Bologna, Modena and Parma

Allow me to mention an additional, fabulous destination that can be visited on a day trip from Bologna (though spending 2 or even 3 nights there would be totally justified): Ravenna. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site with many Byzantine mosaics. I've visited twice (in summer 2015 and September 2022) and found it amazingly short on foreign tourists. Cruise ships are now using it as a port (an inconvenient one) for Venice, so I don't know how much longer Ravenna will be such a pleasant place to go. Ravenna is not near Modena or Parma.

I remember at least on post mentioning food-related tours that visit Parmesan cheese producers (Parma) and balsamic vinegar producers (Modena). I imagine Bologna is a common starting point.

There are several high-performance-car museums, etc., in Emilia-Romagna. Google will probably find them easily.

There are so many great day trips from Bologna, I’d stay at least a week

Parma, Modena, Ferrara, Verona, Ravenna…

We made sure to get to Ravenna last fall before the cruisers discover what is there

In addition to the usual famous spots in Parma (the Duomo above all), I highly recommend visiting Florilegium (https://www.parmawelcome.it/en/place/discover-parma/what-to-see/churches/san-tiburzio-oratory/).
And don't forget to eat cappelletti in brodo. They are a kind of pasta only made in Parma and its province, they are somewhat similar to tortellini. Every family here has its own traditional recipe. We usually make them during Christmas time, but we love them all year round.

Everyone ignores Reggio Emilia, the city that put the Reggiano in Parmigiano Reggiano.

You have the Via Emilia and a train line from Bologna (leaving every 20 minutes), stopping at Castel Franco Emilia, Modena, Reggio Emilia and then Parma, on its way to Piacenza.

Parma has an amazing museum cathedral complex in addition to the foods that are famous from there, and some of the best filled pastas in the world. They were also home to TWO artistic masters of the Renaissance, Correggio and Parmigianino.

Modena has one of the most amazing food markets in existence, and a place considered by some to be the best restaurant in the world (mileage will vary), whose ebullient chef can often be seen in said market.

Depending on whether your interest is centered in Bologna (a culinary wonderland in and of itself), or out in the Parma-Modena will determine where to stay, as will your interest in driving around, staying maybe in a agriturismo (recommended experience imho), and what you want to do beyond the food.

I'm in the ridiculously early phases of planning a 20th anniversary trip for 2025 that will be centered in E-R. I'm thinking a cooking class in Bologna that includes a market shop, so an all day affair. That's one. A visit to the INSANE church conglomeration of Santo Stefano, and maybe a walk through the Palazzo Comunale, that's a second day. Bologna also looks like a good city for a walkabout, with porticos and porticos and porticos. And food stores, and restaurants, and snack shops and more. So, I think three days there, at least for us. We'd probably climb the Torre degli Asinelli, with 498 narrow wooden steps and tilting 7.5" off the vertical on it's 318" height.

We would likely decamp from Bologna via a rental car out to the countryside. Stay at an AT. Parma has the Camera di San Paolo and the Pilotta Museums. We might take a second market tour/cooking class in Modena to get the most out of Mercato Storico Albinelli. We don't have kids, so we'd do a day of wine tasting, but I'm planning on splitting the two weeks with Tuscany, so we might do that there instead, as the wines are a bit better regarded. Parma and Modena both have cathedrals, and my rule is to never skip one. And then there's the Ferrari tour if I can sell my wife on it. But Cameron Hewitt (sp?) recently posted about his 2022 travel, and he spent time in Modena, spent no time in the cathedral (unimaginable to me) and no time in a museum, and LOVED it. Makes a great pitch for it (and getting off the Rick sites and into some less densely touristed Italy).

I'm gonna put a couple links here for ya to let you see what's on offer (and maybe for my future reference ;-):
https://www.visitmodena.it
https://www.parmawelcome.it/en/
https://www.reggioemiliawelcome.it/en
https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en

I'm not saying don't visit Ravenna. Everyone who goes there raves about it. I might be compelled to give my wife a day in Ravenna to either get a drive out to San Secondo for the Culatello di Zibello (the salumi of divinity) and the Spalla Cotta di San Secondo or the Ferrari museum.

Gotta find out why the wife and kids want to go to this lightly touristed (by Americans) part of Italy, and match that to your interests. I'm sorry I'm in such a preliminary stage of planning, else I'd have more for you. I had a plan for 2017, but we went to Piemonte and Val D'Aosta instead.

PS- Do not let anyone poop on Lambrusco. It is a fun wine the pairs brilliantly with the rich food of the region. Lovers are gonna love, haters are gonna hate, I just like a nice light, acidic, carbonated wine with my cheese, ham and sweet syrupy delicious vinegar adjacent condiment, and my tortellini en brodo.

I forgot to mention the Teatro Regio in Parma. The interiors are incredible and, if you happen to be there during Festival Verdi, do not miss one of the shows. During the year, they also offer open rehearsals of other operas before their debut (https://www.teatroregioparma.it/en/spettacolo/prove-aperte-16). Price is 10€.

@Max - You should look into Langhirano too, that's where prosciutto di Parma is made. There's also the beautiful castello di Torrechiara along the way there.
Reggio Emilia is nice, I went to uni there, but if you all have to pick just one between Reggio and Parma, the latter is the best option. However if you have time, you can definitely add Reggio as a daytrip.

If possible stay in the the historical center of Bologna. We have found apartments through Airbnb and being able to fix atleast breakfast and having a washing machine is wonderful. The historic center of Bologna is very walkable. You may want to avoid the university district. The students tend to hang out late talking and laughing (may be hard to sleep).

based on things that I have read, I was thinking about 3 days in Bologna, to visit Ravenna, and hang out in Bologna, and then 3 days in Parma to visit the food scene and relax. Does that sound ok?

