Parma travel guide - Emilia Romagna

In Parma have lived famous musicians, such as Giuseppe Verd or Niccolò Paganini, and famous writers, such as Giovanni Guareschi and Attilio Bertolucci.

Parma city is rich in art and atmosphere, restaurants and theaters, gardens and fountains. To visit slowly on foot or on two wheels, as they love to do its inhabitants.

1. Best things to do in Parma (Emilia Romagna)

Parma is a treasure trove of ancient theaters, as Teatro Farnese, and beautiful architectures, as the beautiful Baptistery or the Romanesque Cathedral, but also elegant gardens, amazing paintings and sculptures.

The Lombard-Romanesque Duomo, among the greatest in north Italy, is adorned with the beautiful work of arts of the emilian painter Antonio da Correggio and with the beautiful sculptures of Benedetto Antelami.

On piazza Duomo the pink marble Baptistry, with its reliefs by Benedetto Antelami, is one of the most important medieval monuments in Europe, reported by UNESCO among the most valuable astronomical sites in the world.

According to UNESCO, the Baptistery of Parma worked in the past as a huge sundial, and this is now one of the Astronomy and World Heritage.

What is certain is that the charm of this building is amazing, and the feeling of harmony and peace that reigns strolling through Piazza Duomo is incomparable. Here children can play quietly on the cobblestones of the square, between the steps of the Cathedral and the Baptistery, and you feel like you stepped back in time.

2. Slow routes (walking or cycling)

The bike is definitely the means of transport that we recommend to visit Parma, to enter fully into the spirit of the city.

You can cycle slowly through the eighteenth-century garden of Parco Ducale, (majestic lime trees, tree-lined streets and a large lake with ducks), admiring the colors and scents of nature, but also the beautiful and elegant sculptures. Inside the garden you will find a small cafe, ideal for a stopover in the green outdoors.

If you are looking for a piece of nature in the city center, you can not miss the beautiful botanical garden, a green jewel that few know. Children will enjoy playing in the jungle explorers, or to observe the plants cannibals who swallow a gnat, and you will find peace and harmony with nature without leaving a stone's throw from Parma city center!

To live as a local, you can rent your bicycle on the avenue that runs along the river from the Parma train station, and ride slowly along the tree-lined avenues of the city (Petitot Avenue, Lungo Parma) and in the green quiet of the great parks (Parco Ducale, Citadella, Ex Eridania Park, Parco Bizzozzero).

3. Art and food (local and organic)

Parma is the right place to find the food and the good food. You just miss walking in the old streets of the city center to taste traditional food and local products, such as Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Culatello. 

This salami with ancient origins, produced in the flatlands located south of Parma, near the Po River, is one of the most noble Italian cured meats.

To purchase fresh, local produce, do not miss the organic farmers market in piazza Inzani (every Saturday morning). 

After visiting the traditional flee market in Via d'Azeglio (every Thursday), stop for a good espresso coffee in Piazza Garibaldi or the most famous pastry shops in Parma center (you should try the excellent brioche with honey and organic flour made by Cocconi pastry). 

Sip an aperitif with Parmigiano Reggiano and local Malvasia wine (sparkling white wine produced on the hills of Parma) in the outdoor seating in via Farini, watching the windows and strolling. Stop by for a pizza at the pizzeria da Luca, choosing the special Pizzotta, made with organic flour. 

In Parma the excellent food goes incredibly with art and music.

Finally do not miss a play in the wonderful frame of the ancient Teatro Regio, or in the Auditorium Paganini, the former industrial building converted into modern and innovative theater by the italian architect Renzo Piano, which opens with big transparent walls on the nature of the ex Eridania Park.

4. The river Po from cycling, castles to explore, and the surroundings of Parma

To slowly explore the colors and flavors of the lowlands of Parma, you can choose the bicycle. Over 50 km of cycle paths, including floodplains and poplars on the banks of the great river Po, through the lands of Culatello.

In addition to the ancient villages, with fortresses and beautiful castles, you can admire the extraordinary natural environments such as the natural reserve "Parma Morta" or the Oasi Lipu in Torrile. 

For those who love music, cinema and literature, there are two bike routes linked to Giuseppe Verdi (the great Italian musician born in Parma) and Giovannino Guareschi (writer and author of Peppone and Don Camillo). On two weals you can retrace the places dear to the two famous characters, visit the birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi and museums dedicated to Guareschi. 

The embankment of the Taro river offers a perfect connection (the Ciclotaro) from the plain of Parma, to 3 of the most beautiful castles of the province Fontanellato, San Secondo and Soragna.

Bikes can be easily rented at the tourist information points in Busseto (tel. 0039.0524.92487), Colorno (tel. 0039.0521.313790) and Zibello (tel. 0039.0524.99388).

If you prefer the rolling and sunny hills of Parma province, you can discover farms and castles, incredibles landscapes with the unic taste of its Malvasia wine and Parmesan cheese. 

The nature will surprise you in the magnificent Carrega Parks, the historic hunting grounds of Marie Louise queen, who is now a large park with woods, lakes, trails and animals, or in Barboj Park in Rivalta and Torre (where small mud volcanoes protrude from the ground). 

The mountain reigns supreme in Cento Laghi Parks, where in winter you can walk on snow with snowshoes and get out on the snow with skis, and walk in the summer between high altitude glacial lakes, mountains and forests.

The list of villages to discover the Apennines is infinite, such as Casarola, the village of the italian writer Bertolucci, or Corchia with its ancient mines of sulfur that can be visited by foot.

For a romantic journey into the past, do not miss the beautiful Torrechiara Castle, built by Pier Maria Rossi for his beloved Bianca Pellegrini. 

If you are looking for total relax, why not make a short stop at the thermal parks in Monticelli Terme, Salsomaggiore and Tabiano, with their and warm and healty waters.

5. Where to stay in the city and surrounding

For an ecofriendly stay in Parma you can choose your organic farm surrounded by beautiful Parma hills, a small B&B set in a old village of Po river, an ancient castles or a green accommodation in Parma city center.

Discover all eco-friendly accommodations in Parma and surrounding

by Silvia Ombellini

Cover photo: Parma by night, with its beautiful Dome and Baptistery, ph. by Carra