Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Emilia-Romagna: Bologna, Modena, Parma and Ravenna
8 days from Bologna: four nights for a market walk, a pasta class and a day with Parmigiano and balsamic in Modena, two in Parma for prosciutto and culatello, then the Ravenna mosaics and a last night in Bologna.
8 days · Round trip from Bologna · up to 12 guests
Piazza Maggiore, the heart of Bologna Photo: Vlach Pavel, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:N%C3%A1m%C4%9Bst%C3%AD_Piazza_Maggiore.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Bologna
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Easy walking on flat city streets and under porticoes, 2 to 3 hours on foot on the busiest days, plus standing for an hour or more at the dairy, the acetaia and the ham cellars. The only climb is optional: the San Luca portico, about 3.8 km uphill from Bologna. The longest day in the van is about 3.25 hours, split by a full day in Ravenna, and two days are spent entirely on foot in Bologna.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,055 (estimated price)
- Season
- March to June and September to November
Highlights
Why this trip
- Watch Parmigiano Reggiano being made at dawn in a Modena dairy, then taste wheels of different ages
- A family acetaia under the roof, where traditional balsamic vinegar ages for 12 years or more
- A hands-on pasta class in Bologna with a sfoglina, after a morning walk and tastings in the Quadrilatero market lanes
- Prosciutto di Parma in a Langhirano ham house and culatello in the foggy Bassa along the Po, with lunch at the source
- Correggio's dome and Antelami's pink marble Baptistery in Parma
- The gold and blue mosaics of San Vitale and Galla Placidia in Ravenna with a local guide
- Five lunches and two dinners with local wine, and free evenings to eat where Bologna eats
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,055 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Bologna
Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport or Bologna Centrale station to your hotel in the centre
- Welcome dinner with wine
- Stay in Bologna
- Drive about 15 min
Fly into Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ), about 20 minutes from the centre, or arrive by train at Bologna Centrale. We meet you at either and take you to a central hotel within about 10 minutes' walk of Piazza Maggiore. Plan to arrive by about 4 pm; the exact latest arrival is confirmed with your final itinerary.
Evening
In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week, then an easy first walk under the porticoes, the covered walkways that line Bologna's streets and were listed by UNESCO in 2021. We cross Piazza Maggiore as the lights come on around the Basilica of San Petronio and Giambologna's Fountain of Neptune, and look up at the Two Towers, the tall Asinelli and the leaning Garisenda. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner at a trattoria: tagliatelle al ragù, the dish the rest of the world calls bolognese, with a glass of local wine.
Included
- Pick-up at Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ) or Bologna Centrale station
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Evening walk: the porticoes, Piazza Maggiore, the Fountain of Neptune and the Two Towers
- Welcome dinner with wine
Free time: Free until the early evening briefing
Activity: About an hour on foot on flat streets.
The Quadrilatero market and a pasta class
Bologna on foot: the Quadrilatero, the Mercato delle Erbe and a cooking school
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Bologna
Bologna's old market quarter, the Quadrilatero, sits just east of Piazza Maggiore, and at 9 am its narrow lanes are already busy: Via Pescherie Vecchie, Via Drapperie and Via Clavature, where delis hang hams over the counters and fishmongers set out the Adriatic catch. With a local food guide we taste as we go: mortadella sliced thin, Parmigiano Reggiano at different ages, and warm tigelle, the small local flatbreads. We look in at the Mercato delle Erbe, the covered market where people from the neighbourhood do their shopping, then walk to a cooking school for a hands-on pasta class. A sfoglina, one of the cooks who roll pasta by hand, shows you how to work egg dough with a long rolling pin until you can almost see the board through it, then cut tagliatelle and fold tortellini.
Afternoon
Lunch is what you make, with a glass of Pignoletto or Lambrusco.
Evening
The afternoon and evening are free to rest, shop or follow your guide's list of osterie.
