I seem to be going in circles. Here is my scenario. Husband and I will end our Villages of Italy tour in Modena after breakfast November 6. We fly home November 9 from Bologna.
Here are things we’d like to accomplish:
Ferrari Museum
Lamborghini factory tour
Parmesan factory tour
Parma ham tour
Factory tours are currently available, but I’ve made no reservations yet. Ideally I’d use public transportation, but it’s not very practical for the Lamborghini tour in particular. Also the factory tours must be scheduled on the 6th and 7th when factories are open. It appears rental cars primarily come out of Bologna. I’d need to return it there anyway probably. I don’t want to go to Bologna from Modena by train, rent a car and then drive back to Modena and all over and then head back to the car rental return in Bologna. Part of my problem is I don’t quite understand the relative locations of my intended destinations.
Perhaps someone can assist me with the logistics.
Posted by
seattle
2459 posts
There is a local bus to the Lamborgheni factory. This would save many hours of travel and headache that renting a car would cause. You can get the bus number and times through a Google search.
There are tours from Modena that combine Parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar productions. Airbnb Experiences lists several that are available in November. These tours tend to be smaller and very personal and are often not too expensive. Have you tried contacting the Rick Steves staff? I’m sure your tour leader knows some good options for what you want to do.
You could then plan to train to Bologna on November 8 so you could explore some of the city center, eat a wonderful dinner and spend the night before your flight home.
Posted by
Chicago
232 posts
Lamborghini factory tour
Parmesan factory tour
We did the Lambo factory tour as a day trip from Bologna. It's only an hour drive. Maybe you can take a train from Modena to Bologna and use Bologna as your home base for both the car rental and lodging.
The Lamborghini Museum and Factory Tour is only a 10 minute drive from Caseificio Parmigiano Bio Reggiani dairy farm, which also does tours and tastings. Would recommend. Lump the two together (like my family did) and you'd have a pretty full day with time to return to your home base for dinner.
Hypercar manufacturer Pagani also offers guided tours. I didn't go but heard good things. It's only a 20 minute drive from Lambo. Another option in case you don't get the Lambo factory tour.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
2240 posts
We did a TasteBologna tour in Modena that included in town balsamic vinegar aging room tour, town tour, market tour of the great permanent Mercato Albinelli there and some cheese and ham comparative tasting but not actual farm tours. The guide was extremely well informed and we really enjoyed it. If they offer outside of town tours I would trust their tours, but a lot of people offer tour options.
Modena is a great little town that still feels little despite the explosion in population for the various car factories outside town. Obviously don't miss the market or any of the great places in town.
The Ferrari museum web page says there is a shuttle between the in town and out of town locations. The museum in town is nearish the train station and easily reachable by foot (or bus) even from the center of town. If they will shuttle you to the outside town location and back that seems like a pretty straightforward visit.
Have a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
Belgium
602 posts
There is a local bus to the Lamborgheni factory. This would save many hours of travel and headache that renting a car would cause. You can get the bus number and times through a Google search.
Yes, ideal on weekdays ... not so during the weekend
Bus timetable here https://s3.eu-south-1.amazonaws.com/static.tper.it/orari/Ferrara%20-%20Inverno%202026/2027/tper_fe552.pdf
Posted by
179 posts
We stayed in Modena recently and did a private tour of a Parmesan dairy, a Prosciutto processing facility, and a traditional balsamic Acetaia, including tastings and a nice lunch. It was somewhat pricy, but as we were w/o a car, we were glad to be driven around Emilia-Romagna in relative comfort with our wonderfully informative guide. (As an aside, we opted for a private driver between Modena and the airport, as the trip can be quite cumbersome with luggage. If the train took you directly to BLQ, the return wouldn’t be such a hassle. Just my opinion FWIW.)
Posted by
Vignola, Modena, Italy
666 posts
Emilia Romagna is still not very touristic, so the public transport isn't designed for tourists, but for local workers and students. Means that the timetable often doesn't match and travel by public transport often means waste a lot of time waiting.
On top of that is very important understand that local transport (local trains or buses) is arranged on Province base.
So, for example, Sant'Agata Bolognese (where Lamborghini factory is) is well connected to Bologna, but no direct connection to Modena.
Maranello (where Ferrari is) is well connected to Modena but no direct connection to Bologna.
Parma's ham producers are located near Langhirano (Parma, province), so well connected to that city but no directly to Modena and Bologna.
So you are puzzled by creating a tour using public transport because is really difficult. And being present in our area several different touristic targets, is even almost impossible create regular group tours.
So, the suggestion to rent a car makes sense. Modena is a wealthy and industrial city, so the most of international car rentals have offices in Modena (Avis, Locauto, Hertz...).
Another solution is creating your own itinerary and hire a private car with driver (look for "NCC Modena") and ask them a quotation.
Third solution is send an enquire to a tour operator like Emilia Romagna Tours and ask them to create the itinerary with all services included.