I am a huge fan of food tours. I like food. I like experiencing a variety of foods. And I am fascinated by cultural and culinary history. So, if I am visiting a new city, I often look to see if there are food tours available. Sure, the tours take you to pre-arranged places that might not be the most famous restaurants in an area, but they are generally representative of the food of that part of the city. I love how they can be hyper-local, visiting places that shaped the development of neighborhoods and often show you street art that sets the vibe for that neighborhood.
Unfortunately, most food tours are walking tours that are not generally wheelchair accessible. So I was excited to see as I was looking at options for a visit to Milan, Italy that there was a food tour that advertised itself as wheelchair accessible.
In perusing Get Your Guide for activities in Milan, I came across the Milan: Street Food Walking Tour and saw in its “About this Activity” section that it said it was wheelchair accessible. To be on the safe side I sent a message to the tour organizer (FollowMi Around Tours) to confirm that the tour is *actually* accessible (and not just them accidentally clicking that box on the info page). The response I received back was – “Yes it is possible to do the tour, it is accessible with the wheelchair. Your tour guide will text you one day before the tour. Please let me know if you have any allergy to tell. Best regards, FollowMi around team”
While that wasn’t an abundance of information, a basic confirmation was enough to convince me to sign up. Sure enough, Marco, the tour guide, reached out the day before the tour through WhatsApp (I highly recommend installing and setting up WhatsApp before you travel as that will be the main communication platform for any tour or activity outside of the US). He wrote – “Thank you for getting in touch with us, regarding your request we’ll be doing five stops on the tour, the gelato and pastry shop we’ll visit are both take out places so there’s no need to enter the shops, while the two restaurants and the shop we will visit for a special tasting are all accessible, one of the restaurants has two steps at its entrance but I don’t think that should be a problem.”
So that was a little less reassuring, but I decided to give it a go and see what happened.
We were instructed to meet up in front of the Uniqlo department store in central Milan just across from the fancy Starbucks Reserve location. Marco messaged me through WhatsApp letting me know what he was wearing as he approached, which was helpful in locating him in the crowd. We met up with seven other people from the USA, England, and Poland and started the tour. Be aware this review is based on the places my group visited; these sorts of tours often rotate what restaurants they visit depending on day of the week or other factors.
As to the accessibility of the “walking” on the streets on Milan for the tour – for the most part, yes it was wheelchair accessible. There were no areas where stairs were required or where there were no curb cuts. A few times we encountered construction barriers where I had to backtrack and find a way around. And a couple of times the sidewalk was too narrow for my wheelchair, so I had to roll on the street, but most pedestrians were in the street anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal. There was some distance covered, but not significant enough to be tiring to the walkers and everything was fairly flat.
Our first stop was a tasting at Giuseppe Giuste – a maker of balsamic vinegar since 1605. I adore balsamic vinegar and add it to probably more things than I should (a favorite breakfast of mine is cottage cheese with balsamic vinegar), so I was really excited that this tasting was part of the tour. It was a bit frustrating at first as I arrived at the building and (like most places in Milan) there was a step to get up into the building. Not fully accessible.
Since I am an ambulatory wheelchair user, I was able to stand up, navigate the step and my daughter picked my chair up over the step. The tasting was amazing as there were rich and complex flavors in the aged vinegars that are nothing like the cheaper grocery store versions we encounter in the US. But as this first stop on the tour was not actually accessible, it made me wary as to what the rest of the tour would hold.
The next stop was just down the street at the trendy Ciacco – a gelato lab committed to experimental flavors and highest quality in season ingredients. It is a must visit in Milan as a recipient of the coveted Tre Coni (three cones) award which is based on quality, respect for the raw material, and for the health of the consumer. We waited in line, but again as we got to the door there was a large step to get inside and no room at all for a wheelchair to approach the counter. So as the rest of the group went inside to choose their flavors, Marco called out to me some of the flavors to choose from as I sat parked on the sidewalk.
And it was amazing gelato (that I totally forgot to take pictures of). There was an orange spice flavor that was like Christmas in one bite. While I highly recommend the gelato there, their “accessibility” involves someone other than the wheelchair user going inside to order, pay, and bring the gelato outside to you.