Included
- Quadrilatero market walk with a local food guide and tastings of mortadella, Parmigiano Reggiano and tigelle
- The Mercato delle Erbe
- Hands-on pasta class: tagliatelle and tortellini
- Lunch with wine at the cooking school
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 2 hours on foot in the morning, then about 3 hours standing at the pasta class with a seated lunch. The market lanes are quiet on Sundays, so day 2 never falls on one.
Parmigiano at dawn, balsamic in the attic, Modena
Bologna to a dairy and an acetaia in the Modena countryside, then Modena and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Bologna
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
Today starts early for a reason: Parmigiano Reggiano is made in the morning, and the moment to see it is between about 8 and 10 am, when the cheesemakers lift the curd from copper vats. We leave Bologna at 7:30 for a dairy in the Modena countryside, about 45 minutes away, and watch the curd from a vat of about 1,100 litres of milk split in two, one wheel each, wrapped in cloth and set in moulds. Then we walk the ageing rooms, where wheels rest for at least 12 months, and taste cheese of different ages. Late morning we visit a family acetaia, where traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena ages for at least 12 years in a row of barrels of different woods, usually under the roof, where summer heat and winter cold do the work.
Afternoon
Lunch is at a trattoria in Modena, with tortellini, gnocco fritto and Lambrusco. Afterwards a local guide walks you through Piazza Grande, the Romanesque cathedral begun in 1099 and its Ghirlandina tower, listed together by UNESCO in 1997.
Evening
We are back in Bologna by about 5:30 pm, and the evening is free.
Included
- Parmigiano Reggiano dairy visit while the cheese is made, with a tasting
- Family acetaia visit with a tasting of traditional balsamic vinegar
- Trattoria lunch in Modena with wine
- Modena with a local guide: Piazza Grande, the Duomo and the Ghirlandina
Optional experiences
- The Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena, in place of the afternoon walk (ticket and taxi paid locally; we confirm it can be arranged when you book)
Easier option: Sit out the afternoon walk with a coffee in Piazza Grande; the cathedral is a few steps away.
Free time: Evening free in Bologna
Activity: The only early start of the trip: 7:30 am, because the cheese is made in the morning. Dairy floors are wet, so wear shoes with grip. About 1.5 hours on foot in Modena.
Bologna on foot
Bologna: San Petronio, the Archiginnasio, Santo Stefano and the Two Towers
- Breakfast
- Stay in Bologna
A slower day in the city. At 9:30 a local guide takes the group through the Bologna most visitors rush past: the Basilica of San Petronio, whose brick facade was never finished and whose floor carries a meridian line laid out by the astronomer Giovanni Cassini in 1655; the Archiginnasio, the 16th-century seat of the university, its walls covered in students' coats of arms, with a wooden Anatomical Theatre where lessons were given on the human body; and the seven linked churches of Santo Stefano, whose origins go back to the 5th century.
Afternoon
We finish at the foot of the Two Towers around midday. Lunch is your choice: your guide gives you a list of places, from a mortadella sandwich in the market lanes to a bowl of tortellini in brodo at an old osteria.
Evening
The afternoon and evening are free. If you want a walk, the portico to the Sanctuary of San Luca climbs from Porta Saragozza under 666 arches, about 3.8 km, often called the longest portico in the world.
Included
- Bologna with a local guide: the Basilica of San Petronio and its meridian line, the Archiginnasio and the Anatomical Theatre, the churches of Santo Stefano and the Two Towers
Easier option: Stay on the flat in the centre after the walk; the city is easy to explore under the porticoes, rain or sun.
More active option: Walk the San Luca portico, about 3.8 km and a steady climb from Porta Saragozza to the sanctuary, with views over the city and the hills; come back down by taxi.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 2.5 hours on foot in the morning on flat streets.
