Emilia Romagna is known as the gastronomy capital of Italy and for good reason. You’ll be hard pressed to find a bad meal anywhere in this area. It’s also the region where Parmesan cheese, Balsamic vinegar, and Prosciutto are made. Of all the areas we visited in Italy, we truly enjoyed our time here most. To really best explore this area, I would recommend a rental car, but there are trains between cities and a decent bus system within some of the cities. Here’s how we spent 4 days in this region.

Day 1: Parma

Drive into the city or arrive via train.

Start your day at the Piazza Duomo and checkout the the cathedral museum, the cathedral, and baptistry (about 8 euro/pp, includes pretty detailed audioguide). The baptistry was really fascinating, a great display of art.

• 

• 

After exploring the cathedral, grab lunch. We recommend Trattoria Corrieri. It’s a very large restaurant, so it was easy to get in without a reservation. They serve traditional dishes from the area including the famous culatello salami, for a great price.

• 

• 

• 

After lunch, we highly recommend heading to the Antica Corte Pallavicina Relais for your stay. This is not sponsored in any way, we just truly enjoyed every minute at this bed and breakfast, and it’s a food lovers dream. The castle is located about 30 minutes outside of Parma, easily accessible by car.

• 

• 

• 

Check-in and deposit your bags in your room and take some time to explore the grounds. Talk to any of the amazing staff and they can give you recommendations for walking tours. We took a short walk down to the Po river and caught a glimpse of the early sunset before heading back to the B&B to check out their Culatello museum.

• 

• 

Culatello is probably the most prestigious salumi in all of Italy. It is made from the rear muscle of the thigh and cured for a minimum of 12 months in the ideal climate in Parma. The biting winter cold and humidity give the culatello it’s sweet taste. We had never tried it before in the US, always hearing more about Proscuitto than any other Italian cured meat. The museum was quaint, informative, and fascinating. The staff members were nice enough to end the museum tour with a walk through their own Culatello cave.

• 

• 

The smell will definitely awaken your appetite, which is perfect since they have a Michelin starred restaurant. We enjoyed a wonderful meal highlighting the culatello, for about 100 euro each. They have a second restaurant that is more casual if you don’t feel like a fancy meal that still serves several different types of their Culatello. Enjoy a nightcap with their amazing bar selection before heading to bed.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Day 2: Modena

In the morning, be sure to take time to enjoy the extensive breakfast buffet at Antica Corte and maybe purchase a few of their homemade jams, pickles, or vinegars for gifts before heading to Modena.

• 

• 

We recommend pre-booking a morning tour at the Caseifico Sociale 4 Madonne dairy in Modena (15 euro/pp, includes tasting) to learn all about how Parmesan cheese is made. Highly recommend a morning tour, as they are not making cheese in the afternoon. The tour lasts about 1 hour.

• 

• 

• 

• 

If time allows, book a tour the same morning at the Giuseppe Giusti Balsamic Museum, which is only about 5 minutes away. They offer a free tour that can be booked in advance that lasts about 1 hour and explains the complicated process of making true Balsamico di Modena. There is an opportunity to purchase their products at the end of the tour, which also make great gifts or souvenirs.

• 

• 

• 

After your tours, head into the city center and deposit your items at the hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Cervetta 5 and loved it. Check out the Duomo (where Pavarotti had his funeral) OR if time allows and you’re into cars, check out the Ferrari museum.

• 

• 

• 

• 

For dinner, we cannot recommend Osteria Francescana enough. It’s ranked the number 1 restaurant in the world right now, for good reason. We were only able to get lunch reservations, but really it was more spectacular than words can describe. The reservation process is complicated and challenging. We tried on multiple occasions and were stuck in queue for hours. We did some research and discovered that American Express partners with the restaurant and that with their platinum card, the concierge service is able to assist with reservations. Even with this, we were not able to get a reservation at first, but a few weeks later, we got an e-mail from Amex of a cancellation and we were in! We definitely felt like having the concierge helping us made a difference, but there is a $550 yearly fee for the card, so beware. (It was worth it for us due to all the other benefits of the card, but may not be if you don’t travel often).

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

If you have trouble getting reservations at Osteria Francescana, you may want to check out Franceschetta 58, Massimo Bottura’s second restaurant that is significantly less pricey and easier to get into. Marcelo’s parents dined here on their last trip to Italy and raved about it.

Day 3: Bologna

Have breakfast at your hotel or cafe in Modena then load up the car and head on to Bologna.

After you check in at your hotel (we stayed at the Hotel Portici and loved the location), head over to the Mercato Delle Erbe to explore the produce stalls. There are also GREAT cheap and delicious lunch options here. Highly recommend you find yourself a nice plate of pasta before moving on.

• 

• 

After lunch, head to the Piazza Maggiore, the main square. Head in to the cathedral and check out the Neptune Fountain outside. Spend the remainder of the afternoon wandering this gorgeous town. Make a pitstop at Sorbetteria di Castaglione for the most amazing gelato we had on the entire trip.

• 

• 

• 

For dinner, you cannot go wrong, but we did find that many of the trattorias did fill up for dinner if you did not have a reservation. We were able to get a table at A Balus, which had excellent pastas at reasonable prices.

• 

• 

Day 4: Bologna

After your morning coffee, take time to wander the shops in Bologna. We found a great kitchenware store called Aguzzeria del Cavallo and purchased some pasta tools that we are so excited to put to good use.

For lunch, you may want a break from all the pastas. I recommend getting a Piadini or Pannini – these are sandwiches that are served at stands or restaurants throughout the city. We tried to get porchetta panninis at I Panini di Miro, which we read were incredible, but alas they were closed for the winter holiday.

After lunch, we recommend checking out the Teatro de Anatomico/Library. Both of us being science nerds, we really enjoyed this tour of some of the old university anatomy lecture halls and wandering the library, which is still used to this day.

• 

• 

• 

To end the day, I recommend you pre-buy (you must reserve ahead) tickets to climb the Due Torri, for stunning views of this town. We went right before dusk, and got a beautiful view of the city as the sun was starting to set. Highly recommend!

• 

• 

• 

• 

For dinner, again, check out any of the amazing trattorias in this foodie town. If you feel overwhelmed, ask your hotel concierge or Air BnB host for their favorite local place.

If you are planning a trip to Italy and are a food lover like us, we cannot recommend this region enough! It’s a great break from the busy and touristy cities of Rome, Florence, and Venice, and has arguably the best food in all of Italy. It’s also a great place to learn about Italian cooking and pasta making, as we saw SO many cooking classes offered. We did not book ahead for these, but they sounded like a blast. If you’ve been to this region before, please share your favorite places/hotels/things to do in the comments below!