Last updated: 29 July 2023
The region of Emilia Romagna serves up a fabulous mix of culinary, cultural, and historical elements into one nice neat and fashionable bowl. The capital, Bologna, might be your starting point, but there’s more to see in Italy’s most delicious region. Here’s 5 ideas for day trips from Bologna.
This region was built on industry, famous for terracotta and ceramics, but also has some of the most fertile and agriculturally-rich regions in Italy, making it ideal for the production of wine, vinegar, cheese, and cured meats.
There’s a super convenient train line that runs from Rimini on Italy’s coast, through the yummy towns of Bologna, Modena, Emilia Reggio, Parma, and Piacenza which follows the same line as the the Via Emilia, a Roman road in the north Italian plain which was completed in 187 BC!
5 Day Trips from Bologna
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1. Discover Historic Towns
Modena
There are plenty of reasons why you add a Bologna to Modena day trip to your holiday, one big reason is that it’s the home to legendary household names like Ferrari and Lamborghini, along Motor Valley below the Appenines, north east of Bologna.
Did you know that the yellow background on the iconic cavallino rampante logo of Ferrari is a reference to Modena? Ferrari fans and motor racing enthusiasts should make time to visit the modern Enzo Ferrari museum which is located just outside the city centre. This futuristic museum tells the story of the founder and Modena-local Enzo Ferrari with displays of engines, complete cars and historical artifacts. There’s also some hands-on activities too!
For foodies, Modena is home to Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale, and of course Osteria Francescana, Italy’s most celebrated restaurant. With just twelve tables, the three Michelin stars, and awarded the world’s best restaurant more than once, it’s a huge draw card for this small city.
But it’s not the only place to eat! Find one for yourself or hire a local to help you find the real foodie gems of Modena.
Foodies continue to rejoice with another new addition to Modena’s food scene. 20 minutes outside Modena lies Massimo Bottura’s new Italian inn, Maria Luigia, named after his mother. This 12-room house on 12 acres, offers an intimate dining space with three communal tables and a stunning open kitchen where guests can observe the magic that is Osteria Francescana.
However you choose to explore the city on your Bologna to Modena day trip, it should include a stroll through the cobblestone backstreets of this small city and a visit to the main square and the town hall. The centre of Modena is dominated by Duomo di Modena, a masterpiece of 12th century Romanesque architecture, the city tower and piazza grande, a UNESCO world heritage site since 1997.
The 89m tower, Torre della Ghirlandina, is an imposing giant bell tower, with a rather taxing climb to the top. Visitors are rewarded with stunning panoramic views over the city and observe the streets of Modena as they fan out from the centre.
Modena is fabulous to explore on foot. As the sun begins to set and you realise how sore your feet are, it’s time to embrace the delights of aperitivo with a refreshing early evening spritz like Cynar, Hugo or Aperol Spritz. The idea behind Aperitivo, derived from the Italian word ‘to open’, is to whet one’s appetite before dinner. – Want to learn more Italian words? Join me on this journey by learning Italian too with this great language course.
Want to See More? Join One of These Tours!
- Local’s Guide to Food in Modena
- 3 Hour Private Walking Tour of Modena
- Discover the Art of the Italian Aperitivo with a Local
Reggio Emilia
Smaller than its neighbours of Modena and Parma, Reggio Emilia is still very much worth adding to your day trips from Bologna list.
For the culturally curious, Reggio Emilia was the birthplace of the Italian flag – the famous red, white and green tricolour, all on display in the 15th-century Palazzo del Comune museum which features relics related to the Bandiera d’Italia.
Be sure to pop into the Town Hall if you have time. As the headquarters of the Municipality, it is open throughout the day and free to visit. With its pure neo-classical style, the Town Hall façade is enhanced by a three-arched portico with coupled pillars, was built in 1774, as per design by Ludovico Bolognini. Although a date carved in a block of sandstone on the right-hand side of the arch confirms that the building of the town hall site began in 1414!
On your way in, see if you can spot the Town Hall coat of arms under the roof cornice.
Dominating the stunning central Prampolini Square is the Cathedral, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, which dates back to the 10th century with pink marble from Verona added in the 16th century. Be sure to pop in if you have time.
Also in the Piazza is Statua del Crostolo, a statue of Crostolo, a man holding a pail of water. It’s a monument that is very dear to the people of Reggio as it represents the river that crosses the city, also called Crostolo.
If you have time to spare, meander via Broletto, a pretty passage near the main square, discover the baroque church that is St Prospero, or the 6th century Octagonal shaped bell-tower which was never completed.
Did You Know: World famous Italian fashion brand Max Mara was established here in 1951 and is one of the largest employers in the city.
