gourmet:NounA connoisseur of good food; a person with a discerning palate.Of a kind or standard suitable for a gourmet.Italy is an oasis for all foodies, gourmands, gastronomes and the epicurious. But with so many cities and food and wine tour options, how do you go about picking the one? When planning your vacation to Italy and when thinking about incorporating gourmet food, wine, markets, etc into your itinerary, make sure you have some basics narrowed down about which regions in Italy are gourmet hotspots. Here are our top three and here's why.1. Rome. Like Italians in every southern Italian city, Romans know how to do down home comfort food. It is full of local specialties, cheeses, pastries, breads (pizza bianca!) and the whole gourmet lot. Not only that, Rome is home to some of the most historical outdoor open-air markets and there are almost too many of them! Like Campo dei Fiori- in what other Italian city is a food and flower market one of the largest tourist attractions in line with the likes of say the Trevi fountain? The great part about spending a gourmet weekend in Rome is that it is also close enough for a day trip to Orvieto in Umbria to do a gorgeous wine tasting from the lush green heart of Italy.2. Piedmont. Piedmont, and especially cities like Turin, is the undiscovered gem of Italy. Piedmont is full of all the food products and wines (think truffles from Alba and wine from Barolo) that food and wine enthusiasts pay top money for all over the world. Why only experience a Piedmont wine from the shop or a wine bar if you can take a Barolotour throughthe wineries that produce it? Or perhaps go on a truffle hunt with trained mushroom experts and gather your own? If making a trip to Piedmont, top places to visit are Turin, Bra and Alba. These cities are chock full of gastronomic delights, especially Turin which is also a mecca of chocolate- it is where Gianduja (a chocolate hazelnut sweet) originated!3. Florence. And who can plan a vacation to Italy without adding Tuscany? The word that comes to mind is mostly Chianti but you need to know there is much more to Tuscany than Chianti. There are amazing seasonal fruits and vegetables that make up a varied cuisine and like Rome, Tuscan cities like Florence has a pleuthera of food markets. If you find yourself in Tuscany, we suggest spending at least a weekend in Florence of course and to take a walking market tour with a cooking class. Learn how to cook the Tuscan way with Italian mammas!Interested in planning a gourmet trip to Italy? Leave it up to us! Visit our complete list of tours and cooking class options and feel free to contact us any time with your Italian questions.