Parma Cathedral
Romanesque cathedral with Correggio's dome
Look up into Correggio's Assumption of the Virgin, a whirl of figures rising into light painted in the 1520s.
Piazza DuomoArtFree
Parma & the Food Valley, Italy
Ideal: 2 daysBest: Apr–Jun, Sep–OctPrice: Expensive
In 60 seconds
Parma & the Food Valley in 60 seconds
Parma is an elegant, quietly prosperous city that gives its name to two of the world's most famous foods, and the countryside around it — the Food Valley — is where you can see them made. Rise early to watch cheesemakers lift curd from copper vats at a Parmigiano Reggiano dairy, drive into the hills at Langhirano where hams cure in the breeze, and go down to the misty Po plain for culatello, the most prized cut of all. In the city, Correggio's swirling Assumption fills the cathedral dome, the octagonal pink-marble Baptistery is among the finest Romanesque buildings in Italy, and the wooden Teatro Farnese of 1618 hides inside the Pilotta palace. Verdi was born nearby, and the opera house still takes him seriously. Two days, with a car for the dairies.
CountrysideOpera
Best for
- Food
- Art
Known for
- Parmigiano Reggiano
- Prosciutto di Parma
- Culatello
- Correggio
Skip if
You will not get up early or hire a car — the dairies work at dawn and lie out in the countryside.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Parma & the Food Valley fits them. Choose interests
See
Must experience
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
Baptistery
InexpensivePink-marble octagon by Benedetto Antelami
Begun in 1196, carved inside and out with months, seasons and zodiac signs; the interior frescoes are just as rich.
Piazza DuomoRomanesqueSculpture
Teatro Farnese
ModerateA wooden theatre of 1618 in the Pilotta
A vast tiered theatre built entirely of wood for the Farnese dukes, with the National Gallery in the same palace.
PilottaMuseumTheatre
A Parmigiano Reggiano dairy
ModerateWatch the cheese being made at dawn
Book a morning visit to a working dairy: copper vats, wheels in brine and cellars of ageing cheese, then a tasting by age.
Food ValleyBook aheadFood
Eat
Where to eat
A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?
More places to eat
Too few picks yet for their own heading, so they share this list.
Antica Corte Pallavicina
Very expensiveMichelin-starred estate of culatello
A castle by the Po with its own culatello cellars, a starred dining room and a more relaxed osteria.
Polesine ParmenseCulatelloMichelin
Beyond the obvious
Hidden gems
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
Langhirano ham country
Where Prosciutto di Parma cures
In the hills south of the city, ham houses with tall slatted windows let in the dry air that cures the hams.
LanghiranoCountrysideFood
Culatello country
Cellars on the Po plain
Culatello needs the damp fogs of the Po; visit a cellar where hundreds hang in the half-dark.
Zibello & PolesineFoodUnusual
Orientation
Neighbourhoods
How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.
Centro storico
Piazza Garibaldi to the Duomo
A small, walkable centre of yellow palazzi, bicycles and good delis.
Stay
Where to stay
Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.
Parma centre
ExpensiveHotels near the Duomo and the station
Base yourself in town and drive out to the dairies in the morning.
TrainsWalkable
Practical
Know before you go
- Getting in
- Trains from Milan take about an hour and from Bologna about an hour.
- Getting around
- Walk or cycle the city; hire a car for dairies, ham houses and the Po.
- Dairy visits
- Cheese is made early: book a visit for around 8–9am, and expect weekends to be limited.
- When to go
- Spring and autumn; the Po plain is foggy in winter, hot in summer.
- Taste locally
- Parmigiano by age, Prosciutto di Parma, culatello, torta fritta with salumi, anolini in broth and a glass of Lambrusco or Malvasia.
Plan this trip — useful links
Context
History in 5 minutes
Enough to make what you are looking at legible.
- 1196
Benedetto Antelami begins the Baptistery.
- 1520s
Correggio paints the cathedral dome.
- 1545
The Farnese family begins its two-century rule of the duchy of Parma.
- 2015
Parma is named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
Further out
Nearby escapes
Worth a day if you have one to spare.
Busseto & Verdi's birthplace
The composer's town on the plain
Verdi's birthplace at Roncole, his little theatre in Busseto and his villa at Sant'Agata.
40 min by carMusicOpera
Bologna
The capital of Emilia's food
Tagliatelle, mortadella and miles of porticoes — Bologna has its own guide.
1 hr by trainCityFood