Things to do in Modena
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Modena
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring is best, tied, 18 to 26 degrees, markets at their best and hills green.
Hot and humid at 30 to 36 degrees, quieter, some traditional restaurants close in August.
Autumn is best, tied, and the food peak with harvest, Festival Filosofia and Modena Cento Ore.
Cold, foggy and cheaper, cosy for bollito and empty museums, with Cimone skiing from December.
What's on
- Motor Valley Fest late April / early May
Four free city wide days of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Maserati and Ducati displays and parades.
- Festival Filosofia mid-September
A huge free philosophy and culture festival across Modena, Carpi and Sassuolo, hotels fill.
- Modena Cento Ore Usually early to mid October
Classic car rally finishing in Modena, spectacular cars and busy roads and hotels.
- Skipass late Oct/early Nov
Ski and winter sports show at ModenaFiere for winter sports people.
- Estate Modenese summer
Open air summer programmes including Pavarotti and opera nights add evenings in summer.
Best things to do in Modena
Duomo di Modena
One of Europe's great Romanesque cathedrals, free to enter, with Wiligelmo reliefs that shaped medieval sculpture.
Torre Ghirlandina
The 87 metre tower gives the best views across Modena and the Po Plain from 201 steps up.
Piazza Grande
Modena's UNESCO main square and founding image, linking the Duomo, tower and Palazzo Comunale.
Mercato Albinelli
The covered market where Modenese shop each morning for fresh pasta, cheese, tigelle and gnocco fritto.
Acetaia Giusti
The easiest in-town acetaia, founded in 1605, with a museum and historic barrels for a first DOP tasting.
Acetaia Villa San Donnino
The most atmospheric acetaia visit, in a beautiful villa just outside the centre, tasting 12 and 25 year balsamic.
Acetaia Leonardi
A producer acetaia suited to a combined dairy and balsamic morning for visitors with a car.
Acetaia Cavedoni
A highly rated acetaia tour option for visitors with a car on a combined dairy and balsamic morning.
Where to stay in Modena
Centro Storico
first trip, food focused stays, no car
Walk to the Duomo, Albinelli, Francescana and the aperitivo bars, with the station a 15 minute walk north.
Station / Buon Pastore edge
one night Motor Valley stop or early train
Practical and close to the Enzo Ferrari Museum and station, slightly cheaper but a longer walk to dinner.
Countryside south of Modena
resort and food pilgrimage stays with a car
Space, pools, gardens and quiet in exchange for needing a car or taxis for every dinner in town.
Think twice about
- Stazione Centrale perimeter late at night
Scruffier and emptier than the centre late at night, with standard station area petty theft caution. Taxi to the Centro instead.
- Ring-road and motorway-exit business parks
Bleak and car dependent around the Modena Nord and Sud exits and Via Emilia sprawl, stranding you away from everything you came for.
Best restaurants in Modena
Osteria Francescana
Massimo Bottura's three star, twice world number one tasting menu re-reading Emilian tradition.
Hosteria Giusti
Italy's oldest deli hides a four table lunch room serving deeply traditional Modenese cooking.
L'Erba del Re
One star contemporary Emilian fine dining, more precise and reachable than Francescana for a special dinner.
Franceschetta58
Bottura's casual bistrot, the bookable, human priced Bottura experience locals actually repeat.
Trattoria Aldina
The single best value traditional lunch in Modena, a fixed price menu recited upstairs opposite the market.
Osteria Ermes
A lunch only local institution with a complete menu around 25 euros and no nonsense.
Da Danilo
The bollito misto institution and best first night traditional dinner, with the full Modenese canon.
Bar Schiavoni
Order the cotechino sandwich here, then graze the market stalls and eat at the communal tables.
Outdoor things to do in Modena
Parmigiano Reggiano Dairy at Dawn
Watch the casaro make Parmigiano at dawn, then taste 12, 24 and 36 month wheels among thousands ageing.
Museo Ferrari Maranello
The racing Ferrari museum, larger and race focused, with F1 cars and the Hall of Victories near the factory.
