Gastronomic cycling tour in Piedmont

The Langhe region is where barolo, barbaresco, asti and moscato wines come from, as well as many delicious goats cheeses, chestnut honeys, hazelnuts and - yes - Ferrero Rocher. Spoil yourself with this nine-day luxury cycling tour that involves tutored tastings . . . alright then, eating (and drinking) lots, then working it off on a bicycle as you gently ride the 140km between hotels. Alba, famous for its truffle market, is en route, as is Bra, home of the Slow Food movement - a great place for a very long lunch.

· Headwater (headwater.com 01606 720199) from £979, half board.

Food safari in Singapore

Singapore has southeast Asia's best foods all gathered hygeinically together in this shiny city-state. Little India, Chinatown, Geylang Serai and Katong each offer distinctive, delicious cuisines. Penetrate them with local experts from Makansutra, who organise "mainstream" and "off the beaten track" food safaris, plus a fascinating midnight tour. Expect superb chilli crab, fragrant kaya toast, ginger pork, Hainanese chicken rice, fish-head curry and bouncy warm pranta breads with fresh coconut water, ginger tea and Singapore slings keeping you cool. DIY tours are also offered, including Singapore's Wet Markets, Street Food Masters and Hawker Legends.

· 0065 6438 4038, makansutra.com. Hotel 1929 (00 65 6347 1929, hotel1929.com) has rooms featuring vintage designer furniture from £58 per night.

Stroll and scoff in Brussels

Chocolates, patisserie, beer, pralines, beer, chocolate-sprinkled waffles, beer and, er, beer. The My Gourmet Trail (bruxellesinternational.be, click "visitor" then "discover" then "walks") offers all of these on a two-hour walking tour. Number 17 of the 19 stops is Delirium Café (Impasse de la Fidélité, 4A, deliriumcafe.be), which offers 2,000 types of beer. You could spend two hours just perusing la carte. There's more delirium for lovers of langes de chat boudoir biscuits at Galler on rue au Beurre, and enjoy bread with creamy fromage frais and - you guessed it - a beer, at A la Mort Subite (rue Montagne-aux-Herbes Potagères 7, alamortsubite.com), a favourite hang-out of the late Jacques Brel.

· Chocolate Guesthouse (00 32 486 681 655) has rooms including breakfast from €95 per night.

Food republic in Ireland

Eveleen and Pamela Coyle share their bubbly enthusiasm for Eire's good food and drink on their Fabulous Food Trails. They offer days out from Dublin in County Wicklow (with a glamorous champagne picnic), or a series of two- or three-day escorted trails in and around Cork, Galway and Connemara or Kilkenny. The Coyles take you to meet butchers, bakers, smokers, chocolatiers and some of Ireland's best chefs, putting you up overnight in small hotels and country houses, where you feast from specially-designed menus.

· An all-inclusive three-day weekend costs £850; 00353 1497 1245, fabfoodtrails.com.

Apples and pears in Normandy

La Route du Poiré is a 75km circuit starting at Domfront and swinging through the lovely communities of Passais-la-Conception and Barenton, where La Masion de la Pomme et de la Poire offers free tours and tastings. This little-visited corner of south Normandy is a gentle mix of market towns, half-timbered barns and working farms, most of which make and will sell you their own ciders, perries and preserves. Chateaux, manors and the flower-bedecked village of Saint-Fraimbault all vie for your attention, as will the very alcoholic eaux-de-vie on offer en route.

· parc-naturel-normandie-maine.fr click "Traditions et Savoir Faire" for a route map. Brittany Ferrries (brittanyferries.com, 08705 360 360) sails Portsmouth-Caen from £108 return, for a car and two passengers. French Connections (01206 337 441, frenchconnections.co.uk) rents out The Cider Press, a converted barn sleeping two in Barenton, from £185 per week.

