If you are looking for a truly authentic experience, and want to learn about the local life and way of living in Sarajevo, then our Sarajevo food & craft tour is ideal for you. During this tour, you will have the opportunity to visit some of the oldest streets in the city of Sarajevo, and our local guide will show you old workshops along the way. You will be able to try and taste the finest savoury and sweet traditional specialities of Bosnian cuisine.
The tour starts at a hidden gem in the historic centre of the city, where you will have the opportunity to try the freshest bakery goods you will see exactly why this bakery is a local institution in Sarajevo. You will pass through many secret and small streets in the Old Town of Sarajevo, where a lot of amazing legends and beautiful stories have their origin.
Also, this is a unique opportunity for you to connect in one tour everything that you may hear and see when visiting Old Town from the cultural and traditional aspects but also try great Bosnian food.
The tour kicks off at a hidden gem in the historic centre of the city, where you will have the opportunity to try the freshest bakery goods – here you will see exactly why this bakery is a local institution in Sarajevo. Following this, we will go along the magical street which had the status of a “carsija”, meaning bazaar, during the Gazi Husrev Bey in 1521, when over 60 shops had been built there. There you will visit the store of the family who owns a slipper shop, where this artful handmade craft has been passed down through the family from generation to generation for nearly 200 years.
This long time tradition probably will end with this generation, while the owner’s son has decided to change professions and become a pilot. So, you should definitely not miss this chance now. One more interesting fact is that Robert De Niro, during his visit to this shop, has bought a pair of these unique shoes for himself.
We will continue our tour in the spirit of tradition – you will have the opportunity to hear more about how Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the few European countries that has its own Bosnian carpet – as a special form of applied, folk and traditional art. The tour will continue in the street named after the famous writer – Safet Beg Bašagić, who wrote some of his major works and is considered to be one of the founders of the Bosnian literature.
Today, on that street, there is a CULT bakery, where various bakery products have been made for almost 90 years. You will have the opportunity to try SOMUN which is a traditional bakery product that is of special importance to all believers of the Islamic faith during the holy month of Ramadan.
After visiting the bakery, we will continue to the local pastry shop where many Sarajevo generations grew up. Here, you will have the opportunity to try Boza which is a non-alcoholic and refreshing drink made from corn (corn flour), yeast, sugar and water. This delicious drink is also a trademark of this patisserie.
The first mentions of the potter’s trade-in Sarajevo date back to 1489, and today the street is in the same place as it was in the 16th century, when it was built, in which the masters of this craft have been creating copper art for centuries.
If you are looking for authentic souvenirs – this part of the tour will be a fantastic place for you.
Street an indispensable part of Bosnian cuisine is the traditional pie or stuffed pastry. And our visit continues right towards the place where, in addition to tasting various pies, you will have the opportunity to try Burek, which for locals is far from ordinary food, as they say, burek is a ritual, a lifestyle. What’s so handy about this dish? You can eat it at any time of the day, including breakfast.
You will also have the opportunity to meet the last brush craftsman in Sarajevo – during our visit you will see how brushes are handmade today, and according to this craftsman – handmade brushes can be used for up to half a century.
During this tour, you will also visit one of the most famous restaurants in the city. Here you will get a taste for and learn about traditional Bosnian meals such as sogan dolma, sarma and others, that are served in traditional metal dishware.
Once we regain our energy, we will go ahead and visit a gold shop – in which Sarajevan goldsmiths have been carrying out projects with the National Museum, which is important for our cultural heritage.
Here you will find replicas of jewellery worn by Bosnian queens and kings. Today, their jewellery is worn by Angelina Jolie.
We will, at the end the tour with the most delicious handmade baklava – the queen of all baklava and of course served with the true delight – Bosnian coffee.
After the tour, you will surely be richer with your experience of Sarajevo through the eyes of native citizens.
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We did a Sarajevo Food Tour with guide Armina on Dec 9.
A fantastic 4 hours of good food, walking and enriched with the culture of Sarajevo.
Our frist stop is at City Market where local buy meats, cheese, poultry and eggs. Here Armina brought us to one stall which sells variation of cheeses and sausages. We were given a tasting platter of few cheeses and sausages and that got us all buying.
Next we enter a small eatery Kiseljak and tasted small portion of grilled meats – beef, veal and chicken. This place is the 1st grilled shop in Sarajevo and the meat taste very good.
Another must try is the potato burek. This is so good. Crispy and flaky on the outer layer. Comes dessert we went into Baklava Ducan for two types of baklava.
Continued on to Pazarske Mantije followed with Boza. We loved this corn fermented drink and bought a bottle to try in the evening. Not to forget the bosnia coffee which we try at Bosanska Kafana. Lastly the traditional sogan dolma ( stuffed onions), Sarma (stuffed cabbage rolls and stuffed grape leaves roll)
Not only our stomach were overload with yummy food, we are enriched with Sarajevo old town pasts.
Highly reccommend her.
This was a fantastic tour and in the end was just the two of us so it felt really personal, our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and answered all our questions. It was a really extensive tour with lots of fascinating stops. We did it on our first day in the city and this really helped us to frame the rest of our visit. 10/10 would recommend.
Tariq was knowledgeable and helpful with his approach to eight guests who were experiencing Bosnia for the first time. Pace of the tour was perfect. We highly recommend the tour!
I had a delightful morning with Hanan, guiding me and just one other guest on a tour of the food and crafts of Sarajevo. She is a lovely, positive, intelligent young women, with native-level English skills. Despite the rain, she led us like a pro and was very generous with her time, extending the experience beyond the designated schedule. Some highlights included the food market (the cheese and meats!!), a gorgeous bakery (that I returned to on my own), a restaurant with traditional cooked dishes, cevapcici from a local haunt, Bosnian coffee and baklava. In between the food stops, we had an opportunity to digest a bit as we visited local craftsmen and women, who are (against all odds and with no government support) keeping up the old traditions–in copper making, slipper making, brush making (and he is 1 of only 4 craftspeople in all of the Balkans still doing it the old way). In addition to learning about their crafts, I enjoyed hearing about the personal stories and journeys. All the while, Hanan was available to translate and answer any questions about Bosnian culture. Highly recommend!
We had the most amazing time on this tour!! Hanan was so knowledgeable, kind & upbeat. We loved hearing about each item of food and craft and it was such a great way to see Sarajevo. My highlight was the Bosnian Coffee at the end and my friend’s highlight was the cheese & cured meats at the market. 10/10 would recommend.