Can day trips to Ferrara, Parma and/or Ravenna be combined? Is it doable train and time wise to combine two of these towns? I'm trying to finalize my itinerary and this is one of the final pieces!

I know you can easily get to Parma and Modena from Bologna and you could combine those two.

Here's a link to a train route map that should help you understndd which cities might connect well:

http://uk.geocities.com/goitaly2000/trainmap2.html

According to Trenialia.com, Ravenna is a bit over an hour away (no changes) and Ferrara is about 30-40 min.

We did a day trip to Ravenna from Bologna and it took a whole day since there's a lot to see in Ravenna. I wouldn't try to combine it with another town. We also stayed in Parma for a couple of nights and really enjoyed it.

Claire - Ravenna and Ferrara are closer to Bologna than Parma, http://www.big-italy-map.co.uk/map-o...magna-map.htm; but there you'd need to investigate train service to the areas on question. You can check www.trenitalia.it for schedules between Bologna and the cities that you are thinking of visiting.

Sandra

Here's the link to the English version:

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

Parma's train ride is shorter than Ravenna.

I agree with Marija--would plan a whole day for Ravenna

i wouldn't combine a trip to any of those places, since they are all going on opposite directions of each other. also, each one is worth visiting for a day--they are all reasonably large towns. I agree about combining Modena and Parma--that's a great little day trip right there. Ravenna on its own is nice, and Ferrara too. Incidentally, I have a friend who offers tours of that specific area--Emilia Romagna, especially around Ravenna etc.--if you're interested in checking out her site: http://www.esperiatravels.com/

I agree with the others - don't combine. My daughter and I were in Bologna last winter and visited Ravenna and Modena. We also spent two full days in Bologna. We loved it.

Thanks for the suggestions! Makes sense now that Ravenna needs it's own day Esp. when I take another look at the map!). One clarification--Jackie, you think you can combine Modena and Parma?
I will be staying in Bologna and am trying to figure out if I can combine any of the day trips form Bologna into one trip. I only have a limited number of days and either have to cut or combine!

IMO, as I wrote on a different post, Parma deserves a full day because of Mostra di Correggio.
But, in the meantime, you cannot miss Modena, at least to enjoy Ghirlandina and the small historical center.

Vincenzo

Even if you do not go to Correggio show I think Parma is worth a full day.

If you must visit two in one day take advantage of the siesta to travel. Parma and Modena are both quiet during this time, 1P- 4P ...So i suppose you could visit one early morning and one later after siesta.

If you are interested, we do have lots of video about Parma on our website and more about Modena coming soon.

If it were me I'd go to Parma and save Modena for another trip. You will be in Bologna too so you'll have a good feel for Emilia Romagna without the stop in Modena.

yes, sorry for not being clear--I meant to say that visiting Modena and Parma together might work out well. I've done that before, and it was a nice day trip. Modena really deserves more than just a couple of hours, but spending a few hours there does give you enough time to see the main square and take in the beautiful cathedral, plus wander a bit. You need to spend a little more time in Parma, I think--I would suggest planning to spend most of your day there. There's a lot to see (it's actually somewhat of a big city, and it has a lot of charm as well).

What I meant to say about not combining trips was not to combine Ferrara, Ravenna, or Parma in anyway. They are all too far apart from each other.