We took a day trip to Parma last week. I really can't say enough about how nice it was. It was a short walk from the train station to the center. The cathedral & baptistry were incredible. We went into the National Gallery at the Palazzo della Pilotta. It was enormous and had lots of great artwork by artists from the area.
There are not a lot of tourists like there are in many other cities and towns. I think we saw one small group.
We had lunch at a fantastic place called La Greppia. We didn't try the horsemeat tartar, though. 😀
So if you happen to be passing by, stop and take a look.