Looking for a beautiful Italian city with great food and limited crowds? Consider a Modena day trip. Known for balsamic vinegar, Ferrari and the home of the best restaurant in the world. Modena is a wonderful addition to your northern Italy itinerary.
With one day in Modena you’ll get to see and experience the best this small city has to offer. However, there is not a huge list of things “to do” in Modena. For that reason, it is nowhere near as touristy as nearby cities such as Florence, Venice or even Bologna. Here you’ll spend a wonderful day in Modena wandering around the streets, eating delicious food and sipping on cocktails. If that sounds appealing, read on to find out how to spend the perfect day in Modena.
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How to get to Modena for your day trip
Modena is located in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It’s conveniently located on the train line from Bologna to Milan. So Modena is an easy day trip by train from many cities and towns in Northern Italy.
However, the most popular option is a Bologna to Modena day trip. Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region. A buzzing university town, it is a wonderful place to base yourself. Modena is one of the easiest day trips you can take from Bologna.
Located less than 50km from each other, it’s super easy to get from Bologna to Modena via the train. Services are frequent and reasonably priced.
The quickest train takes just 17 minutes to get from Bologna to Modena. However, the more frequent regional trains will take between 24-30 minutes and likely cost you less. Like most train travel through Italy, you’ll generally get a cheaper ticket the earlier in advance you book. If you book through Omio, you can grab a ticket for as low as €3.85 one way. However, this can go up to around €15 if you’re booking on the day.
If you’re basing yourself in Bologna, make sure you check out our guide to 3 days in Bologna and where to find the best gelato.
Getting around Modena on your day trip
The historical centre of Modena, where you’ll spend most of your time during this day trip, is easily walkable. Many areas are pedestrianised only, or only open to local traffic. This is one of the reasons we love Modena so much!
Modena’s train station is about a 15 minute flat walk from the city centre. If you’d like to give your feet a rest, you could always take a local bus or grab a taxi. In fact, you may want to do this at the end of the day if, like me, you’ve eaten way too much! The best way to find which bus to take is to use Google Maps. You pop in your destination, go to the public transport tab, and it will show you the bus number and location of the stop.
Top things to see with one day in Modena
So, let’s begin your day in Modena! For this itinerary, I’ll assume you’ve arrived by train. Plan to have some breakfast before you leave your destination, so you arrive in Modena around mid-morning.
Admire vintage cars at the Enzo Ferrari Museum
Whilst the “home” of Ferrari is the nearby town of Maranello, the links to Ferrari run deep in Modena. A few minutes walk from the train station you’ll find the Enzo Ferrari Museum. Located at the childhood home of Ferrari’s founder, Enzo Ferrari, you’ll have the opportunity to view some very special vintage Ferraris.
I’m not much of a car lover to be fair, but I think this museum is appealing to even those who don’t possess an automotive passion. There are around 15-18 cars on display from right across the Ferrari era, which shows the variety and evolution of this incredible car manufacturer. You’ll need 30-60 minutes to enjoy looking around. This will also include a viewing of the Ferrari story which plays out on the walls of the museum. If only Ferrari wasn’t so exclusive, you’ll likely walk away wondering what it would be like to own one of these beauties.
Do note that the entry to the museum is €17 for adults, but check the website for updated pricing and opening hours.
Walk past the door of one of the best restaurants in the world
If you’re into your food and you’ve decided on a day trip to Modena, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Massimo Bottura. This little town in Italy is home to one of the best restaurants in the world, Osteria Francescana. And Massimo is its owner and head chef.
This 3 star Michelin restaurant was the winner of the Best Restaurant in the World in 2018. Once you’ve won, you can’t win again. So it’s forever on the Best of the Best list. It’s a restaurant known for its inventive and unique Italian dishes.
We’ve been to Modena twice, and on our last trip we were lucky enough to dine for lunch here. I say “lucky”, but in reality, we planned our whole trip around this meal. You need to secure your reservation 4 months out, and the bookings for the month fill up in a matter of hours. If you’d like to read more about our experience and how to book, check out our Osteria Francescana review here.
If you’re unable to secure a reservation, you can do what we did on our first trip: have a peek at the restaurant! Head to the location at Via Stella, 22. On an unassuming street, surrounded by residential buildings, is where you’ll find one of the best restaurants in the world. You’ll see a dusty pink building with a small gold sign next to the door, “Osteria Francescana”. If you’ve arrived before or after service, you may even see some of the chefs taking a break out on the street. Grab your photo and prepare to move onto more foodie goodness (ie. one you can actually partake in!).
Wander around Modena’s food market: Mercato Albinelli
From Osteria Francescana, it’s a short walk to Modena’s main food market, Mercato Albinelli. A covered market that is open from 6:30am, 6 days a week (it’s closed on Sundays). This market is the buzzing, beating heart of Modena. It’s been here since the early 1900’s. It feels as though not much has changed since then!
Here you’ll be able to admire, try and buy so much good food. Fruit and vegetable stores abound with the ripest looking tomatoes you’ve ever seen. Just try and walk past the cheese stores and not try some Parmigiano-Reggiano (yes, really! I don’t even like cheese but I had to try it here). There’s home-made pasta, fresh bread, meats and sweet treats. Make sure you keep a look out for the local speciality, amaretti di Modena, an almond cookie. You can even pick up a bottle or two of some premium balsamic vinegar from the region. I hope you had a light breakfast because this is the perfect spot for some grazing.
Time for some lunch
Italy is all about eating. So, if you haven’t filled up too much at the market, it’s time for lunch. I’ve got two wonderful recommendations on what to have for lunch for your one day in Modena.
