The 13 Best Workshops Around the World

1.Beijing Wangfujing Calligraphy Class by Forbidden City

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 58 reviews · from $20Our pick

Meet at the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing for a hands-on Chinese calligraphy lesson with an English-speaking teacher such as Richard. Learn about brushes, ink, rice paper, seal carvings, and traditional characters. Choose a 30-minute, 1-hour, 90-minute, or 2-hour class.

“It's in a bookstore and it's air-conditioned and you get tea . You also get a history of calligraphy and how old the practice is. I learned a lot and it was lots of fun and I'm coming back”

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2.Beijing Wangfujing Calligraphy Class Nearby Forbidden City

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 56 reviews · 45 minutes - 2 hours · from $35

Meet your English-speaking teacher at Sunworld Dynasty Hotel near Wangfujing and learn brush handling, posture, basic strokes, and Chinese characters. Choose 45 minutes to 2 hours, practice on paper, then create a finished piece to take home. Richard, David, and Master Li are among the teachers named by past participants.

“It was amazing experience! You should visit this definitely.”

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3.Fez Cooking Class at Palais bab sahra

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 56 reviews · from $84

Meet at Palais Bab Sahra near Fez’s Blue Gate, shop for fresh ingredients with Mohamed, then cook Moroccan salad, tagine, couscous, and mint tea with Fatima. Your small-group class ends with a generous meal, Moroccan tea, cookies, and possible rooftop views over the medina.

“Great experience and very kind welcome! We learned how to cook chicken tajine and couscous with meat and were served other delicious foods. Thank you!”

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4.Luang Prabang: Cooking Class at the Former Royal Palace

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 51 reviews · 4 hours · from $45

Visit Luang Prabang’s morning market with a local chef such as Noi or Vannasone, then prepare several Lao dishes at Alame Restaurant near Victoria Xiengthong Palace. You will eat lunch on a riverside terrace, receive recipes, and work in a group of up to 10.

“It's highly recommended for visitors to get an experience of Lao culture and cuisines. We started with a walk through the local market and whilst the chef prepared the ingredients for the cooking, we took the time to visit the nearby temples, cafes and shops. It's a hands in cooking class - we did the cutting and cooking as guided by the sous chef of this restaurant, which is beautifully located along the Mekong River. Every dish prepared tasted so good. We had fun and great memories.”

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5.Vegan Temple Food Class, Jogyesa & Changdeokgung Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 34 reviews · from $73

Join a Buddhist monk for a hands-on vegan temple-food class, then explore Jogyesa Temple, Insadong, a medicinal herb market, and Changdeokgung Palace. English-speaking guides such as Bruce, Gina, Ron, and BJ have led the tour, which blends cooking, Korean medicine, art, and royal history.

“This was a brilliant activity. I highly recommend it. Our tour guide was excellent. Loved every minute.”

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6.“Alhambra´s Craft Workshop”

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 32 reviews · 2 hours · from $69

Join artisan Frédéric at a central Granada art school for a two-hour Alhambra craft workshop. Choose from about a dozen projects, including mosaics, Nasrid tiles, gold-leaf plasterwork, stucco, and marquetry. You will learn traditional techniques, use quality materials, and take home your finished work.

“really enjoyable after a busy schedule. it was really nice to just relax and paint these beautiful arts.”

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7.Nasrid Crafts: Only plasterwork workshop in the Alhambra

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 15 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours (approx.) · from $24

At Artesanía Nazarí in Cenes de la Vega, an English-speaking guide shows you how Alhambra-style plasterwork is designed, molded, cast, finished, and restored. You will see traditional and modern methods, then complete and decorate plaster pieces to take home. The visit lasts about two hours.

“Tour of the workshop was nice! We booked beforehand but arrived and no-one was there- we realized you could not just walk in and expect someone to know you were going to be there because you made a reservation- and had to ring the doorbell at the entrance. We were introduced to the different plaster techniques, how the molds were made with a CNC router, and shown the different molds and pouring process of the plaster. We were then given 3 random design pieces to refine and paint. We were not given boxes for the final pieces so it was kind of awkward just carrying the pieces out to the…”

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8.Baking Workshops at Fez Cooking School at Palais Amani

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 15 reviews · from $44

At Fez Cooking School in Palais Amani, you’ll knead Moroccan bread, shape traditional pastries, walk to a neighborhood communal oven, and enjoy a mint tea ceremony. The 2.5-hour afternoon class starts at 3 p.m., with groups capped at 10.

“The experience was incredible, from the location, which seems like an enchanted garden inside the chaotic medina, to the food we made and that you get to taste at the end and take home, to especially the staff! They were some of the most welcoming people we havRead more”

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9.Private Tour: Grand Palace,Wat Phra Kaew, Museum&Cooking Class

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 7 reviews · from $97

Spend a full day with a private guide visiting Wat Phra Kaew, the Grand Palace, and Bangkok’s National Museum, then enjoy a tuk-tuk ride, local market visit, and hands-on Thai cooking class. The $97 price includes transport, admissions, water, and four dishes, but not lunch.

“I had an unforgettable day in Bangkok, starting with a beautifully guided temple tour in the morning. Our guide was fantastic, offering deep insights into the history and significance of each temple we visited, from the Grand Palace to Wat Pho. The serene atmosphere anRead more”

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10.Fez Patisserie Class at Palais bab sahra

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 7 reviews · from $105

At Palais Bab Sahra in Fez medina, you’ll learn home-style Moroccan pastry techniques, prepare treats such as corne de gazelle and riba, and make mint tea. The class includes tea or coffee, tasting, and a box of pastries to take home. Confirm the exact duration when booking.

“Our cooking class was a 4 hour class where we made couscous for dinner. The food was awesome and the instructors were great - very hands on! It was cool to get to eat our creations in a lovely dinner, and fun friends we met through this class made it even better.”

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11.Hands-On Pasta and Tiramisu Class in a Florentine Palace

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $57

Join an English-speaking chef, including Thomas, inside a private Florentine palace for a hands-on lesson in three pasta recipes and classic tiramisu. You’ll cook beneath historic frescoes, share the meal with unlimited Tuscan wine, and leave with recipes to recreate at home.

“A hands-on cooking class that perfectly combined fun and learning, all in a stunning palace setting. Highly recommended to all people that love pasta.”

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12.Crete in a Day: Knossos, Soap Workshops, Olive Oil & Wine Tasting

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · 7 to 8 hours (approx.) · from $236

Spend 7 to 8 hours exploring Crete with private transport, a visit to Knossos, an olive mill and soap workshop, a traditional lunch, and five indigenous wines at Titakis Wines. Pickup is offered, and the tour runs in English for your group alone.

“Excelente comunicacion con el guia, muy amable, puntual y atento! Tuvimos la oportunidad de ver Creta en diferentes aspectos, historico, ecologico, cultural y gastronomico! El almuerzo que incluye estuvo delicioso, excelente atencion y ambiente familiar! Recomendado si quieres un tour variado y privado!”

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13.Javanese Dance Workshop with Kraton Palace Dancer

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · 1h 30m · from $24

Spend 90 minutes in Jogja learning classical Javanese dance from a Kraton Palace dancer in a traditional home setting. You’ll hear about the art’s origins, practice basic movements with a long dancing cloth, receive personal corrections, and chat over Javanese black tea.

“Loved this workshop! The teacher is lovely and highly skilled. Trying it yourself really makes you realize how difficult it is to really master this artform.”

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