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Next trip: Emilia-Romagna, Italy

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Historic harbour at Cesenatico. Copyright Barbaradel

Historic harbour at Cesenatico. Copyright Barbaradel

This summer we (my husband, 16 year-old daughter, 12 year-old son and I) are heading to Italy for our family trip – again. We’ve been to Italy for our family holidays more times than we’ve been to any other country. There are many reasons why we go there so often – I’ve written about them here if you’re interested – but in essence it’s because all four of us love it there.

Emilia-Romagna

Despite having travelled widely in Italy there’s one particularly appealing region which none of us have visited: Emilia-Romagna. Millions of tourists pass through Emilia-Romagna as they travel between Venice and Tuscany. But Emilia-Romagna itself is well-worth exploring – it has a rich heritage and is less expensive to visit than its famous neighbours.

I’ll be writing about our trip over the next few months as well as sharing our experiences on my social media channels. Until then, here are some of the things that we plan to do while we’re in Emilia-Romagna. Thank you to the Emilia-Romagna tourist board for their support in arranging this trip:

Parma

The Lonely Planet guide to Italy says of Parma: ‘Stopping here isn’t an option, it’s a duty.’ I’m very dutiful and so we’re spending the first night of our trip in the historic city. I predict that we’ll eat some delicious food there (parmesan cheese and parma ham will feature) and stroll around the cobbled streets sightseeing until the kids can’t take any more and we have to find some more food. Or wifi. Probably both.

Parma - Piazza Duomo. Image courtesy of Emilia Romagna tourism

Parma – Piazza Duomo. Image courtesy of Emilia Romagna tourism

Parmesan

We’re visiting a parmesan cheese factory to find out how this world-famous cheese is produced, the history behind it and, I hope, to taste some cheese.

Parmesan cheese. Image courtesy of Emiia-Romagna tourism

Parmesan cheese. Image courtesy of Emiia-Romagna tourism

Bologna

We’re spending a few days in Bologna, a city famous for its rich food, its university (the oldest in the world, dating back to 1088) and its left-wing politics. It sounds like my kind of place and I’ll enjoy exploring the medieval city centre and trying some of its famous dishes. I’m looking forward to going to a university city without having to listen to a talk on entrance requirements or view the student accommodation. We’re going to have a cooking lesson in Bologna, which I think that the kids will particularly enjoy.

Bologna i miei portici. Copyright Francobraso

Bologna i miei portici. Copyright Francobraso

Ferrari Museum

We’re going to the Ferrari Museum at the Ferrari factory in Maranello, near Modena – and I think that this is the part of the trip that my husband is looking forward to the most. There are Ferrari exhibitions at the museum, you can tour the factory and see the test track.

Ferrari Museum, Maranello. Image courtesy of Emila-Romagna tourism

Ferrari Museum, Maranello. Image courtesy of Emila-Romagna tourism

Agriturismo

We’ll spend some time at an agriturismo for lunch and a swim. Agriturismos are wonderful places which you can find all over Italy. They are farms which serve food which they have produced themselves. Some of them also offer accommodation – like this one where we stayed in Sicily last year.

Coast

We’ll be on the Adriatic coast in the historic town of Cesenatico for a week. Cesenatico has a four-mile long sandy beach and is renowned for its excellent fish restaurants. It also has a canal which was redesigned by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1502.

Beach at Cesnatico. Copyright G. Salvatori

Beach at Cesnatico. Copyright G. Salvatori

Theme parks

There are various theme parks on and near the coast where we’re staying and so we’ll definitely be checking some of them out. There’s a water park, Atlantica, in Cesenatico so I’m sure we’ll be heading there to cool off. Mirabilandia is a theme park with rides and a water park which looks like fun too.

Recommended guide book

This is the guide book which seems the most helpful for Emilia-Romagna:

Over to you

If you’ve been to Emilia-Romagna do you have any tips for us about things to see and do there? If you haven’t been there, is it the sort of place that you’d like to visit? Is there anything that you’d like us to check out while we’re there?

Disclosure: This post is in association with Expedia. All opinions and words are my own.

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Comments

  4. Laura says

    My parents have recently begun to travel properly and want to see more of Italy. I’ll definitely be sharing this post with them. I’ve only ever been to Milan for a city break, but would like to explore the country more.
    Laura recently posted…The new Bratz dolls collectionMy Profile

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This is a personal blog written and edited by me, Gretta Schifano. Sometimes I’m given products or sent on trips to review, but I always make this clear and give my honest opinion. See my About page for full details.