Parma Food Tours & Producer Visits
Parma gave its name to the ham and the cheese, and both are made in the hills and plains around the city, where the dairies and curing houses take visitors. Compare the top-rated food tours and producer visits below, then read our notes on the city and the countryside.
Parmigiano and prosciutto tours from Parma
Formats: Parmigiano dairy and prosciutto curing-house tours with transfer from the city, half or full day; walking food tours of the centre with the Ghiaia farmers’ market, salumi and Parmigiano; culatello visits in the Po lowlands.
What you will taste: Parmigiano at 24 and 36 months, prosciutto di Parma at 18 and 24 months, culatello di Zibello, torta fritta with salumi, anolini in brodo, and Malvasia and Lambrusco from the Colli di Parma.
Price and time: 50 to 150 dollars for a dairy-and-ham tour with transfer; 60 to 90 for a city food tour.
The producers
The dairies are on the plain and in the foothills south of the city and make cheese from the morning milk, so tours start early; the prosciutto houses are in the hills around Langhirano, 20 kilometres south, where the mountain air dries the hams. Half-day tours from Parma combine a dairy visit and a curing house with tastings; full days add a castle in the Parma hills or a culatello producer near Zibello. Our producer tours page compares all the departure points.
The city
Parma is elegant and quiet after Bologna: the Ghiaia farmers’ market on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings, salumerie that slice prosciutto to order, and trattorias serving anolini in brodo and torta fritta, the fried dough eaten with salumi. Food tours cover it in two to three hours and are a good afternoon after a morning at the producers.
Reggio Emilia
Between Parma and Modena, Reggio Emilia shares the cheese and adds the erbazzone, a chard and Parmigiano pie with protected status, and Lambrusco Reggiano. It has fewer tours and the same dairies with fewer visitors; the combined Parmigiano and balsamic tours from here are worth a look if you are driving.
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.
FAQ about Parma Food Tours & Producer Visits
Frequently asked questions
Is Parma or Bologna better for the producers?
Parma is closer to the ham and cheese and the half-day tours are cheaper; Bologna tours add balsamic and lunch and run longer. Both work.
What is culatello?
The heart of the ham, cured in a bladder in the foggy Po lowlands for a year or more; rarer and pricier than prosciutto, and a producer visit is the way to taste it.
Can I get to Parma by train?
Yes: an hour from Bologna and 90 minutes from Milan. The producers need a car or a tour with transfer.