grands Buffets in Narbonne is the temple of decadence. It’s a buffet, but not like any you’ve ever seen.
Seriously, check out diners’ Instagram reels and you’ll be drooling in your shoes. With the largest cheese selection in the world, a tower of lobster, and enough caviar to fill a party salad bowl, you may feel like you fell into the Willa Wonka Factory for foodies!
Choose from a list of 150 wines at producer prices (not retail) and leave room for at least 5 desserts (this is France after all!)
The experience is extravagant, unashamedly French, and one of the most decadent dining concepts I’ve ever heard of.
Dining Under the Sea – A Bucket List Experience Like No Other
One of the most surreal and unforgettable culinary dreams on my foodie bucket list is dining under the sea—literally. Picture this: I’m seated at an elegant table, surrounded by a panoramic glass tunnel, with vibrant marine life swimming past me in every direction. It’s not just dinner; it’s a full immersion into another world. From the Maldives to Norway, a handful of exclusive underwater restaurants offer this once-in-a-lifetime experience where gastronomy meets oceanography.
The most iconic is probably Ithaa Undersea Restaurant in the Maldives, set 16 feet below the surface. As you savor a multi-course tasting menu of fresh seafood, you’re surrounded by the colors, movement, and serenity of the Indian Ocean. It’s part fine dining, part aquarium dream.
It’s immersive, intimate, and strikingly beautiful. Dining under the sea turns a meal into a memory, reminding us that food isn’t just about taste—it’s about the atmosphere and wonder.
Just for Fun:
Top 4 Underwater Restaurants and Hotels
Ithaa, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island in the Maldives
5.8 Undersea, Hurawalhi Island Resort in the Maldives
Ossiano, Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, UAE
Koral, The Apurva Kempinski resort, Bali, Indonesia
Final Thoughts
Food and wine are how I explore the world. They connect culture, history, geography, and people in ways that few other things can. My foodie bucket list isn’t just about taste—it’s about the destination and the moment.
Whether I’m sipping bubbles in a Parisian cellar, devouring tapas in Valladolid, or toasting with tuna in Zadar, I know these experiences will be the ones that stay with me long after the plates are cleared and the glasses empty.
What’s on your foodie bucket list?
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