To Parma: Correggio's dome and Antelami's Baptistery
Bologna to Parma
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Parma
- Drive about 1.5 h
We leave Bologna at about 10 am and drive an hour and a quarter west across the plain, alongside the Via Emilia, the Roman road that still ties the region's cities together, to Parma, where we stay two nights in the centre.
Afternoon
Parma was named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2015, and lunch at a trattoria near the old centre makes the case: anolini in brodo, small filled pasta in broth, or tortelli d'erbetta with butter and Parmigiano, and a glass of Malvasia or Lambrusco. In the afternoon, once the churches reopen, a local guide takes you into Piazza Duomo. The octagonal Baptistery of pink Verona marble was begun in 1196 by Benedetto Antelami, and inside his carved months of the year show the farm work you saw at the dairy. In the cathedral, Correggio's Assumption of the Virgin, painted between about 1526 and 1530, swirls up into the dome.
Evening
The evening is free. Your ticket for the Palazzo della Pilotta and its wooden Teatro Farnese is good today or tomorrow; the Pilotta closes one day a week, so we set the dates for it to be open on at least one of the two.
Included
- Drive from Bologna to Parma with your guide
- Trattoria lunch in Parma with wine
- Parma with a local guide: the Baptistery and the Duomo with Correggio's dome
- Ticket for the Palazzo della Pilotta and the Teatro Farnese, to use in your free time on day 5 or 6
Free time: Morning in Bologna until 10 am; evening free in Parma
Activity: About 2 hours on foot in Parma on flat streets.
Prosciutto in the hills, culatello by the Po
Parma to Langhirano, then the Bassa Parmense and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Parma
- Drive about 2.5 h
Two of Italy's great cured hams come from either side of Parma, and today we visit both. First we drive about half an hour south into the hills to Langhirano, where dry air coming down from the Apennines made the town the centre of Prosciutto di Parma. At a ham house the producer walks you through the process: Italian pork legs, sea salt and nothing else, then more than a year of curing in long rooms whose windows were once opened and shut by hand to follow the weather, and the horse-bone needle the inspectors use to smell each ham. A tasting follows. Then we cross the plain north to the Bassa Parmense, the flat, often foggy farmland along the Po and home of Culatello di Zibello, cut from the best muscle of the leg, tied in a bladder and aged in damp cellars.
Afternoon
Lunch is at the table of a culatello maker or a trattoria in the Bassa, with Fortana or Lambrusco. We are back in Parma by about 4 pm, with the rest of the day free.
Included
- Prosciutto di Parma ham house in Langhirano with a tasting
- Culatello cellar visit in the Bassa Parmense
- Lunch with culatello and wine in the Bassa Parmense
More active option: Use your Pilotta ticket in the late afternoon for the Teatro Farnese and the National Gallery, or walk the Parco Ducale across the river.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Parma
Activity: Mostly standing in cool ageing rooms and cellars; bring a layer.
The Ravenna mosaics, back to Bologna
Parma to Ravenna, then Ravenna to Bologna
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Bologna
- Drive about 3.5 h
The longest drive of the trip, about three and a quarter hours in two legs, buys a full day in Ravenna, capital of the Western Roman Empire in its last decades and later the seat of Byzantine rule in Italy. We leave Parma at 8 am and drive about two and a quarter hours east on the motorway, with a coffee stop, reaching Ravenna by about 10:30. Eight of the city's early Christian monuments were listed by UNESCO in 1996, and with a local guide we see four of them. First the gold processions of martyrs and virgins in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and the dome of the Neonian Baptistery.
Afternoon
Lunch is Romagna food: piadina, cappelletti and a glass of Sangiovese. In the afternoon, in a booked time slot, the Basilica of San Vitale, where the emperor Justinian and the empress Theodora face each other across the apse, and the small Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, its blue vault scattered with gold stars.
Evening
We pass Dante's tomb, then drive an hour back to Bologna for a farewell dinner.
