Bologna: Parmigiano Reggiano & Balsamic Factory Tours with Lunch

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/50

Duration9h

GroupUp to 25

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Three factories, one morning, and why early matters

You arrive at dawn in central Bologna, spend the morning watching Parmigiano Reggiano being made and aged, taste prosciutto at a working factory, and end in a balsamic vinegar aging room surrounded by decades-old barrels. Breakfast, tastings, and a full lunch with wine are included throughout. Plan for a full day out — that's what fits three factories and the drive between them.

Step-by-step itinerary

Food factory tours and tastings

Meet at Piazza XX 3 Settembre at 7am
Transfer to countryside between Modena and Bologna
Visit Parmigiano Reggiano cheesemakers
Taste young and aged Parmigiano Reggiano
Enjoy breakfast with salame, mortadella, bread, cake, Lambrusco, and coffee
Tour Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena aging room
Visit Prosciutto Factory Montevecchio
Taste prosciutto, local charcuteries, and Lambrusco
Enjoy multicourse Italian-style lunch

The Experience

Seven in the morning at Piazza XX Settembre, near the train station in Bologna, and you're already in a minivan heading into the countryside between Modena and Bologna. The early start isn't arbitrary — Parmigiano Reggiano production happens at dawn, and the cheesemakers don't wait for tourists. You'll watch them handle the curds, see the wheels being turned, and then step into the aging warehouse where thousands of wheels sit in rows, each one waiting at least twelve months before it earns the name. The tasting comes next: young or aged, creamy or crunchy, and you get to taste both and decide which one wins.

After the cheese comes breakfast with local salame, mortadella, homemade bread, cake, Lambrusco wine and coffee — the kind of spread that makes you understand why this region takes food seriously. Then you're moving to the next stop: Prosciutto Factory Montevecchio, where two ingredients and time become something fragrant and buttery that tastes like nothing you've had before. The guide walks you through the curing process and the strict regulations that protect it, and then there's more tasting with local charcuteries and another glass of Lambrusco. By now you're not just eating; you're starting to see how these products fit together.

The third factory is where things get quiet. The Traditional Balsamic vinegar aging room in Modena is full of wooden barrels, and the smell alone tells you something old and patient is happening here. Family tradition, the guide explains, is baked into every bottle — some of these barrels have been aging vinegar for decades. You taste it, and it's nothing like the balsamic you've bought in a supermarket. After that, a proper multicourse Italian-style lunch is served with wine pairings, and by the time you're back in Bologna in the late afternoon, you've moved through three worlds of production and tasted your way through the region's most protected foods.

The tour runs about seven hours total, and the guide speaks English throughout. If you have dietary needs — vegetarian, gluten-free, lactose-free — you need to tell them at least three days before, or they can't arrange it. No hotel pickup is available; everyone meets at the same point in central Bologna at 7am. If you're driving in from outside the city, you can contact them about a different meeting spot, but the timing stays the same.

What’s included

Your day includes round-trip transportation from central Bologna in an air-conditioned minivan or minibus, guided tours of three production sites with an English-speaking guide, breakfast with local salame, mortadella, homemade bread, cake, Lambrusco wine and coffee, generous tastings at each factory, and a multicourse Italian-style lunch with wine pairings. Dietary accommodations (vegetarian, gluten-free, lactose-free) are available with three days' notice.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Italian Days

Is this one for you?Right for travelers who want to understand how Parmigiano Reggiano, prosciutto, and balsamic vinegar are actually made, not just taste them. The 7am start is what lets you catch the cheesemakers at work and fit three factories into one day.