We are making our plans for our trip to Italy again. We will be going from the CT to Venice. Plan is to take the train from CT to Venice through the Emilia area. We read about Parma and the train changes there (from what I understand). Would Parma be a good place to spend the night or just a stop over? Any suggestions for a place to stay and explorer on the way. We can figure in 2 nights somewhere.
Posted by
Boston
1710 posts
Parma is a wonderful place with a very lively sophisticated feeling. Definitely a good place to stay over. The Duomo and Baptistry are world class. The food is excellent. There's an interesting National Archaeology Museum and a National Gallery of Art featuring the Farnese Teatro, a wooden theater from the 16th C. (restored fter war damage).
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Years ago, there was the wonderful 7:52am train out of La Spezia to Bologna where you changed to a high-speed going to Venice. It was the fastest run of the day. Now, it seems to be La Spezia/Parma/Bologna/Venice. It's now almost an hour slower than going Pisa/Florence/Venice. Oh well. To answer your question, Parma can be just delightful. If you stay long enough, there are food tours out of there to see the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Parma ham and even to Modena to see the basalmic vinegar. Or, it can just be a train change. You may have to ask the agent for the runs from the CT to Parma during the day as they only show one very early on Trenitalia. I see 10 runs (all on Regionale trains) when I put in La Spezia Centrale to Parma. 2hr train journey. Fare is 10.25E. Not bad. You could book separate tickets from Parma to Venezia-Santa Lucia. You will most likely change trains at Bologna. If you take the Regionale trains for Parma/Bologna/Venice, you can catch the 7:58am Regionale and transfer to the 9:20am Regionale to Venice at Bologna. Journey time is 3hrs 19min. Fare is 16.15E. Again, not bad.