An Artistic Tour Of Amsterdam With BonAppetour

About BonAppetour

BonAppetour is a new service that aims to help travelers see a city as a local. Specifically, this service acts similarly to Airbnb in that you can look through various options in different cities all over the world. In this case, instead of looking for an apartment, you can look for a local to enjoy a food experience with! Many experiences offered on BonAppetour are meals cooked by locals at their homes, but there are some experiences that also include activities such as a tour of the city or a market followed by a meal.

In my experience, booking a meal with a local is reasonably affordable as it is only slightly more expensive than eating a meal out at a restaurant. The extra cost is worth it since you get the added joy of meeting and getting to know locals as well as getting to taste a home cooked meal. As with anything, you might consider checking reviews beforehand to make sure that the experience is what you expect it will be.

Booking an experience

Booking an experience with BonAppetour is simple. First, just search for the city you plan to travel to on their website, which can be found linked below. BonAppetour experiences can be found in numerous cities around the world, but top cities for experiences include Rome, Singapore, Barcelona, Tokyo, Berlin, Florence, Paris, and Milan. I recently had the opportunity to book a BonAppetour experience in Amsterdam, so do be sure to search for the city you plan to visit!

The next step for booking your experience is to browse the experiences available. Perhaps in Paris you’d like to learn to make macarons, or in Rome, maybe you’d like to eat a home-cooked Italian meal. When you find the experience you’d like to book, select the option, a date, and add the number of guests. Then all that is left to do is book the experience!

A BonAppetour experience in Amsterdam

As I mentioned above, I recently had the opportunity to book a BonAppetour experience in Amsterdam. I selected an afternoon tour of the city followed by a traditional Dutch light lunch. I met my tour guide, Petra, at the famous Museum Square and the tour was to take us through off-the-beaten-track locations in Amsterdam while on the way to her art studio/apartment.

The walking tour highlights included a stroll down Van Breestraat, a street with numerous art shops and antique stores, and the streets that are collectively called the Nine Streets (three parallel streets, also with cute shops, galleries, and cafes). During our walk, we popped into a local cafe for a pick-me-up and a snack. During our break from walking these cool streets, Petra told me about her artwork and the ever-changing art scene in Amsterdam, topics she is clearly passionate about. Rejuvenated from our little break, we continued our walk through a portion of the Red Light District and Chinatown, and then made our way to a newer section of the city towards her flat.

Once at her apartment and studio, she invited me to look at her art while she prepared a simple lunch of open-faced, cold sandwiches and hot tea. The sandwiches included delicious Dutch cheese and roast beef. I must say that it felt great to sit down for a sandwich after a several hour walking tour of the city! After lunch, Petra showed me how she created her art and talked more about her upcoming work. It was interesting to be able to meet with a local in Amsterdam, and a talented artist!