plan to stay near Parma and travel the nearby cities. Need to get to Milan and Casale Monferrato by train. Anyone have a great town to stay in for a week in October?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Will you go to Milan and Casale Monferrato on the same trip? From Parma to Casale Monferrato takes about 5 hours one way with 2 - 3 connections, sometimes connecting at Milan, which is quite long for a same-day roundtrip. If you want a town that is served by the main-line fast trains, then most do stop at Modena, Reggio Emilia, Parma, and Piacenza. I recently visited Bologna and enjoyed the old town at the heart of the industrial city, but would not particularly recommend it as a home base for a week.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
If you like cities, Bologna would be a great base, it has excellent rail connections to the rest of Italy, great food, and interesting street life - big university in town. You can get to Ravenna, Ferrara, Modena, Verona, Parma and many other places without changing trains.
If you are interested in Parma, why not spend a few days there?
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for your information. We need to go to Casale the last day of our trip so it is only one way. we also might get a car so we can better sightsee the surrounding areas. Siena is another possibility !for a stay but we keep getting farther south! I know it is a beautiful town. Anything like that closer to Parma?
Grazie!