Modena Golf & Country Club
A Bernhard Langer championship 18 holes with water hazards, plus a 9 hole executive course and pool.
Monte Cimone
The northern Apennines' highest peak, skiing in winter and hiking, lakes and mountain biking in summer.
E-Bike the Modena Hills
Guided e-bike loops between dairy, acetaia and Lambrusco winery, with tastings as rest stops.
Pietra di Bismantova, Canossa Castle & Apennine Farm Day
A full outdoors day pairing a dawn dairy, Canossa Castle and a farm lunch with the hike up Bismantova.
Castelvetro di Modena
A pretty hill wine town and the Grasparossa Lambrusco zone, best for a late afternoon drive and tasting.
Castello di Levizzano Rangone
Levizzano Castle above Castelvetro houses the Rosso Graspa wine and rural life museum.
Best hotels in Modena
Hotel Rua Frati 48 in San Francesco
The city's only central five star, a 16th century palace with spa south of Piazza Grande.
Salotto delle Arti
A boutique favourite in a frescoed palazzo, tranquil and central with celebrated homemade breakfasts.
Phi Hotel Canalgrande
The reliable grand hotel middle, an 18th century palace five minutes from the Duomo and market.
Hotel Cervetta 5
A well reviewed small design stay in the centre, a good alternative when Salotto delle Arti is full.
Vittorio Veneto 25
A well reviewed small central B and B style stay, an alternative when the boutique favourites fill.
Ostello San Filippo Neri
The guide cited budget base in reach of the centre and station, with beds that book earliest of all.
Emilia Suite
Central design apartments whose prices swing by date, a budget route on weekday deals.
Best Western Premier Milano Palace
Modern luxury lite with a spa, positioned between the old town, the station and the Enzo Ferrari museum.
Is Modena expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €90 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €190 a person |
| Splurge | €700 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Torre Ghirlandina: a few days ahead
- Acetaia Giusti: a few days ahead
- Acetaia Villa San Donnino: a few days ahead
- Acetaia Leonardi: a few days ahead
- Acetaia Cavedoni: a few days ahead
- Museo Enzo Ferrari: a few days ahead
- Casa Museo Luciano Pavarotti: a few days ahead
- Umberto Panini Maserati Collection: weeks ahead
- Osteria Francescana opens months ahead and fills within hours.
- Hosteria Giusti lunch books weeks to months ahead for four tables, confirm by WhatsApp the day before.
- Casa Maria Luigia rooms and its restaurants book weeks to months ahead.
- Maserati and Ferrari factory tours are advance only with limited slots.
- Parmigiano dairy tours need days ahead and a dawn start.
- Ghirlandina climbs and Ferrari museum timed entry sell out in peak season.
Is Modena safe?
- Modena is safe and prosperous, the real work is pickpocket hygiene at the station, on trains and at festivals.
- Never leave luggage visible in a parked car anywhere in Italy.
- Emergency number is 112 and tap water is drinkable.
- Summer Po Plain heat above 35 degrees is a bigger health risk than crime, carry water and pace the day.
Modena travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Supermarket IGP balsamic in a fancy bottle sold at DOP prices is the main souvenir trap.
- Rushing both Ferrari museums plus Lamborghini and Pagani in one day leaves only gift shops.
- Ferrari test drive headline prices hide short durations and insurance excesses of thousands of euros.
- Giusti, Aldina and Ermes are lunch places, and many traditional restaurants close Sunday evening and Monday.
- Modena is not a cheap Bologna base, commuting erases its evening aperitivo life.
Getting around Modena: public transport and more
- Walk the centre, sights sit within a 15 minute walk and porticoes shelter rain.
- Modena station is 15 minutes on foot north of Piazza Grande, Bologna is 20 to 30 minutes by train.
- Bologna airport is 40 to 50 minutes away, pre-book late night transfers.
- SETA buses cover station, centre and the Enzo Ferrari Museum, validate tickets properly.
- The historic centre is a camera enforced ZTL, park on the ring and register plates with your hotel in advance.
Who Modena suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Modena your trip
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