What to Eat in Reggio Emilia?
If you need to eat anything in Reggio Emilia, make it Erbazzone.
This traditional savory pie is a classic from the area. From its humble beginnings, it was traditionally made from whatever was available on farms and in gardens, and I’m told by locals that every housewife has her own recipe. Expect a filling of greens like swiss chard and/or spinach, onions, garlic, parsley, lardo and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Mine was designed for omnivores with a crisp, simple pastry casing which enclosed a beautiful filling of spinach, Parmigiano Reggiano, and bacon. Bellissimo!
You can find Erbazzone at many places in Reggio Emilia, however I dined at Spigolo – Tigelle & Co and can highly recommend it. An added bonus, this cute little eatery has a kilometre zero approach, so all products sourced come from the area.
Need a pick-me-up espresso? Head to Cafe Europa in Piazza Camillo Prampolini or Cafe Fontanesi at Piazza Fontanesi.
Want to See More? Join One of These Tours!
2. Agriturismo
I’ve previously written about my love of Italian Agriturismo. To make the most of this aspect we recommend hiring a car on your day trips from Bologna to really be able to explore and experience the area, and to see the gorgeous surrounding countryside.
Agriturismo – Opera 02
This stunning agriturismo property is cultivated with organic methods and features a marvellous onsite restaurant and eight rooms for overnight guests with facilities including an outdoor pool and Turkish spa for ultimate relaxation.
Opened in 2002 by the Montiari family with son Mattea leading the charge. The name pays homage to Pavarotti who was born in the same village as the owners. Pavarotti apparently had quite a love of balsamic from the region and used it to soothe his throat before and after performances.
The grounds of the estate are home to the oldest native vines in the world, Grasparossa, which are stunning in Autumn as the leaves and stalks turns into shades of burnt orange and vibrant russet red.
Every day at 11am, Opera 02 runs a free tour in English. This brief introduction is a great way to experience the basics of the estate however more in depth experiences are also available including:
- Balsamic Tasting with or without Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- Wine tour – which includes sampling three wines
Upcoming additions depending on the season also include:
- Summer picnics in the vineyard
- Private dinners in the vinegar loft
Opera 02 Wines
There are 6 noble grape varieties which make up Lambrusco. Though Opera 02 cultivates all 20 hectares of the estate exclusively with Grasparossa, which makes 70,000 bottles a year of four different Lambrusco wines.
What is Lambrusco?
Lambrusco is a dry sparkling red wine that perfectly pairs with the cuisine of the Emilia Romagna region.
The ruby red colour of Lambrusco is achieved by utilising the thicker than average skins with this varietal, the skins are left in with the juice for only a few minutes to allow the colour to take. Opera 02 aims for a persistent foam and fine perlage; a word used by Italians to describe the characters and quality of effervescence in a wine. The word perle is borrowed from the French word for pearls.
If you are visiting Emilia Romagna, keep an eye out for restaurants stocking Opera 02 Lambrusco, they can be found in Bologna, Rome, and Modena. They also currently export some of their wine to NYC. Our Aussie readers will be delighted to know that “Pasta Emilia” restaurant in Sydney also has Opera 02 wines.
Alongside organic wines, Opera 02 also makes traditional balsamic, Aceto Balsamico di Modena. Using a slow process of maturation, aged in casks, the result is the right balance between acidity and sweetness, and the unmistakable taste of tradition.
Balsamic condiments are aged in wooden barrels for 6, 9, and 12 years. Each condiment individually compliments dishes such as salads, fish, and the 12 year aged is both creamy and bittersweet which pairs well with Parmigiano Reggiano or a drizzle over some creamy ice cream!
Dining at Opera 02
The gastronomic experience at Opera 02, is just that, an experience. An intimate yet refined elegant style, with a homely and welcoming spirit. Staff serve or finish many dishes at the table for an open and enhanced dining affair.
A La Carte at Opera 02
Agriturismo – Garuti
For several generations, Garuti has been dedicated to the production of Lambrusco wine.
What’s unusual about Garuti and in this industry, is to see a female focused business model with three strong women from the same family leading the charge.
The 200 year old onsite museum to Garuti reinforces the family-centric vibe with family and wedding photos alongside the first bottle label that was painted by the family, a church in Sorbara village.
With 30 hectares of vineyards, Garuti’s relationship with Viticulture began in 1920 with the cultivation of Lambrusco Sorbara which is a highly fragrant and floral variety, and the lightest in color of the five DOC Lambrusco wines. Crops of Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce were added in the 1990s and most recently varietals of Pignoletto and Trebbiano di Spagna have been added and grown in the Garuti farms.