@gigua noted. Saw a couple salumificios on the map around it. Leoparti, Conti, LaPerla. Any recommendations?

Can’t bring any home unless they have a U.S. inspector, which puts the salumi below the wine, aceto di Modena, cheese, and such. I brought home some aceto from Reggio Emilia that I picked up in Tuscany back in 2007, and I still dream about that stuff.

I’ve stayed in these locations in Emilia-Romagna: Parma - 2X, Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna. I had planned to take a day trip to Modena, but it was pouring rain, so I stayed in Parma.

While you’re within a quick train ride, I would also add Mantova which is north of E-R.

Ferrara has a castle that your kids would enjoy, too. And bikes are popular in Ferrara. We had a fantastic meal at Trattoria da Noemi.

Parma has my favorite church interior in Italy, so I was glad to finally get back there last year. A favorite restaurant there is La Forchetta. I stayed at the Palazzo Dalla Rosa Prati Hotel both times. Besides other activities people have mentioned, I also like to go over to the park & walk or ride a bike.

Last year I just had a day trip to Ravenna instead of staying there a couple of nights again. From Ferrara, my daughter & I took the 8:27am train to arrive before 10am and be one of the first in the timed reservations for the gorgeous mosaics. I really like Ravenna and would have stayed there again, but my daughter had limited time in Italy.

I also really like Cremona, and it’s another outside E-R, but an hour by train from Parma. The clock tour is wonderful to climb (has a solid interior core), and it’s the town of Stradivari - violins.

Both Parma & Cremona have Gioelia Cremeria gelato shops. : ). And never pass up an opportunity to have the authentic fresh Parmesan cheese & Modena balsamic - amazing!

@max - I don't have a specific recommendation, but Salumificio La torre could be easier to get to. La Perla and Conti could have better views of the valley though. I may be wrong, but I think vacuum-sealed food such as prosciutto, culatello, salame, etc. are ok to get on the plane home. You should look into that.
If you want to visit another spot about salumi, where culatello is made, I highly suggest going to Antica Corte Pallavicina in Polesine Parmense. The restaurant is very good too and they also offer tours.

In Parma, in addition to Palazzo Dalla Rosa Prati, Hotel Torino is also a great location to stay at.
I also have quite a few restaurants to add, but I have to go to work now. I'll try to post it in the next few days.

I'm going to add to the Parma voices. An absolutely lovely town. If it works into the schedule, attend a home football match.

Hi again, this is my list of fave places to eat here in Parma. These are all easily reachable on foot if your accomodation is in the city centre.

Cheap eats:
- Da Walter (La clinica del panino). If you eat meat, you need to try "panino col pesto". Here in Parma pesto is kind of a horse meat tartare with condiments.
- Pépen. It is known for "la carciofa", a torta salata (kind of quiche) with artichokes and cheese.
- Oste Magno.
(These first 3 places are all very loved by locals and by students too.)
- Panino d'artista. This place has 2 separate menus: one for traditional dishes and one for panini and focaccia. I usually go here for the latter.
- La reverie. A cute place targeted to vegeterians.

Restaurants:
- Bar Trattoria Da Antonia. Only open for lunch (mon-fri).
- Osteria Rangòn. This is good for horse meat.
- Osteria Artaj.
- Trattoria Corrieri. A bit on the touristy side but it's good.
- Officina Alimentare Dedicata. Try the pasta dishes.
- Trattoria del Tribunale. (Avoid Il Tribunalino, which is close but imo the quality and service were not the best.)
- Trattoria Sorelle Picchi.
- F.I.S.H. You guessed it, if you want to eat fish this is the place.
- Atmosfera. Great for traditional dishes, but also greek food.

Pizzeria:
- Oven.
- Pizzium.
- Passione e tradizione.

Pasticceria&co.:
- Pagani. One of the oldest bakeries in Italy.
- Latteria 61.
- DessertLab. This is mainly a lab, but they also sell some of their delicious cakes and sweets.
- Bombé. A bit pricy, but it's good.

Ok, now I need to go eat something.

We spent four nights in Bologna in an apartment that I can highly recommend. The company is Studio Vita, with several apartments on Via Marsala 8 and 11, across the street from one another. Look at the location on a map—-it is just off Via Indipendenza, the main north-south street, which turns into a pedestrian zone on weekends. It is just a few blocks from the main square, Piazza Maggiore, which you will end up visiting a lot. We walked to the apartment from train station.

You can see their apartments on their own website:

https://studiovitaapartments.kross.travel/book/step1?adults=4&children=0&rooms=1&guests=4&n_guests=4&guests_rooms=4,0;&kross_lang=it&from=2023-10-10&to=2023-10-13&

But it is all in Italian, so for ease of booking and communication I suggest you book through booking.com as we did. Most of the apartments are one-bedroom, with a sofa bed in the living room if you have four people rather than 2. The kitchen equipment is basic (one each frypan, saucepan, and pasta pot) but we managed OK. There are two Conrad grocery stores in one direction and a very nice upscale Sapori e Dintorni on Via Indipendenza.

https://www.facebook.com/conadsaporiedintornibologna/

We enjoy climbing towers wherever we go, but we took one look at the lines to climb Torre Asinelli, and the narrow space with no windows, and declined. Instead we climbed the Torre dell’Orologico, which was very nice. And we got to admire the inner workings of the clock. We reserved our spot one day ahead.

https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/places/towers-historic-buildings/torre-accursi-o-dellorologio-2

The last bit is like a ship’s ladder, very steep, and they have you sign a waiver before you can ascend that part.

We went to Ravenna (our second time there) on a daytrip from Bologna. The regional train was 8€ each way for the 1- hour journey (hourly departures from Bologna Centrale).