Ferrari museum from Florence (post-cruise, not port day)?

[LisaSp]

I searched this forum and found nothing...wondered if anyone has taken a day trip to the Ferrari museum from Florence and if so, what tour company you used, how you got to Modena/Maranello, etc. Seeing the Ferrari museum is on my husband's bucket list so I am trying to figure out how to make it happen (we disembark in Rome, and are headed to Florence for a few days post-cruise on Norwegian Epic). Thanks!

Edited January 2, 2019 by LisaSp

[dogs4fun]

I have not toured the Ferrari museum but it sure looks fun! Tours are available from Bologna (through Viator & Motorstars - the latter being quite pricey).

Is car rental an option with which you would be comfortable?

Alternately, you can take the train from Florence to Modena. From Modena, you can take the shuttle. From the museum website:

FROM MODENA RAILWAY STATION

A paid shuttle bus link (gate no. 4) between Modena Railway Station and the Ferrari Museum in Maranello (20 km away) is available exclusively for visitors to the Museums and runs 90 minutes. The special shuttle bus also connects the Ferrari Museum in Maranello with the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena, which is around 1 km from the station. Tickets can be purchased on the bus itself, in the Museums or online.  
 

 

 

[LisaSp]

Thank you! I have looked a bunch of the tour companies (and yes some are outrageously priced) and also saw the 2 Ferrari museums offer a shuttle from the train station in Modena. Just wanted to see if anyone had personal experiences to recommend. Now my husband is reconsidering us trying to squish it into this trip so this question may end up being moot! Thanks again!!

[Hlitner]

Your best option is to simply rent a car and drive :).  It takes about 2 hours (each way) if you use the excellent E35 Toll Road.  You could also do it by train to Modena, but we are not sure of the best options to get from Modena's train station to the museum.  

 

Hank

[bennybear]

We went to Maranello by rental car and my husband got to drive a California special Ferrari convertible on the streets and autostrada.  A bucket list adventure for him,  though a bit of a let down getting in our Faux Ferrari ford rental afterwards.  Highly recommended!  Stay near Bologna and visit the balsamic museum in Spilamberto.  This whole area has a lot to see and do, Parma,  Mantua,  Piacenza and Cremona.  Not to mention great food and wine!  

Edited January 3, 2019 by bennybear

[LisaSp]

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Your best option is to simply rent a car and drive :).  It takes about 2 hours (each way) if you use the excellent E35 Toll Road.  You could also do it by train to Modena, but we are not sure of the best options to get from Modena's train station to the museum.  

 

Hank

Thanks Hank--the museum apparently has shuttles from train station. My husband would love to drive, I am less adventurous.

12 hours ago, bennybear said:

We went to Maranello by rental car and my husband got to drive a California special Ferrari convertible on the streets and autostrada.  A bucket list adventure for him,  though a bit of a let down getting in our Faux Ferrari ford rental afterwards.  Highly recommended!  Stay near Bologna and visit the balsamic museum in Spilamberto.  This whole area has a lot to see and do, Parma,  Mantua,  Piacenza and Cremona.  Not to mention great food and wine!  

 

Thank you~ my husband got to drive a Ferrari on a racetrack in Vegas a couple of months ago so he checked that off the bucket list lol. We are reconsidering this whole Modena/Bologna thing for this trip as our time is very limited...will give us a reason to go back to Italy!!

[Hlitner]

Lisa, driving in Italy is really not difficult as long as one stays away from major cities (i.e. Rome, Florence, etc) and does a little pre-trip homework to learn about ZTLs (limited driving zones) and the basic parking rules.   For those used to driving on the right, Italy is just more of the same.  We do recommend having a GPS or a working cell phone that you can use as a GPS device.  I used to post that GPS has saved my marriage and having DW as my mapreader/navigator used to be quite stressful.  We still laugh about being lost somewhere in France, and when I asked DW (who had a great map book on her lap) where we were....her response was something like "how can I find where we are on a map if I don't know where we are?"

 

But seriously, we are very big fans of driving in Western Europe and have driven at least 10,000 miles just within Italy (from the Swiss and French borders to the south of Sicily.  Having a car, with the freedom it affords, allows one to see much of a country that is missed if using trains, buses, or even tours.  Zipping along on the Autostrada (Italian Interstates) at 80MPH (the usual speed limit) is really not adventurous.   And the 2 lane back roads are always fun because of the many things you see when passing through (and often stopping) in smaller towns.  The only cautions I give about renting a car in Italy (or Europe) is that most of the less expensive rentals are manual shift (if you cannot drive a stick you can usually pay a lot more for an automatic) and to make sure to have some kind of zero deductible insurance.  Those that use their credit cards for auto insurance coverage need to read the current terms and conditions since quite a few cards "Exclude" Italy from coverage.  