In 1993, Garuti launched their agriturismo to compliment their farm and grape cultivation. A secondary product which fits nicely with this industry is also manufacturing balsamic vinegar.
A visit to Garuti is incomplete without a meal. The onsite restaurant is popular, serving local Modenese cuisine paired with Lambrusco wine from the family’s vines.
Our meal begins with a meat and cheese charcuterie board of produce from the region. It’s loaded with familiar names like Mortadella, Prosciutto di Modena, ricotta, salami, Parma ham, and a frittata.
Entree is a regional classic, tortellini en brodo, made with pork and veal meat made by hand by Octogenarian Marta who uses 10,000 eggs annually to make pasta used in the restaurant.
Up next is Zampone. A speciality of Modena dating from the 16th century, It tastes and looks better than it sounds; stuffed pig’s trotter filled with 100% pork mince, accompanied with a cannellini bean side and vegetables.
We round out the meal with Zuppa Inglese which translates to English Soup. This Italian dessert consists of layering custard and sponge cake, which somewhat resembles a trifle.
Those wishing to fill up on wine can spend the night in one of the eight ensuite rooms. All have a country rustic feel and have everything you will need including aircon. For bigger parties or small families, two rooms also feature a kitchenette with a fridge.
Want to Eat More? Add One of These Tours to Your Day Trips from Bologna Itinerary!
3. Wine & Balsamic Tasting
La Cantina Medici Ermete is an award-winning family-run winery. Cultivating 75 hectares of land spread out among the finest wine-growing areas in Emilia Romagna, Medici make a top-of-the-range Lambrusco, other quality wines and some pretty impressive Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena and have done for over a century.
I suggest you make a reservation in advance for a guided tour and you’ll be greeted by a member of the Medici family to show you around their estate.
The onsite museum situated in a 19th century building showcases tools of the trade used in the production cycles from vine and wine is worth some of your time.
Don’t miss the much revered vinegar factory, with french oak barrels lining the walls. It’s here where, with the help of some oxygen and time, the fermentation process happens, converting pressed grapes into incredible balsamic.
In winter, the liquid is decanted and moved to smaller barrels made from different types of wood such as oak, cherry, acacia, Ash, and mulberry. In all, this process takes about twelve years, each step adding a note or a character to the syrup. The end result is a rich sweet and zesty syrup suitable for drizzling over Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, creamy ice cream, or a rich risotto.
If you book in for a wine tasting with the Medici’s, and I recommend that you do, you will try three vinegars and three wines for a very reasonable €8. You won’t find plastic spoons here, Medici use ceramic spoons for balsamic tastings, because metal is too cold and changes the flavour notes.
Want to See More? Join One of These Tours!
4. Tour a Parmigiano Reggiano Factory
No visit to Emilia Romanga is complete without a cheese tasting, in particular, Parmigiano Reggiano.
4 Madonne is a Parmigiano Reggiano factory. A cooperative made up of 40 farmers, with cows grazing 10-15km away, the dairy converts milk collected to create products of Parmigiano Reggiano, butter, or other cheese like ricotta. This was a truly delicious trip that should be added to your day trips from Bologna list!
In compliance with DOP regulations, dairy cows are fed on cereal, fresh grass, dry grass to produce about 40L of milk per day per cow. Most of the herd is composed of black and white cows, although some Italian red cows are also used with a minimum aging of 2 years.
4 Madonne offers tours in English, which starts with a very quick explanation of the name, before heading into an observation room to watch the production which is in full swing early in the morning.
It’s quite a sight to behold, noting that every day, the dairy makes 104 50kg wheels using 1200L milk. Each of the giant vats produces two 50kg wheels of cheese.
The tour runs via the pre-salting room, before heading to the salting vats which contains over two thousand wheels.
Finally, the piece de la resistance, the warehouse, which is home to with 33,570 Parmigiano Reggiano wheels.
I’ve never seen so much cheese in my life and it smells AHH-MAZING!
It’s a comeback story for 4 Madonne after being struck by two earthquakes in 2012. The quakes caused structural damage and loss of product in the range of €7 million with €2 million worth of cheese lost. 😢
The dairy was rebuilt, now with metal supports which will support the rows of cheese and prevent the domino effect should the region ever again be struck by seismic waves.
The tour concludes with a tasting session of different ages of Parmigiano Reggiano and some other fresh cheese.
Cheese Tasting at 4 Madonne Caseificio dell’Emilia
- Aged Parmigiano Reggiano x 3
- Raspberry jam
- Mustard – fruity notes similar to marmalade
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Butter
- Ricotta
- Tosone
If you find something you like, you can purchase items from the onsite store which sells Parmigiano Reggiano DOP and other food products from the dairy and the region.
