Welcome to historic Modena, the heartland of Italy's Reggio Emilia and Parma regions. Whether you wish to sample superb regional gastronomic specialties or learn about the city's vibrant history, there's a private Modena tour to suit your needs. Your local guide is eager to share the best of their region with you.

Modena's <i>Duomo</i> is considered one of the finest Romanesque cathedrals in Italy, and a stunning example of 12th century architecture. Your guide will be sure you visit this World Heritage site, along with the piazzas, market stalls and palaces of Modena's lively medieval centre. Outside of the city, the region's unique foods are calling! Proscuiotto sausage and Parmiginano-Reggiano cheese, Lambrusco and Sangiovese - food and wine fit for a king, and your guide can take you right to the source of its production for the freshest local tastings.

Enjoy sampling Italy's rich foods and even richer history on your private Modena tour.

Modena

Bologna three-hour City Centre Classic Guided Tour

I always thought I knew Bologna very well but only when I became a tour guide I discovered the city and fell in love with it.
Bologna, chief town of Emilia-Romagna Region, is known worldwide as "La Dotta", "The Learned" because it was home to the first university in Europe founded in 1088, even Dante and Petrarch can be numbered among its former students and the 100, 000 students enrolled nowadays make it a lively and cosmopolitan place.
Commonly known as "La Grassa", "The Fat" thanks to reputedly the best cuisine in Italy. "La Rossa", "The Red" referring to both the colour of its brick buildings and "La Turrita", "The Towered" for the presence of 24 towers of the 100 built in the city around the XII century.
During this tour I will explain the reasons why Bologna is known in Italy and abroad as dotta, rossa, turrita and grassa. From art and culture tradition up to gastronomic excellence.
Do not miss this opportunity to explore Bologna with me, your local guide

Discover Bologna, the fat, the towered, the learned and the red city with your local guide

Bologna is known in the world for mainly 4 reasons: the towers, the porticos, the university and the food.

In this tour you will find out why did the porticos and the towers come to define the skyline of Bologna and how the oldest university of the western world was born exactely here in 1088.
You will discover that the mortadella was very much appreciated since roman times and "spagnetti bolognese". . . . don't really exist.

Outstanding churches and palaces, beautifull squares and narrow alleys will be the frame for all these stories.

2,5 hours walking tour in the heart of Bologna

Bologna Highlights Tour

Bologna is the very heart of Emilia-Romagna. Maybe you have heard about it as the "Learned city": it is home to the oldest university in the Western world (dating back to late 11th century). That is why I would like to show you the Archiginnasio, a beautiful building featuring thousands of shields of noble families from Italy and Europe. Let's discover together the link between them and old time students! It also contains one of the earlies public operating theatres (Teatro Anatomico).

Another highlight of Bologna is its main church, the Basilica of San Petronio, featuring the longest meridian line (a sort of sunlight dial) in the world!

Then, strolling along colonnaded streets - I'll also tell you about the reasons behind this architectural feature - I'll bring you through the colorful and lively marketplace area of Bologna. Don't miss it! It is full of historic shops selling delicious produce and eating places where you can try local and regional food and wine specialties.

Palazzo d'Accursio, Bologna's imposing City Hall

Frescoes decorating the vaults of Bologna's famous colonnades

A view on the half-finished facade of St. Petronius and, on the background, the Bolognese hills

Palazzo della Mercanzia, a beautiful late Gothic building

The recently-restored Neptune Fountain dating back to High Renaissance

Palazzo del Podestà, one of the public bulding overlooking Bologna's main square

One of the medieval wooden colonnades ("portici") left in Bologna

Asinelli & Garisenda: Bologna's most popular medieval towers

Explore Bologna, the Colonnaded City, among Art & Gastronomy

Amazing Bologna Walking Tour

A Marriage Made in Heaven: Parmigiano & Traditional Balsamic Vinegar

In Emilia Romagna, they say that Parmigiano Reggiano paired with Traditional Balsamic Vinegar are a marriage made in heaven.