We had a longer ‘walk’ to our next stop at Materia Pizzeria. They weren’t quite ready for us, so we sat outside for a few minutes, and I tried to figure out how I was going to get into the building as there were multiple steps to get inside. But once they opened the doors for us and saw me in a wheelchair, they immediately went and brought out a ramp for me to use. It was a bit steep, but was wide enough that I didn’t fear slipping off the sides. The wait staff also quicky moved tables and chairs out of the way so I could get to the table reserved for our group. It would have been nice if that access was readily apparent from the outside, but they really did everything they could to help me access the restaurant, which I greatly appreciated. 
My wheelchair was able to pull up to the table where the group was being treated to some refreshing crisp glasses of white wine. While I was fully expecting traditional pizza at this tasting stop, I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced to a dish that can only be described as pizza doughnuts.
Technically it was trio of Montanarine – fried pizzas, described on the menu as “baked and seasoned raw with tomato and Lucano pecorino, ricotta and Cetara anchovies with lemon powder, cream of courgettes with black pork pancetta and flakes of Lucano caciocavallo.” It was so different than anything I have had before and a delight to try. And while “anchovy pizza doughnut” is probably not something I would ever order for myself, that is the beauty of food tours, you get to discover amazing tastes that you probably never would otherwise.
The next stop on the tour had the best tasting food of the night but was the least accessible.
La Bottega Marchigiana is a storefront and restaurant that focuses on high quality cured meats and breads. I was disappointed to see a step to get inside the building, but decided to stand and have my daughter carry my chair inside. But once I got inside it became apparent that the table we were assigned at the far back of the restaurant was in no way accessible with my wheelchair. There were no stairs to navigate, but the other tables were so tightly packed together that a wheelchair could not have navigated the space. I was able to pull out my cane and slowly make my way to the table in the back (which was near the restrooms anyway) and the staff took my wheelchair behind the deli counter.
I was not pleased with this solution, but it was the quickest and easiest in the moment and since I was able to walk a short distance, it sufficed. The focaccia we had filled with meat, burrata, and tomatoes was crazy good – intense flavors that testify to the highest quality of ingredients. I am truly envious of commitment to quality seasonal ingredients that just seems second nature in Milan.
Our final stop on the tour was sadly again an inaccessible store.
Mascherpa is an artisanal tiramisu boutique. Even just writing that sentence that such a place exists amuses me as it contrasts so extremely with the chain store monopolies that generally surround me in the US. The store was adorable; its cheery blue store front draped in cascades of fragrant blooming jasmine. But it was also tiny, and its entrance was down a handful of steps. While there was limited seating indoors, there was no possible room for mobility devices like a wheelchair even if I could have gotten in.
Due to its size, our entire tour group stayed outside while Marco went in to get us jars of tiramisu which of course were absolutely delightful. It was the perfect sweet ending to the evening.
Was the tour accessible as advertised? Not really. Did I have a good time? Absolutely.
Our tour guide Marco was incredibly personable, patient, and helpful throughout the evening. He was knowledgeable without being boring and he had the skill to bring a diverse group of people together over yummy food as a perfect host should. The stories of his own family growing food in season and treasuring the bounty of the earth really enriched our own experience of the food.
I do recommend the food tour for what it is. You will be well taken care of with Marco and you will get to try some amazing food. But be aware while I was able to somewhat make the tour work as a wheelchair user it required multiple times where I needed to stand and navigate a few steps and have someone else pick up my wheelchair over steps. I was frustrated that what was advertised as accessible wasn’t in actuality fully accessible.
I could not have managed without help or without the ability to walk some. But as these sorts of tours go, it at least attempted to travel an accessible path and there was a willingness to work with me to make it doable. The route itself wasn’t too strenuous either with about 2km or 30min of “walking” total.
I hope sharing my experience as a wheelchair user helps you decide if this Milan food tour is something that fits your ability. I highly recommend the tour itself, and Marco is a fantastic guide, but it is not accessible to all.
