Destinations from Manchester Airport you can’t miss if you love food

Whether it’s tucking into the local cuisine or picking your daily selection from the breakfast buffet at your B&B, food is a big part of any holiday – but if you’re planning a mini break, why not put it at the centre of your next trip?

Manchester Airport’s route network of more than 200 destinations is unrivalled in the North – and amongst those destinations are some of the foodie capitals of the world.

So much about a culture can be gleaned from its food – and TV series from the likes of Rick Stein and Gordon Ramsay mixing travel with cookery, along with social media foodie influencers, have popularised a culinary take on holidays and travel.

But if you fancy a foodie odyssey of your own, here are a dozen destinations with direct flights from Manchester to whet your appetite.

San Sebastian

Fly to Bilbao with easyJet from £55pp return

This small coastal city in Spain’s Basque region has made a name for itself in the world of gastronomy, with the highest concentration of Michelin star restaurants in the world.

If you don’t have the budget for fine dining every night though, try out the local pintxos bars – a Basque version of tapas. San Sebastian’s Zurriola Beach, facing out into the North Atlantic with choppy waves, is one of Spain’s best beaches for surfing. San Sebastian is just over an hour from Bilbao, which has direct flights from Manchester with easyJet.

Tuscany

Fly to Pisa with Ryanair from £49pp return

Italian food is world-famous, and if you’re looking for an al-fresco sampling of some of its famous cuisine with a quintessentially Italian backdrop, head to Tuscany.

Some of Italy’s most famous gastronomic exports hail from this region, including pappardelle pasta, Florentine steak and Chianti wine – but you’ll find favourites from across the country in the open-air eateries that line the streets of cities like Pisa and Florence.

If you’re looking fr a quieter time away from the hustle, head to Montecatini Terme, a picturesque spa town outside Pisa beloved by celebrities including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Audrey Hepburn.

Lyon

Fly to Lyon with easyJet from £56pp return

France gave the world ‘haute cuisine’, and nowhere will you find this epitomised better than in the south-eastern city of Lyon, France’s culinary capital – which has no fewer than 20 Michelin starred restaurants and is home t a number of big name chefs.

Rustic eateries are popular with the locals, though – and you’ll find plenty to get your mouth watering on a budget too, with hearty dishes like coq au vin complemented by local cheese and charcuterie among the best France has to offer.

Singapore

Fly to Singapore with Singapore Airlines from £672pp return

Singapore is a melting pot of cultural influences from across Asia and beyond, with large Chinese, Indian, Southeast Asian and European communities living side by side – so it should be no surprise that its cuisine is something of a fusion of flavours.

The city is well known for its ‘hawker centres’, which can be best described as indoor street food markets, with an eclectic mix on offer. Best sellers often include dishes like Hainanese chicken rice, chilli crab and fish ball noodles.

Mumbai

Fly to Mumbai with IndiGo from £425pp return

The Gateway to India is a large triumphal arch on Mumbai’s waterfront, but in many ways it’s a metaphor for the city as a whole – and that makes Mumbai a great starting point for a tourist wanting to throw themselves into the world of authentic Indian food.

People from across the country are drawn to Mumbai, the financial capital – and that means you can find markedly different cuisines here – from Keralan coconut milk-based curries, to Rajasthani thali and Punjabi and Kashmiri dishes, which often dominate the menus of Indian restaurants and takeaways in the UK.

New York City

Fly to New York JFK Airport with Aer Lingus from £340pp return

It’s the city that never sleeps, and neither do its kitchens. You can find outstanding food here 24/7, with influences from communities that have settled over the past three centuries, from German and Italian to Mexican and Arabic recipes.

New York’s most famous dishes take these inspirations and create something original, however – like buffalo wings, cream cheese bagels, clam chowder and pastrami on rye. Manhattan’s Lower East Side is considered the centre of the city’s food scene.

Krakow

Fly to Krakow with Ryanair from £62pp return

Pierogi dumplings, kielbasa sausages with mustard, and Zurek soup, served in a hollowed out loaf of rounded bread, are all iconic Polish dishes and few cities do them better than Krakow. Its charming, cobblestoned Old Town is the perfect setting for sampling what Poland’s culinary scene has to offer.

The Jewish Quarter, which has been rebuilt and reinvigorated since the horrors of World War II, hosts restaurants and bakeries serving the traditional fare of the country’s Jewish community – and many of these dishes, like jam-filled doughnuts

and bagels, are now globally renowned after being introduced to the US by Polish Jewish immigrants. The factory of Oscar Schindler, made famous by Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, is at the heart of the Jewish Quarter and well worth a visit while you’re here.

Thessaloniki

Fly to Thessaloniki with Jet2.com from £126pp return

Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki, and its surrounding region are the origin of many of the country’s most famous culinary exports including Feta cheese, Bougatsa pastries and Frappé coffee.

The city was recognised in 2021 as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in honour of these contributions, and its vibrant foodie scene with bustling family-run tavernas serving mezedes, or small plates, and ouzo, a traditional local aperitif. Once you’re done eating, explore the Upper Town – the remains of a fortified Byzantine settlement overlooking the modern city.

Munich

Fly to Munich with easyJet from £78pp return

Picture Germany – and Bavaria in particular – and the image conjured up is a scene straight out of Oktoberfest, Munich’s annual folk festival, where local food and drink plays a central role. You can sample this fare at any time of year, though, at one of Munich’s many grand beer halls.

Some of these, including the Hofbrauhaus, Paulaner and Augustiner, export their beers abroad and have become global brands. Here you can try them in the place they were brewed, along with a bratwurst, sauerkraut and mustard. Lederhosen optional!

Casablanca

Fly to Casablanca with Royal Air Maroc from £210pp return

Moroccan food is growing in popularity worldwide, but in Casablanca you’ll find a unique blend of influences, from Berber ingredients and spices, to French cooking methods like braising, popularised during French colonial rule, giving rise to dishes like tagine.

Its location on the coast means seafood is an integral part of the mix here, too, unlike cities in Morocco’s interior. Some of the best and most authentic food can be stumbled upon by chance when navigating the warren of streets in Casablanca’s Medina.

Istanbul

Fly to Istanbul with easyJet from £71pp return

Grilled meats, cooked on a spit, seafood, unleavened breads and olive oil are synonymous with Turkish cuisine – and you’ll find all of these in Istanbul, the country’s largest city – but something else is going on under the surface.

A cosmopolitan city where East meets West, you’ll find restaurants, bars and coffee houses experimenting with their menus and offering European, Arab or even Far Eastern twists on classic dishes. As you eat your way around the city, stop to take in world famous sites like Topkapi Palaca and the Hagia Sophia.

Dubai

Fly to Dubai with Emirates from £605pp return

As with many aspects of life in Dubai, its food scene has gone viral, bringing its gastronomic innovation to a younger audience and turning some of its top chefs – like Nusret Gokce, AKA ‘Salt Bae’ – into TikTok celebrities.

More recently, Dubai Chocolate, a pistachio-laden bar developed by a local chocolatier, has spawned imitations across the world, including by leading brands like Lindt and Ritter Sport. Copying recipes is one thing, but other destinations would be hard pressed to recreate some of the dining experiences Dubai offers – like the Atmosphere restaurant, on the 122nd floor of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.