An early morning start to see the whole production process of Parmigiano Reggiano starts with a map of the iconic food products of Emilia Romagna and an overview of the agricultural history of the region. We will head to the countryside between Bologna and Modena to see the artisan production of Parmigiano Reggiano starting with the milk boiling in the massive copper cauldrons, right through to the formation of the 'twin' cheeses and maturation of these golden wheels in the same way as the monks made it 1000 years ago. After tastings of three maturations and other local products, we head off to Modena on a discovery of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar known as 'liquid gold'. In a private villa, you will see and learn about this unique production process that foresees a minimum of 12 or 25 years aging in aromatic wooden barrels. Finally, you will the techniques to tasting both products.

Entrance fees for Parmigiano Reggiano Production and Balsamic Vinegar Producer

Tastings of a selection of Parmigiano Reggiano from 24 - 60 months aged
Freshly made Ricotta Cheese
Local organic drink
Parmigiano with Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Tastings of DOP Traditional Balsamic Vinegar
Minimum 25 years aged
Minimum 12 years aged
Condimento Balsamico 6 years aged
Condimento Balsamico jelly
White Balsamic Vinegar
Gelato with Aged Balsamic Vinegar


A Vegetarian Discovery of the Food Icons of Emilia Romagna in the Hills of Bologna & Modena - Half Day

Highlights and Secrets of Bologna - walking tour

Welcome to my hometown, Bologna! I'll make sure you won't miss the highlights of the city, such as Piazza Maggiore or the Two Towers, but I'll also share my own memories with you, by taking you off the beaten path and to parts of the city where I have made personal memories, where there are some of my favorite art or architecture gems, or simply where I love having my own aperitivo time with my friends!

During this tour I won't just lead you around, I'll make you explore the city through my own eyes and heart: not only buildings and squares, paintings and history, but also food informations and tastings, trivia games, hidden traces of a very local past, important grandparents's teachings and a lot of local fun!

Feel free to write me for customization.

The best of Bologna with a local insight!

Parma is famous all over the world for its traditional food products: Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) and Prosciutto di Parma (Parma Ham). I have been showing people how these delicious products are made for over 30 years, and I bet that you'll be surprised by what you'll see here. Come, but I warn you, you'll have to wake up early and to get to the dairy by 8. 30, the cheese won't wait for you!

A private tour to taste, smell and feel the tradition of Emilia Romagna

Parmesan Cheese and Parma Ham Food Tour

Bologna City Highlights - Express Walking Tour

A wonderful tour that will allow you to discover the most iconic places of this amazing city.

Join me and let me transport you back to the Middle Ages, to the time when the university was founded. Learn historical tales of the shrewdness of some Popes that made it possible for us to admire these enchanting places.

Find out why Bologna has so many porticoes and why it was once called "turrita" - the city full of towers - or the reason for the nicknames "the fat, the learned and the red one".
Take in all the sights and sounds the city of Bologna has to offer!

I always love to include something special in my tours, this being certain places or little known details about them that remain out of the ordinary, that will impress you and that you will always keep in your heart.

So if you want to discover Bologna with different eyes - the eyes of a local - you cannot miss this experience!

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Santo Stefano complex

Church of the Crucifix or of San Giovanni Battista, S. Stefano complex

The "basin" of Pilate, S. Stefano complex

Neptune Fountain, Palazzo Re Enzo,Palazzo de' Notari and S. Petronio church

Let's explore the hidden gems of this medieval city together.

If you visit Bologna for your first time, this is the tour you need!
I grew up here but I'm not tired of the unique atmosphere of the city: the relax mood at sunset, the warm colour of its walls, the smells of food, the sound of people walking under the portico. Everything is special here and I want to leave to the tourist some heartwarming memories about the city I'm in love with.
We start from the city heart, Piazza Maggiore with the surrounding buildings witnesses of Bologna history, like the famous Neptune Fountain.
After entering the incomplete S. Petronio Basilica, a real unconventional Church, we continue inside Archiginnasio Palace to learn something about Bologna ancient University, dating back to 1088, and visiting the Anatomical theatre.
Wandering under Bologna Porticoes and crossing the Food district area, we arrive to S. Stephen Church, nicknamed Seven Churches Complex.
Finally, we arrive to another famous Bologna Symbol : the Two Towers.

The tour can be customized according to your requests.

