Planning a foodie trip is no simple task. I research more for one foodie vacation than I did for my entire senior thesis in college.
I’m borderline OCD, 100% type A, and the oldest daughter. That means I don’t just plan these vacations, I make sure they’re absolutely perfect.
And as a very demanding and budget-friendly foodie, my hyper-organization has reached new, unprecedented heights. I spend months scouring travel blogs, Reddit, local recommendations, and going through hundreds of restaurant reviews to find the best places to eat during my trips.
Because guess what? Finding affordable, quality places to eat in a different country is hard.
And I don’t want you to suffer like so many tourists do. Tourists who plan sightseeing, find the best hotels, and find all the most Instagrammable spots… but forget to plan the most important part: where to eat!
They inevitably end up at tourist traps eating mediocre food—or worse… at McDonald’s. *shudders*
That’s why I’m going to show you, step by step, how to plan a foodie trip to any city in the world. We’ll use a foodie weekend in Paris as an example (since anyone who’s planned a trip to Paris knows how chaotic that can be).
Here’s my exact strategy:
#1 Research Specific Dishes (By Country AND By City)
No matter where you’re traveling to, it’s essential to do a TON of research.
Your goal? Identify specific dishes you’d like to try that are unique to the country and the city or region you’re visiting. (Remember, the beautiful thing about gastronomy is that it’s deeply regional. To find the best eats, you have to eat like the locals.)
If you’re planning a trip to Paris, France, you probably know that:
French fries are French (that’s an easy one, though the Belgians might disagree).
Crepes are a popular dessert in France.
They also eat snails in France (bonus points if you know the real name: escargot).
Ratatouille isn’t just a movie—it’s also the name of a French veggie dish.
But there are so many more incredibly delicious dishes you’d miss out on if you stopped there. That’s why research is essential.
While planning a foodie trip, your research will include going through menus, pictures, YouTube videos, travel guides, restaurant recommendations, and social media (though I don’t recommend trusting every recommendation or viral foodie “must-try”).
For example, while planning my trip to Paris, France, and going through what felt like a gazillion menus, I learned that these dishes are also very popular and authentic:
Steak Frites: A medium-rare entrecôte (rib-eye) steak with fries and a delicious house sauce.
Confit de Canard: Slow-cooked, extra-tender duck served with roasted potatoes and a salad.
Croque Monsieur: The elegant French version of a ham-and-cheese sandwich, but with a crispy toasted layer of cheese on the outside.
Bœuf Bourguignon: Beef stew with tender, flavorful beef, potatoes, and veggies.
Foie Gras: A spreadable cream made from the fattened liver of a duck or goose.
Steak Tartare: A raw, seasoned ground-beef mixture typically served with a raw egg yolk on top.
Once you’ve immersed yourself in the cuisine of the country you’re going to visit, and know what the 5-10 most popular and iconic dishes are, you’re ready for step two.
#2 Choose Your Must-Try & The Wild Card
Not all of the authentic dishes you research will make you drool. You know your stomach best. If you have a phobia of slimy textures in your mouth, escargot probably isn’t for you.
Plus, you probably won’t have time to try them all, anyway. Choose 1-2 must-try dishes per day that you’ll be traveling.
Since I was only going to be in Paris for two days, I decided that my must-trys were:
Steak Frites
Bœuf Bourguignon
Croque Monsieur
Confit de Canard (but only if I had time—and stomach space)
I also recommend trying a wild card. This is a dish (or restaurant) that might be a little bit outside of your comfort zone, but piques your curiosity nonetheless. Who knows? Your wild card might end up being the dish you dream about for years to come.
#3 Research Restaurants By Dish
Now that you’ve identified the dishes you’re going to try, it’s time to find authentic restaurants that will do each dish justice.
Google searches like “where to eat bœuf bourguignon in the 11th arrondissement” or “best croque monsieur in Paris” will provide clues that will lead you to your final destination.
I use a combination of Google Maps, foodie blogs, and social media to go through restaurant menus and find the specific dishes I’m looking for—along with photos and prices. After going through a lot of photos, you’ll be able to tell which ones are authentic and high-quality (and fit within your budget).
For example, while searching for the perfect place to try steak frites, I came across the following restaurants:
Relais de l’Entrecôte—With a 29€ double-service meal (meaning two rounds of steak and fries), this was the most popular option. But… after seeing a few more honest reviews (and seeing that it often has over 2-hour wait times) I decided it was overhyped and didn’t want to risk it.
Le Relais de Venise—Very similar to the first option, it also had long lines and wait times for the same 30€ double-service meal. Deemed overhyped, didn’t make the cut.
Le Bistrot Paul Bert—Recommended by Les Frenchies as one of the most flavorful steak frites dishes. However, after seeing reviews on Google and pictures of a very small steak dish for 48€, I decided it was too much for too little.
Bistrot Victoires—At 13.90€, this was a very affordable option, but the pictures I saw in Google reviews didn’t have a sauce. No sauce, no go.
A few days later, I was able to narrow it down to a few final contenders:
Black Angus—A more modern, hip version of the classic steak frites. With drool-worthy photos, great reviews, and at 29€ per plate, this was a very convincing option.
Brasserie Des Prés—An affordable 20€ steak frites with the option of garlic parsley butter or bearnaise sauce.
L’Atelier Entrecôte & Volaille—A 19.90€ lunch menu option of a single-pass steak frites, or a 29€ double-pass version with unlimited fries and the signature house sauce.
I ended up going to the L’Atelier Entrecôte & Volaille—and I’m so glad I did. I had the most incredible steak frites and enjoyed every bite.
Is this a lot of work? Heck yeah it’s a lot of work. I told you this takes weeks—if not months. But if you want to make every meal on your dream vacation count, research is essential.
And if you don’t have time to do all this intense research—there’s good news. I’ve created foodie itineraries with complete maps, every restaurant you must eat at during your trip, and even things to do in between meals for cities all over the world. These are just a few:
Paid subscribers have complete access to each of these foodie itineraries—and new ones that come out every month. For just $8 a month, you can save yourself from tourist traps and make every single bite on your trip 100% worth it.
#4 Make a Map and Plan In Between Meals
Once you have a list of the restaurants you’d like to try during your trip, it’s time to put them on the map. I like to use Google’s My Maps, but you can use any map that works for you. Your goal is to:
