--- ---  # The 7 Countries Anthony Bourdain Has Visited Most by [Max Bonem / Food and Wine](https://time.com/author/food-wine/) ## Max Bonem / Food and Wine Sep 29, 2017 7:52 PM UTC  Busy street corner in old town Hanoi, Vietnam. Lots of people are commuting on motorbikes or cars. The street is lined by stores and appartment buildings. Busy street corner in old town Hanoi, Vietnam. Lots of people are commuting on motorbikes or cars. The street is lined by stores and appartment buildings.Getty Images by [Max Bonem / Food and Wine](https://time.com/author/food-wine/) ## Max Bonem / Food and Wine Sep 29, 2017 7:52 PM UTC Over the past 17 years, [Anthony Bourdain](http://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/meet-7-people-anthony-bourdain-has-traveled-most) has traveled to over 50 different countries while filming his four different TV shows (_A Cook’s Tour, No Reservations, The Layover_ and _Parts Unknown_). We’ve seen [Bourdain](http://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/4-most-recurring-themes-anthony-bourdains-tv-career) go everywhere, from hellacious caves in Jamaica to rural Iran to every corner of the United States, where he’s filmed 68 episodes alone. Here are the 7 foreign countries Bourdain has visited most. ## Spain (7 episodes) Bourdain’s love of [Spain](http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/chef-dispatches-spain), where he’s filmed seven episodes, runs deep. While his two main focuses in the country have been profiling [Feran Adria](http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/ferran-adria) and shedding light on the Basque city of [San Sebastian](http://www.foodandwine.com/syndication/anthony-bourdain-san-sebastian), Bourdain has also spent time exploring Spain’s two largest cities, along with towns located in the south. Now that his cinematographer Zach Zamboni spends half the year in Spain (after marrying into a Spanish family), expect the Spain episodes to keep coming. Episodes include “San Sebastian: A Food Lover’s Town” (_A Cook’s Tour_), “Decoding Ferran Adria” (_No Reservations_), “Spain” (_No Reservations_), “Madrid” (_No Reservations_), “El Bulli” (_No Reservations_), “Spain” (_Parts Unknown_), “San Sebastian” (_Parts Unknown_). ## Brazil (7 episodes) While [Bourdain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbUHvKIAWrM)’s interest in Brazil is no doubt tied to his still-growing obsession with [Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu](http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/anthony-bourdain-wins-his-first-jiu-jitsu-competition), it began with his love for the [_carioca_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9ZrE5AEDxQ) lifestyle and, of course, [caipirinhas](http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/caipirinha). His seven Brazil-focused episodes have taken him to many parts of the country that the rest of the world is almost completely unaware of, including Bahia, Minas Gerais and deep into the Amazon. Episodes include “How to Be a Carioca” (_A Cook’s Tour_), “Brazil” (_No Reservations_), “Brazil: The Amazon” (_No Reservations_), “Rio” (_No Reservations_), “São Paulo” _(The Layover),_ “Bahia, Brazil” _(Parts Unknown),_ “Minas Gerais, Brazil” (_Parts Unknown_). ## China (8 episodes) While Bourdain has collected a deep knowledge of many individual countries’ cuisines, China is one that he routinely says he will never and could never fully know. It is too vast, too old and too complex, yet he continues to make television there with eight episodes chronicling [Mainland China](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS7VeNcTXJU), along with [Hong Kong](http://www.foodandwine.com/travel/asia/bao-la-how-eatdrink-through-hong-kong) and [Macau](http://www.foodandwine.com/video/pork-chop-buns-tai-lei-loi-kei-macau), so far. Episodes include “Asia Special: China & Japan” (_No Reservations_), “From Shanghai to Shangri-la” (_No Reservations_), “Hong Kong” (_No Reservations_), “Harbin, China” (_No Reservations_), “Macau” (_No Reservations_), “Hong Kong” _(The Layover),_ “Shanghai” (_Parts Unknown_), “Sichuan” (_Parts Unknown_). ## Vietnam (8 episodes) There is no country that Bourdain speaks about more [lovingly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMrgQ%5FdOyhk) or romantically than [Vietnam](http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/chef-jenn-louiss-guide-vietnam). Heck, one of his _No Reservations_ episodes even chronicles his attempt to find and buy a house in Vietnam. Vietnam might just be the country that Bourdain knows best, outside of the US, of course. He’s navigated viewers through the entire country, from Hanoi in the north to the Central Highlands to deep into the southern Mekong Delta. Episodes include “Cobra Heart – Foods That Make You Manly” (_A Cook’s Tour_), “Eating on the Mekong” (_A