Included
- Ravenna with a local guide: Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the Neonian Baptistery, the Basilica of San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, with the Ravenna mosaics ticket
- Dante's tomb
- Lunch in Ravenna with wine
- Farewell dinner in Bologna with wine
Easier option: Skip the Neonian Baptistery and wait in a cafe in Piazza del Popolo before lunch.
Activity: About 2.5 hours on foot in Ravenna on flat streets, with time seated in the van either side.
A last morning in Bologna, then home
Bologna to Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport or Bologna Centrale station
- Breakfast
- Drive about 15 min
Morning
The last morning is yours. Have a final cappuccino under the porticoes, or go back to the Quadrilatero for mortadella, Parmigiano or a small bottle of balsamic to take home. Vacuum-packed cheese travels well, but Canada and the United States each have their own rules on bringing meat products home, so check before you buy the ham. After breakfast transfers leave from the hotel for Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ), about 20 minutes away, or for Bologna Centrale station, where fast trains reach Florence in about 40 minutes, Milan in about an hour, Venice in about an hour and a half and Rome in a little over two hours. If you want more time, for a day in Ferrara or a longer stay in Bologna itself, ask us and we add nights at the same hotel before your trip ends.
Evening
Your guide checks your onward plans with you the evening before and sees the group off.
Included
- Drop-off at Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ) or Bologna Centrale station
Free time: Morning free
Activity: Book a flight from Bologna after about 11 am, or from Milan or Rome after about 3 pm.
- Bologna4 nights
- Parma2 nights
- Bologna1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Spring and autumn are mild and the best time for walking the cities. July and August are hot and humid on the Po plain, and many family restaurants and some producers close for a week or two around 15 August. From November to February fog often lies on the plain; it is part of what makes culatello, but it can slow the drives.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Food lovers who want to see Parmigiano, balsamic, prosciutto and culatello made, not just taste them
- Travellers who want a week in one region with two bases instead of a city a day
- Cooks who want a hands-on pasta class with a sfoglina
- First-timers to Bologna who also want the Ravenna mosaics
- Solo travellers who want company at the table and free evenings too
Not for you if you want
- Vegans, or anyone who avoids pork or dairy: two days are about cured ham and one about cheese
- Travellers who want Venice, Florence and Rome on the same trip
- Anyone after long hikes: the walking is gentle and mostly in cities
- Guests who want every dinner arranged: five evenings are free
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Bologna4 nights
- Parma2 nights
- Bologna1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights: 4 in central Bologna, 2 in central Parma, 1 back in central Bologna
- Hotels of at least a 3-star-plus standard within about 10 minutes' walk of Piazza Maggiore in Bologna and of the Duomo in Parma, named when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
- Local tourist taxes
Transport
- Pick-up at Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ) or Bologna Centrale station on day 1
- Drop-off at BLQ or Bologna Centrale on day 8
- Our own air-conditioned minibus and driver for the group on days 3, 5, 6 and 7
- No trains with luggage: the two days in Bologna are on foot
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip
- Local guides for the Bologna market walk and city walk, and in Modena, Parma and Ravenna
- The cheesemakers, vinegar makers, ham curers and the sfoglina lead their own visits and class
Activities
- Bologna: evening walk on arrival, the Quadrilatero market walk with tastings, the Mercato delle Erbe, a hands-on pasta class, and a guided walk with San Petronio, the Archiginnasio and Santo Stefano
- Modena countryside: a Parmigiano Reggiano dairy while the cheese is made, with a tasting
- Modena countryside: a family acetaia with a traditional balsamic vinegar tasting
- Modena: guided walk of Piazza Grande, the Duomo and the Ghirlandina
- Parma: guided walk with the Baptistery and the Duomo
- Parma: ticket for the Palazzo della Pilotta and the Teatro Farnese
- Langhirano: a Prosciutto di Parma ham house with a tasting
- Bassa Parmense: a culatello cellar visit
- Ravenna: guided visit with the Ravenna mosaics ticket: Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the Neonian Baptistery, San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Meals
- Breakfast daily (7)