Gourmet in Yorkshire

Based in the minster city of York, Gourmet Yorkshire suggests six well-researched, do-it-yourself trails in God's Own County. Drive to Harrogate for a cream tea at Betty's and return via glorious Ramsgill-in-Niddersdale, or visit Northallerton, Ingleby Arncliffe, Osmotherley and Bedale, finding wonderful comestibles at each stop. There are also foodie (and drinkie) walking tours around York, not to mention the Whitby Fish Tour and the Wensleydale Cheese Trail, for gourmets (and for Gromits).

· gourmetyorkshire.co.uk. Marmadukes (0845 460 2020, marmadukeshotels.co.uk) in York has rooms from £113 per night.

Foodies welcome in Quebec

For more than three centuries, the coat of arms of Île d'Orléans - just 15 minutes from Old Quebec on the St Laurence River - has been emblazoned with "J'accueille et je nourris" ("I welcome and I feed"). Three good days are needed to visit the island's best producers, all of whom welcome visitors with tours and tastings. There are distillers of spirits, makers of wine and cheese, organic orchards and free-range duck farms. You can sample spreads and jellies, smoked fish and charcuterie, and make a picnic en route, or feed your face further at L'Auberge Le Canard Huppe (198 chemin Royal, Saint-Laurent, 001 418 828 2292, canard-huppe.com, doubles from around £35).

· Splendid gourmand routes are suggested on parcoursgourmand.com.

Big cheese in Austria

The Bregenzerwald area is famed for its ski routes, its mountain walks, and its cheese trail, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, between May 30 and June 1the world's largest cheese board, extending a mighty 1km, will be built. The Cheese Trail comprises 69 alpine cheesemakers, innkeepers and grocers, each marked with a large K. You'll be encouraged to try mountain cheeses, and to eat dishes such as kasknopfle - the region's rib-sticking, heart-stopping cheese noodles.

· Bregenzerwald is accessible via Friedrichshafen (ryanair.com) and Zurich. High quality tourist info and accommodation lists from bregenzerwald.at. Romantikhotel Hirschen (05512 2944, hirschenschwrzenberg.at) in Schwarzenberg, a 250 year old Baroque inn, has doubles from €132 a night.

Natural flavours on the Outer Hebrides

Clean waters, green grass, lively air, soft rain - small wonder that the Hebridean Islands should produce such great food. Stag Bakeries (60 Bayhead Street, Stornoway) on the Isle of Lewis bake superb Abernethy biscuits, while on King Edward's Wharf, Harbour Seafoods have the tastiest, sweetest crabs and scallops; find organic meats at Ardbhan Organics (Whiteshore Kyles, Paible ) on North Uist; Macleans Bakery (Uachdar, Balivanich) on Benbecula is famous for oatcakes; visit Salar Smokehouse (Loch Carnan, salar.co.uk) on South Uist for superb flaky salmon; buy Scottish tablet at the Toffee Shop on Barra. These, and more producers form the Outer Hebrides Food trail (outerhebridesfoodtrail.com, 01870 610324). Travelling around the islands on buses and ferries is easy, but cycling allows you to eat more (cyclehebrides.com has maps and information).

· Gatliff Hebridean Hostels (gatliff.org.uk) has camping barns and youth hostels across the islands.

Wilderness and wine in South Australia

There are smart wine tours galore in the Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley, but for a taste of less developed South Australia, visit Kangaroo Island. Three hours from Adelaide, next stop Antartica, KI is super-sensitive to its fragile environment, has a flourishing food culture, and some excellent vineyards. Come here for wilderness, ocean seafood, wild honey farms, marron (local crayfish) ponds, dairy visits, exhilarating air, huge empty beaches and Australia's kindest welcome. Tourkangarooisland.com is a great resource, offering tour operators from luxe to backpacker. goodfoodkangarooisland.com offers lots of food and wine trails.

· The Rookery (0061 885 531 263, rookery.com.au) is a modern B&B with airy rooms overlooking Christmas Cove, from £97 per night.