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Parma

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all but essential travel to Parma due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

If reincarnation ever becomes an option, pray you come back as a Parmesan. Where else do you get to cycle to work through streets virtually devoid of cars, lunch on fresh-from-the-attic prosciutto and aged parmigiano reggiano, quaff crisp, refreshing Lambrusco wine in regal art-nouveau cafes, and spend sultry summer evenings listening to classical music in architecturally dramatic opera houses?

Starting from its position as one of Italy's most prosperous cities, Parma has every right to feel smug. More metropolitan than Modena, yet less clamorous than Bologna, this is the city that gave the world a composer called Verdi and enough ham and cheese to start a deli chain. Stopping here isn't an option, it's a duty.

Explore Parma

  • Battistero

    Overshadowing even the cathedral, the octagonal pink-marble baptistery on the south side of the piazza is one of the most important such structures in…

  • Duomo

    Another daring Romanesque beauty? Well, yes and no. Consecrated in 1106, Parma has a classic Lombard-Romanesque facade, but inside, the gilded pulpit and…

  • L

    Labirinto della Masone

    The opening of the world's largest maze in 2015 fulfilled a lifetime dream of art publisher Franco Maria Ricci, who once published what many considered to…

  • G

    Galleria Nazionale

    The Galleria Nazionale displays Parma’s main art collection in dark and ambiently affective environs. Alongside works by local artists Correggio and…

  • C

    Castello di Torrechiara

    Magnifico Pier Maria Rossi's impressive Torrechiara Castle is one of the most important examples of Italian castle architecture and is considered one of…

  • P

    Palazzo della Pilotta

    Looming over the manicured lawns and modern fountains of Piazza della Pace, this monumental palace is hard to miss. Supposedly named after the Spanish…

  • P

    Piazza del Duomo

    Flanked by a harmonious trio of buildings – the duomo, campanile and baptistry – Parma's cathedral square is one of the city's most elegant public spaces.

  • A

    Ape Parma Museu

    This 2018 addition to Parma's cultural landscape houses the relocated works of Amedeo Bocchi, a 20th-century Parma-born artist whose painting owes a debt…

  • P

    Ponte Romano Spazio Aemilia

    Parma's Roman Bridge originally dates to 187 BC and re-opened to the public after extensive renovations in 2018. Two of the bridge's 11 arches are now…

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Parma.

  • See

    Battistero

    Overshadowing even the cathedral, the octagonal pink-marble baptistery on the south side of the piazza is one of the most important such structures in…

  • See

    Duomo

    Another daring Romanesque beauty? Well, yes and no. Consecrated in 1106, Parma has a classic Lombard-Romanesque facade, but inside, the gilded pulpit and…

  • See

    Labirinto della Masone

    The opening of the world's largest maze in 2015 fulfilled a lifetime dream of art publisher Franco Maria Ricci, who once published what many considered to…

  • See

    Galleria Nazionale

    The Galleria Nazionale displays Parma’s main art collection in dark and ambiently affective environs. Alongside works by local artists Correggio and…

  • See

    Castello di Torrechiara

    Magnifico Pier Maria Rossi's impressive Torrechiara Castle is one of the most important examples of Italian castle architecture and is considered one of…

  • See

    Palazzo della Pilotta

    Looming over the manicured lawns and modern fountains of Piazza della Pace, this monumental palace is hard to miss. Supposedly named after the Spanish…

  • See

    Piazza del Duomo

    Flanked by a harmonious trio of buildings – the duomo, campanile and baptistry – Parma's cathedral square is one of the city's most elegant public spaces.

  • See

    Ape Parma Museu

    This 2018 addition to Parma's cultural landscape houses the relocated works of Amedeo Bocchi, a 20th-century Parma-born artist whose painting owes a debt…

  • See

    Ponte Romano Spazio Aemilia

    Parma's Roman Bridge originally dates to 187 BC and re-opened to the public after extensive renovations in 2018. Two of the bridge's 11 arches are now…

Guidebooks

Learn more about Parma

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