Want to see & eat more? Join one of these tours!
- A Bologna market tour with home cooking demo and dinner. A fascinating and delicious 4 hour experience
- Combine culinary and cars with this all day tour
5. Fast Cars in Modena
Like (almost) everyone in the world I’ve heard of brands like Maserati, Lamborghini, and Ferrari; all of which originate from Emilia Romagna.
I don’t consider myself a car person, so day trip from Bologna to see a museum dedicated to Ferrari wasn’t the first thing on my list to do during one of my road trips from Bologna.
However! I will concede that exploring this futuristic pavilion and the man behind this world-renown brand is worth a few hours of your time.
A visit to the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena includes admiring some iconic cars on display, a video experience that tells the story of Enzo Ferrari, with the museum utilising it’s cavernous design with walls used as projection screens for images and videos of the people that made Ferrari what it is today.
I would also recommend that any car enthusiast not skip the restored workshop of Enzo’s father. It’s divided into five sections covering smaller 1 to 6-cylinders, classic 12-cylinders, 8-cylinders, turbos, and, lastly, Formula 1 engines. I’ll admit the much of the detail was lost on me, but I did hear many ooo’s from other visitors.
In my opinion, what’s really missing from this experience is tactility. It’s a see and read style museum, with almost nothing to touch. There are some hands-on activities like VR F1 racing but I’d like to see more elements added for an enhanced experience.
Want to see more? Join one of these tours!
Final Thoughts
By now you’re surely convinced how and why Emilia Romagna is a haven for foodies with more DOP products than any other region in Italy, and many viable options for a day trip from Bologna to discover Italy’s center for food and automobile production.
While your trip to the region may start in Bologna, the capital of the Emilia Romagna, and charm you with its stunning porticoes, the hilltop monastery of San Luca and a huge selection of incredible restaurants to dine at, it shouldn’t be the only place you visit.
Add day trips from Bologna to Modena or Reggio Emilia, discover the delights of agriturismo and feast on delicious items like balsamic vinegar, Lambrusco sparkling red wine, and cheese and you may just start to understand why Bologna has the nickname Bologna La Grassa (‘The Fat One’).
Book Accommodation
Italy is full of amazing boutique hotels and as well as some jaw-dropping holiday lets on platforms like Airbnb. Reserve your room now!
Do You Have Travel Insurance?
Accidents happen and travel insurance is something you should always have before setting off on an adventure. It’s almost always cheaper to buy a prepaid annual policy than trip by trip. If you’re hiring a car as mentioned in this post, be sure to check that you’re covered for damages no matter who’s at fault. Should something happen, you want to know you’ll be taken care of and not a burden physically or financially to your family and friends.
Travel Smart. Travel Safe.
Pin It for Later
[…] Reggio Emilia is smaller, often overlooked by visitors in favour of its larger neighbours of Modena and Parma. However Reggio Emilia makes an easy day trip from Bologna. […]
[…] gems. Despite being sandwiched between two of the nation’s great gastronomic centres; Bologna synonymous for ragù, and Parma famed for its ham, Modena can hold her own in the […]
You did an amazing job, Roma! it inspires me so much to go to Bologna now and take all those day trips! Italy is simply the best!
Thanks Diana, I love Italy too! Let us know if you get to Bologna, be sure to pack your your fat pants!
I was eating breakfast whilst I read this and became increasingly hungrier looking at your gorgeous pics!!! fab food porn!
Thanks Amanda glad you enjoyed the pics
You’ve been in more places in Italy than me ahahah. We were supposed to be in Bologna last year but we had last-minute issues and we skipped it. I promise I will make it!
I really think you’d love Bologna, it’s such a fun city break.
These are great suggestions- I didn’t make the most of the Bologna area when I worked there so will pin for later!
Sounds like you need to go back Alex! 🙂
SOme great ideas here, the food especially looks dreamy!
Thanks Kariss, hopefully you’ll get to Emilia Romagna soon to try it for yourself 🙂
The Ferrari museum looks so interesting, it’s somewhere I’d definitely take my partner as he’d absolutely love it!
Definitely Emilia Romagna is the region for you both then!
Cool post. There is so much to do in this area! I like the look of the wine too.
Thanks Katy, glad you enjoyed it
I’ve always wanted to visit this region, for the cheese more than anything, and I’m even more keen now! Great post with some serious hunger-inducing cheese pictures!
Thanks Nell I’m really glad you enjoyed it. And as a fellow turophile, I share your love of cheese 🙂