 

Hank

 

[LisaSp]

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We still laugh about being lost somewhere in France, and when I asked DW (who had a great map book on her lap) where we were....her response was something like "how can I find where we are on a map if I don't know where we are?"

 

 

 

I can't even read a map lol! Thank you for the info! My DH is great with directions, is a fearless yet careful driver, and can drive stick shift. But it is probably not practical for this particular trip to rent a car. We haven't even been yet, but are talking about a future trip that would include driving!!

[Hlitner]

Just another related issue.  If you would decide to rent a car in Italy, your husband should have a valid International Drivers Permit.  These are sold by any AAA or CAA office ($20) and only take a few minutes to obtain (but you do need to wait while they take a Passport photo that goes into that IDP.  While many renters, in Italy, do not bother to get an IDP (I have sometimes not bothered) it is technically the law.  It is one of those documents that nobody seems to care about until somebody (such as the Police) remember that its the law.  Now that I think of it, we will be back in Italy this year and perhaps I will remember to get one of those documents for myself :).  

 

Hank

[bennybear]

Unless the carabinieri stop you with their machine guns,  then you are grateful to have that permit!   We have been randomly stopped twice and quickly sent on our way once we showed them.   

[KathyGee]

We did something similar - we took a train from Venice to Modena/Maranello for the day on our way to Florence. We trained to Modena, and one friend and I went to a balsamic aceitaia in Modena via cab while our other 2 in our party went from the Modena Enzo Ferrari museum via shuttle to the Maranello site, and returned later to Modena on the shuttle. Then we took the train to Florence.

Book ahead for a tour at the Maranello site. They don't go in the factory or on the track, but nearby, I believe. 

[Host Bonjour]

I stayed in Modena visiting friends and as I read this I’m kind of kicking myself because one of the girl’s boyfriends was an engineer at Ferrari so I could’ve probably had access there like I have access now at NASA which is VIP and very cool. More important to me was there was an Armani outlet in Modena. THAT I went to...if I hadn’t been with locals I’d never have known it was there or found it. A plus of living there? Maybe. 

 

We did go to Imola race track which was pretty cool. One, I’ve never ever been to a race track, two...it was a Formula 1 race track so it’s legit serious. Kind of hard to watch though but the atmosphere is truly something. 

 

I echo the sentiments about the roads being easy...wonderful highways and we never hit traffic going to/from Imola or when we went to/from Florence. Bologna train station is easy, convenient. 

 

I never could have imagined there would be soooooo many different types or offerings of balsamic vinegar but there are. Imagine you’ve walked into a wine shop only it’s not wine, it’s all vinegar and....it’s intense. 

 

Probably one of the best gelato I ever had was in Modena. Some local place we drove to also. There was an incredible, large outdoor market near the football arena, I could hear the supporters singing throughout the match. 

 

Modena has an impressive duomo too, naturally. And...not any more of course but every year Pavarotti had a charity concert for UNHCR. I got to attend the rehearsal so I was up in front, there was no audience. I had no idea I’d be seeing this when I arrived in Italy on this visit. 

 

I guess what im saying is Modena was magical. The Emiglia-Romagna is lovely. (You’ll definitely want to have some of the local cheeses!) 

 

Oh and Ferrari makes these “starter” Ferrari’s called (surprise!) Maranello that you’ll see all around if you drive on the roads. They are not exported and they’re not too terribly expensive either, for a Ferrari. Perks of being Italian...and that Armani outlet 😉 

 

Let us know how it was!! 

[LisaSp]

I appreciate everyone's comments and helpful suggestions...we are going to skip this little side trip on this, our first visit to Italy. As it is, we are cramming a lot of stuff into a little time. Hope to get back and be able to check out Modena and other stuff in the future!!!

[JimmyTheSaint]

We drove from Pisa to the Ferrari museum and the Ducati factory. The area around Bologna is known as Motor Valley in Italy as it's the home to many car and motorbike manufacturers. If your husband is a petrolhead there's a lot of stuff to see and experience in Motor Valley. 

 

I've been to the Ferrari museum twice and on both occasions I was accompanied by people who aren't really in to cars and they loved it.