- 5 lunches: the pasta class in Bologna, a trattoria in Modena, a trattoria in Parma, a culatello lunch in the Bassa Parmense and Ravenna
- 2 dinners: a welcome dinner and a farewell dinner in Bologna
- A glass or two of local wine with each included lunch and dinner, or soft drinks
- Tastings of mortadella, Parmigiano Reggiano, traditional balsamic vinegar, Prosciutto di Parma and culatello
Not included
- International flights to and from Italy
- Trains to Bologna before the trip or from Bologna after it
- Travel insurance
- Visa or travel authorisation fees, if any apply to you (such as ETIAS once it starts)
- Meals not listed (lunches on days 1, 4 and 8 and dinners on days 2 to 6 are on you)
- Drinks beyond the wine served with included meals
- Tips
- Optional activities, such as the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena or the Museo Ferrari in Maranello
- Shipping food or wine home
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,055 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Seven nights in central hotels in Bologna and Parma, breakfast daily, 5 lunches and 2 dinners with local wine, the pasta class, visits and tastings at a Parmigiano dairy, an acetaia, a prosciutto ham house and a culatello cellar, local guides and entries in Bologna, Modena, Parma and Ravenna, our own minibus and driver, transfers, tourist taxes and your See Sight Tours guide throughout.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. That is small enough to fit around one table at the dairy, the acetaia and the ham houses, which often cannot host large groups, and to hear the guide in the crowded market lanes of Bologna.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the Bologna pick-up to the last morning. Licensed local guides join in Bologna, Modena, Parma and Ravenna, and the cheesemakers, vinegar makers, ham curers and the pasta teacher lead their own visits. We name your guide when we confirm your dates.
How fit do I need to be?
Not very. The walking is on flat city streets, 2 to 3 hours on the busiest days, with some standing at the producers. The one climb, the San Luca portico in Bologna, is optional. The longest day in the van is about 3.25 hours, broken by a full day in Ravenna.
I am travelling solo. What will I pay?
You get a room of your own for a published supplement, from CAD 1,055, about 17% of the trip price, shown before you request to book and never added at checkout. There are no rotating roommates. Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and with free evenings you can join others for dinner or eat on your own.
Can vegetarians join a food trip like this?
Yes, with care. We plan a vegetarian choice at each included meal and the pasta class suits you, but two days centre on prosciutto and culatello, and Parmigiano Reggiano is made with animal rennet; tell us if that matters. It is not a good fit for vegans or anyone avoiding pork. Tell us about allergies when you book.
Is the Ferrari museum included?
No, it is the one optional on the trip. On day 3 you can swap the afternoon walk in Modena for the Museo Enzo Ferrari, paying the ticket locally. A visit to the Museo Ferrari in Maranello, about 20 km south, fits better on the private trip, where we can plan the day around it.
When is the best time to go?
March to June and September to November bring mild weather for walking the cities. July and August are hot and humid on the plain, and many family restaurants close for a week or two around 15 August. Winter is foggy and quiet, but the dairies, cellars and markets keep working all year.
How does booking work?
Pick your start date and request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours and nothing is charged until then. Prices are per person sharing a room, with taxes: the small group starts from CAD 6,195 and a room of your own is from CAD 1,055 more.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 11,150 per person. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section: we can quote the same hotels, producers and local guides for you.
Do I need a visa for Italy?
Canadian and US passport holders do not need a visa for a tourist stay of up to 90 days in the Schengen area. The EU's ETIAS travel authorisation is expected to start in late 2026; if it applies to your dates, we tell you when to apply. Other passports, please ask.
Can I bring Parmigiano and prosciutto home?
Usually the cheese, often not the ham. Hard aged cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano is generally allowed into Canada and the United States in personal amounts, while cured pork is restricted and the rules change, so check the current Canadian and US rules before you fly. Balsamic vinegar and wine go in checked luggage.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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