Parma Delights Tour: Parmigiano, Prosciutto & Balsamico

We drove almost 2 hours from Desenzano (on Lake Garda) to the beginning of this tour in Parma and the effort was worth it. The group for the tour was large enough for three buses, with guides for each bus load. We drove to a facility which manufactures Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and were led through the steps of its production, allowing us to try Parmigiano cheeses of various ages. Just down the road, a walkable distance, we stopped at another facility dedicated to the Production of Prosciutto di Parma, again with explanation and sampling. Finally, after a short bus ride to Modena, we were taken to a facility producing Aceto Balsamico (balsamic vinegar), with tasting and opportunity to purchase at the finish of the tasting. At the end of this informative day, our bus driver brought us back to the starting point of the tour, outside Parma’s main train station.

Matteo was incredible! We had the best time with him on our Parmesan and Prosciutto tour. He was very knowledgeable and funny, he made the experience feel very personal and specific to us. Would recommend to anyone!

We thoroughly enjoyed this introduction to Parma food traditions. The hosts were welcoming and happy to share their industry with us.

Nice guide. Very pleasant visits.

Excellent tour that gave a lot of information about parmaggiano reggiano, prosciutto di parma and balsamico modena.

Not to be missed experience. Our guide, Mathio, is incredibly knowledgeable on the process of cheese and prosciutto making and explained everything clear and interesting. The tastings everywhere were ample and well done. The tour itself was well organised- I can absolutely recommend it

The actual stops (cheese, ham, and balsamic) were very good. Our guide during the cheese and ham stops was excellent! The balsamic stop was guided by someone from the winery. However, the organization of the transportation of the 3 stops was very disorganized. From the description, we thought the tour would include at the most 8 people. It's true that each van held 8 people, but there were 3 vans so a total of much more than 8. The tour we were on was approximately 16 people (the other van toured separately). However, because the balsamic stop was an option, the people in the vans were a mix of those that selected that option and those that didn't. As a result, we had to return to the meeting place after the cheese and ham stops to drop those off that didn't choose the balsamic option. They should have separated the two groups into different vans, so we didn't have to return to the meeting place. In addition, after the balsamic stop, out of the 11 people left, 7 requested to be dropped off at a different drop off location (Moderna train station). The four of us that needed to go back to the original drop off had to ride along to the unscheduled drop off because our driver didn’t speak English and did not know how to use GPS. The end result was that the length of time of the total tour was extended by about an hour. Perhaps the next tour will be better organized.

A 10hr visit to follow the cheese production

The experience was extremely immersive and offered a great tasting and tour of the production areas. Our favorite place had to be the Parma Ham factory where we were able to meet the master himself, Claudio. This in itself was worth the entire tour in addition the smaller production of Parmigiano Reggiano was extremely interesting to see the handmade crafting of wheels of cheese. Lastly, the balsamic experience offered a quicker tour, but a very immersive tasting experience with multiple different types, ages, and flavors of balsamic products. This tour was the highlight of our trip!

Much better than imagined, very well organized