Cook’s Tour_), My Friend Linh (_A Cook’s Tour_), “Vietnam: The Island of Mr. Sang” (_No Reservations_), “Vietnam: There’s No Place Like Home” (_No Reservations_), “Vietnam: Central Highlands” (_No Reservations_), “Vietnam” (_Parts Unknown_), “Hanoi” (_Parts Unknown_). ## France (9 episodes) Bourdain has filmed a few episodes in countries tied to his own family’s heritage, including Paraguay and Uruguay. However, there is no escaping just how [French](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFZmGQ0vWMg) Bourdain truly is. One of the first episodes of his first show, _A Cook’s Tour_, features him and his brother revisiting their French father’s hometown, where they summered as kids. Additionally, the very first episode of _No Reservations_, along with the 100th, was filmed in Paris. While he often talks about how he wishes he was Italian, Bourdain has strong ties to his family’s [French homeland](http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/traditional-french-food). Episodes include “Stuffed Like a Pig” (_A Cook’s Tour_), “France: Why the French Don’t Suck” (_No Reservations_), “Brittany” _(No Reservations_), “Provence” _(No Reservations_), “100th Episode – Paris” _(No Reservations_), “Burgundy” _(No Reservations_), “Paris” _(No Reservations_), “Lyon” (_Parts Unknown_), “Marseille, France” (_Parts Unknown_). ## Italy (10 episodes) Italy has served as the focus for 10 episodes of Bourdain’s multiple shows, which ties for the #1 spot outside of the United States. In particular, his blatant love affair with [Rome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO2IZO6o3lg) is evident in the beautiful production of the last two shows he’s filmed there. Additionally, both his ex-wife and [current girlfriend](http://www.foodandwine.com/news/anthony-bourdain-just-posted-first-photo-his-new-girlfriend) both claim Italy as their home country. While Bourdain will never achieve his dream of actually being Italian, he’s obviously trying to come as close as possible. Episodes include “Sicily” (_No Reservations_), “Tuscany” _(No Reservations_), “Venice” _(No Reservations_), “Sardinia” _(No Reservations_), “Rome” _(No Reservations_), “Naples” _(No Reservations_), “Emilia Romagna” _(No Reservations_), “Rome” _(The Layover),_ “Sicily” (_Parts Unknown_), “Rome” (_Parts Unknown_). ## Japan (10 episodes) [Japan](http://www.foodandwine.com/video/japans-oldest-soba-shop) is the country that sparked Bourdain’s 20-year travel journey in the first place. Before he ever wrote _Kitchen Confidential_, Bourdain was sent by his then-boss to [Tokyo](http://www.foodandwine.com/local-flavor-international/tokyo-aoyama) to help open a restaurant, which was his first proper trip outside the United States. It led to at least 10 trips back over the past 17 years. Bourdain’s love of [Japanese food](http://www.foodandwine.com/video/austin-filmmaker-explores-cultural-history-japanese-izakayas-in-new-film) and culture is unabashed and the respect he pays to the country as a whole is simply unmatched. Episodes include “A Taste of Tokyo” (_A Cook’s Tour_), “Dining with Geishas” (_A Cook’s Tour_), Eating on the Edge of Nowhere (_A Cook’s Tour_), “Asia Special: China & Japan” (_No Reservations_), “Tokyo” (_No Reservations_), “Japan” (_No Reservations_), “Japan: Cook It Raw” (_No Reservations_), “Tokyo” (_Parts Unknown_), “Okinawa, Japan” (_Parts Unknown_), “Japan” (_Parts Unknown_). _This_ [_article_](http://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/7-foreign-countries-anthony-bourdain-knows-best) _originally appeared on_ [_FoodandWine.com_](http://foodandwine.com) The 7 Countries Anthony Bourdain Has Visited Most ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4962795/anthony-bourdain-most-visited-countries/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4962795/anthony-bourdain-most-visited-countries/"},"headline":"The 7 Countries Anthony Bourdain Has Visited Most","datePublished":"2017-09-29T19:52:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:57:57.243Z","description":"The TV host certainly has his favorites","url":"https://time.com/4962795/anthony-bourdain-most-visited-countries/","keywords":["Living","Travel","onetime","onetimetravel"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8485aa7873c5c8d6/6988d0c0cf40a86aedc480a0/gettyimages-520741570.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Max Bonem / Food and Wine"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8485aa7873c5c8d6/6988d0c0cf40a86aedc480a0/gettyimages-520741570.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Busy street corner in old town Hanoi Vietnam","caption":"Busy street corner in old town Hanoi Vietnam","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4962795/anthony-bourdain-most-visited-countries/","name":"The 7 Countries Anthony Bourdain Has Visited Most"}}]}] ```