My wife and I are our two boys (13 and 11) are considering renting a car for one day as we depart Venice on November 16th. My boys are excited about seeing either the Ferrari or Lamborghini Museums, and I have booked a hotel that evening in Bologna. What else is there on our route that we should also see along with taking the boys to one of the car museums? We plan to return our car that evening in Bologna and catch an early train to Florence the next morning.
Posted by
DTW
343 posts
Having done that back in 2010 I can understand your desire to do so. You can easily do the Ferrari & Lamborghini Museums in 1 day. While in Maranello visiting the Ferrari Museum you can pay to drive a Ferrari nearby. You can also eat at the Ristorante Cavallino across the street from the Ferrari factory. The restaraunt has a long history with the Ferrari racers. If you so desire, you can find an access point through the trees surrounding Fiorano circuit and possibly view Ferraris being tested. I am sorry that I do not have any suggestions for anything around the Lamborghini factory. You will also not be very far from Imola if you would like to visit the track where Ayrton Senna last raced. I have not been there so I do not have any info as to the accessibility to the area. Hope this helps.
Posted by
221 posts
We just returned from seeing the Lamborghini Museum and doing the factory tour. We took a taxi from Bologna to the factory as we did not have a car and then took a train onto Venice, so I don't know anything about what to do on the way. The museum was just some cars to look at, which were nice, but touring the factory was very interesting. I would check out if there are English factory tours available on your date, your sons would love it. I am not a car person at all but husband and son loved it. My daughter and I also did the tour and we definitely enjoyed it, there was a purple car on the line which my daughter thought was awesome. The boys also drove the lamborghini at the Bull Bar across the street. Once in a lifetime experience they told me.
Posted by
Washington DC
28436 posts
I suspect your day is going to be fully occupied with the drive and the car-related site(s), but the driving route skirts both Padua and Ferrara, either of which would be a nice stop. However, neither is a small place (Padua's larger), so I think getting into the part of town you'd want to see would be time-consuming. For a brief stop, a smaller town would be more practical.
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
Ferrari has a second museum in Modena, which is an interesting town in its own right. Modena would be a good smaller town stop.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32396 posts
For driving in Italy, keep in mind that each driver will require the compulsory International Drivers Permit which is used in conjunction with your home DL. There may be hefty fines if you can't produce an IDP if requested.
You'll also need to be diligent to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas which exist in many towns. Again a hefty fine for each pass through them.