Enjoy the highlights of Bologna with a private guide

Best of Bologna - Half Day Walking Tour

If you want to get to know Bologna in an half-day tour, this is certainly the one for you.
I am a certified tour guide based in Bologna since many years, with experience in wine and gastronomy
(I owned a vineria).
I designed this tour for someone who wants to combine the cultural and historical aspect with the knowledge of the most delicious aspect of the city, through a tasting at the end of it.
We will walk through the millenary history of the historic center, discovering the peculiarities of this unique city which houses the oldest university in the western world (dated 1088 AD!).
Over 40 kilometers of arcades, and then. . . a gastronomy that the whole world envies us!
At the end of the tour I can give you various suggestions about how to organize your afternoon, what not to be missed and some good restaurants to recommend.

Please note that I can make tour extensions or special customizations depending on your needs.

Per Person price required to cover the cost of tastings.

Bologna Palazzo d'Accursio - The City Hall

Bologna degustazioni - cured meat and wine tasting

Enjoy Bologna from all points of view: history, culture and gastronomy!

Discover and Taste Bologna Walking Tour

Bologna city centre walking guided tour for first-time visitors

Bologna, my hometown, is famous worldwide for its art, culture and history heritage.
Even if it's not a big city, visiting a place so full of culture, music and good food, you never get bored!
Home to the first university in Europe, founded in 1088, and place of birth and/or home to a great number of world-known artists, writers, musicians, scientists etc, it is also renowned for its food tradition (let alone thinking about the bolognese sauce, known and used all over the world).

This walking tour, specifically designed for first-time visitors, will show you the reason why Bologna is so popular all over the world.

IF YOU NEED TO BOOK A TOUR FOR MORE THAN 8 PEOPLE PLEASE DIRECT MESSAGE ME

Discover Bologna's culture and history in a light walking tour designed for first-time visitors

In the old city center, the medieval heart of Bologna is one of the best conserved of its kind in Europe, rise ancient buildings and churches rich in works of art.

Simply by walking, you realize that the town boasts with the largest network of ancient arcades in the world (38 km are in the city center only) which constitute an artistic and architectural gem, thanks to their uniqueness and variety.

But Bologna is a multi-faceted town formed by the oldest University of the western world with thousands of students, still standing medieval towers which continue to uphold a world-famous gastronomic tradition.

So what's better than exploring the city with a native of Bologna and maybe even knowing anecdotes and curiosities sometimes almost unknown even to the inhabitants themselves.

A walk through towers, porticoes and food shops

Bologna City Centre Walking Tour

Prosciutto, Parmesan Cheese & Vinegar - Parma Tasting Tour

Want to explore Parma's hilly landscape around a castle and discover the very places where local Protected Designation of Origin (D. O. P. ) products are created daily? To visit a real diary and meet real producers of Parma ham & of traditional balsamic vinegar? Then this is your tour.

Although Parmigiano Reggiano is produced in an area across the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Mantua, it is in fact between the first 2 provinces that it all started. And it's there where we'll go.

Between these 2 provinces we'll be at a short driving distance from the production area of the famous balsamic vinegar. Although balsamic is usually linked to Modena, in this tour you'll learn and experience real balsamic, the one with a D. O. P label, rooted in the province of Reggio Emilia.

The 3rd D. O. P labelled product of the tour will be our prosciutto in the village of Langhirano, where you'll also admire, either from the outside or the inside (your choice), a very well preserved medieval castle.

Tasting of Parmigiano Reggiano at the diary and of prosciutto by the producer

Typical cauldrons to prepare Parmigiano Reggiano on the production site

Visiting the production site of Parmigiano Reggiano is fun

The medieval castle of Torrechiara on the way to Langirano

Entrance to the borough of Torrechiara and its castle

Modena tours

Explore with 96 tours and 22 guides.

Manuela R.

$ 163 (USD)

Sacha L.

$ 227 (USD)

Elena S.

$ 232 (USD)

Helena K.

$ 465 (USD)

Sara F.

$ 225 (USD)

Giulia M.

$ 221 (USD)

Marta M.

$ 360 (USD)

Margherita C.

$ 225 (USD)

Francesco A.

$ 250 (USD)

Isadora L.

$ 221 (USD)

Andrea G.

$ 244 (USD)

Catia C.

$ 500 (USD)

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Modena tours

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