First up, is Bar Schiavoni. It’s located on the edge of the market, so you don’t have very far to go at all. They serve up a small selection of paninis. But in my eyes (or should that be stomach?) there is just one that matters. The humble sausage sandwich. I’m not even sure what they put on it to be honest. And we ate here at least 3 times! I just asked for the “sausage sandwich with the green sauce”. A few minutes later, I was in foodie heaven.
Bar Schiavoni was apparently the first bar that ever opened in Modena. And whilst they continue to serve up delicious paninis, I’m sure they’ll be the last bar standing. It’s a super small space. There are just a few tables out front. But for a place so amazing, we never had to wait too long.
If the spot looks familiar, it could be because you’ve watched Master of None on Netflix. The shows two main characters eat here in Season 2, Episode 2. In fact, the first two episodes are predominantly based in Modena. So it’s an interesting watch and will surely fuel your wanderlust and need to visit this beautiful city.
The second spot I recommend for lunch is Franceschetta 58. This is the perfect spot if you’re a Massimo Bottura fan. That’ because this place is “Osteria Francescana’s little cousin”. I didn’t make that up, it’s exactly how they describe it on their website! Massimo’s second restaurant in Modena, this spot is a lot more casual than its Michelin stared cousin. It’s also a lot easier on the wallet and much easier to get a reservation here.
Located just outside the historical centre, it’s about a 15 minute walk from Mercato Albinelli. For €50 you can get a tasting menu, that’s best described as Italian with a twist. This also includes a pasta favourite, Tortellini in Parmigiano Reggiano fondue. We ate lunch here on our first visit to Modena and really enjoyed it.
Sightseeing in Modena
So your Modena day trip itinerary has so far mostly consisted of food and cars. But that’s about to change. Modena is a stunning northern Italian town with large squares, cute shopfronts and beautiful churches. Take some time now to burn off that lunch with a wander around the historical centre.
All great Italian towns have a beautiful square or two, and Modena is no different. Make sure you check out the Piazza Grande. Here you’ll find a square surrounded by Modena’s most striking and important monuments. There’s the beautiful 12th century cathedral, with the tower known as “Ghirlandina”. This is probably Modena’s most iconic image. For a small charge you can climb this tower for views out across the city. The Piazza Grande with the cathedral and tower were given UNESCO World Heritage status in 1997.
From here, my recommendation is to just go through the cute streets of Modena. Similar to Bologna, Modena’s streets are flanked by stunning porticoes. It makes for a really pleasant walk and protection against the elements.
Get your balsamic vinegar fix
If you’re a balsamic vinegar fan, now is the time for some tasting and shopping. You are in the home of balsamic vinegar after all! There are a few stores in central Modena that provide a tasting such as La Consorteria 1966. Enoteca Ducale is another well recommended shop a short walk from the centre.
Now from here, you may be very well worn out from your Modena day trip. On our first visit, we were day tripping from Bologna. We chose to leave Modena in the afternoon. That way we got back to our hotel for a rest, before having aperitivo and dinner in Bologna.
If you’re ready to leave now, know that you’ve definitely seen the highlights of Modena! But if you’re keen on staying, I’ve got some more recommendations for you (and of course, they’re all food related).
Indulge in aperitivo
Now if you’ve spent some time in Italy, you would have realised that aperitivo is a strongly observed tradition in Italian culture. Particularly in summer where the light lingers and the air is warm. If you’re wondering what on earth aperitivo is, well, it’s effectively after work/pre-dinner drinks.
My drink of choice for aperitivo, particularly in summer, is an Aperol Spritz. But of course if I am in a place like Tuscany, or a fine enoteca, I’ll choose an Italian wine.
There are some fantastic bars all around Modena to indulge in aperitivo. My favourite spot was Caffetteria Giusti, located on via Farini. There’s a lovely shaded spot outside where you can grab a seat and watch everyone pass by. The drinks were great and it came with lots of complimentary food.
This café is also next door to Hosteria Guisti, a famous deli and restaurant in Modena. If the deli is open, make sure you have a look inside! First opened in 1605, it is reportedly Europe’s oldest salumeria. We were lucky enough to be staying in an apartment on this street, so would regularly visit here to grab some supplies. We were living the Italian dream!
Dinner in a local restaurant
If you’re planning on having dinner in Modena on your day trip, you’ll be spoilt for choice. A recommendation from us would be to grab some dinner at Trattoria Il Fantino. This restaurant was recommended by our AirBnB host as a traditional and well-known restaurant with locals. We were also advised to book a few days in advance. We hadn’t, so turned up on opening (as Italians generally eat much later than we are used to) and got a table for an hour.
There are a range of local Italian dishes on offer and all at very reasonable prices. We started with ‘Gnocco fritto e prosciutto crudo’ which they translated as ‘Fried bread served with ham.’ We’ve tried this in other cities in the Emilia-Romagna region and absolutely love it! We also chose the pasta of the day, which we were told was a local speciality. All this was paired with a bottle of local red wine.
Finish off with some amazing gelato
Now comes the final thing to do on your Modena day trip, and in my view one of the most important. Eat some fantastic gelato!
If you’ve read some of our other articles on Italy, you’d know that we take our gelato eating very seriously. You’re in the home of gelato, so we want to make sure you avoid eating bad gelato.
Head to Emilia Cremeria. Sure, it’s a chain store, but in our view one of the best gelato shops we’ve tried in Italy. The Siciliana and Bacio were my favourite flavours. It’s creamy goodness for sure. You can also get milk chocolate in the bottom of your cone (watch out, it can get messy!).
So now your Modena day trip has come to an end. We hope you had a fantastic time! How did you find it? Do you have any other recommendations for our readers? We’d love to hear in the comments.
What a lovely city this is! I’ve been so inspired by your travels through Italy. It’s still one country we haven’t been yet surprisingly. Definitely going to save your recommendations on what to see and eat, especially the gelato, yum!