If you're one of the people for whom food is the most exciting part of a holiday there's one country that needs to be on your bucket list. According to research from Titan Travel, Italy is the best country in the world forfoodies with seven of its cities named as the best for a hands-on culinary experience.

If you want to learn how to cook the best Italian food in the world, then these cities are where you need to visit. Even better, a lot of these cities are close enough together that you can explore them in one single trip. At the top of the list is Florence.

This city is jam packed with art, fascinating history and plenty of culinary classes to teach you the ropes of traditional Italian cooking. The city has an impressive 231 cooking classes with 74% of them ranked as four star or higher.

If one city just isn't going to do it for you, you're in luck. These Italian cities are close enough to explore multiple places in a single day. For example, Florence and Bologna are only 35 minutes apart on a train. From there, you can go on to Venice which is just another hour and a half.

Florence and Rome are just an hour and a half away, as are Rome and Naples. You can also travel between Milana nd Bologna in just an hour on the train.

Cassie Strickland, Product Manager at Titan Travel, said: "Today, travellers want to do more than just see the sights. They want to really experience a destination. Food is such a fantastic way to do that, because it connects you directly to local life and tradition. Taking a cooking class abroad allows you to do something, learn something, and return with a valuable skill.

"The most rewarding experiences tend to come from local chefs and family-run kitchens, where you'll not only learn recipes but hear the stories behind them."