Ferrara

Ferrara is a lovely town, and has the advantage of being quite un-touristed. Atypically for Italy, everyone gets around on bicycles - you'd think you were in Copenhagen or Amsterdam.

I went once as a daytrip from Bologna, and once as a daytrip from Padova (it's between the two). Each time, I meant to take a tour of the synagogue, but these are only in the morning, and I forgot until it was too late. Since you're coming from farther away, I don't know if you will arrive in time for this.

Many more things than Castello Estense, which is beautiful architecturally. I haven't toured the interior, but the courtyard is very nice.

Some great restaurants and pastry shops along the Main Street near the Duomo.

I toured the interior. It was okay, but I enjoyed exploring the rest of the historic center more.

We spent a very nice day in Ferrara. We chose not to tour the interior. The TI office near the Castello provided maps with several DYI walking tour options that were informative and interesting. We followed a few routes. The medieval section was particularly interesting. As I recall, it is a pretty good hike from the train station to the Castello and the historic area. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.