Going to Geneva car show the week of March 7. Would like to do a factory visit, museum and restaurant after the show. Any suggestions on what to see and any estimate on how much time to allocate for the different places?
Yes. In fact I've got a 20 page article in my current magazine about the Ferrari Factory and visiting Maranello. (click on subscribe link below) The bad news is that a visit is usually planned A LOT sooner than this. 4 weeks away and there is a good chance it won't be possible. To sum up Maranello in a few sentences - - Go to the Ferrari Museum Maranello and start there. Ferrari Museum Maranello - Official Site - Eat at Montana Restuarant https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ristorante-Montana-Maranello/427403650632718 - Visit all the stores - Shopping Formula 1 being the coolest IMO Total time without a tour - 2-4 hours. If tempted to spend the night in Maranello, do not stay at the Planet Hotel, stay at Hotel Maranello Palace (I've never been - I prefer Grand Majestic in Bologna - but others recommend highly)
Steve, My dealer got me connected with Ferrari North America, they can see if there are any open tour slots for a specific time. They typically fill up well in advance. FNA can make the reservation for you and get you the paperwork. You and one guest. We got our slot and then scheduled our trip around that. Restaurant Montana is memorable in many way, besides great good. It's the best in town. Park at the Ferrari store across the street from the main gate. The tour includes time at the Ferrari Museum, but you might want to go back after lunch if you want to see everything. We stayed in Florence at the Four Seasons and drove up early in the morning. Good luck!
+ 1 Great suggestions. Hotel Maranello Palace is better than Planet Hotel (these 2 of the closest hotels to the factory), but If you have an option to stay in Modena or Bologna is better option.
Stay in Bologna and take the train to Maranello - Bologna is a great city and has good hotels and great food. Take a cab to the factory etc. just so much easier. In Modena, I've stayed at a small boutique hotel which is called Vittorio Veneto 25. Nice rooms and good cafe's around there for breakfast. The woman that runs it Raffaella is charming and helpful. The other bonus is it's very close to Osteria Franciscana which, is one of the best restaurants in Italy but you have to book well in advance as it really is heavily booked.
Thanks to everyone for these great suggestions. I will arrive in Bologna, most likely by plane from Geneva. While I hate to rent cars I was thinking of doing that at the airport and then staying two nights at Hotel Maranello Palace using it as a base to see the factory and museums in Maranello and a side trip somewhere but it sounds like staying in Bologna might be a better choice as a base. I will have at least two days so maybe some side trip too. A friend suggests I should rent a 458 for the 20 km ride in the country side. It all sounds a bit confusing. I have asked my dealer to help with the factory visit. I don't know if the Ferrari Concierge service helps with this. Any other thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.
There are many many many factory visit threads with suggestions on what to do in the area - try a search on 'Casa Enzo' which should bring up some promising threads
Thanks, Jimmie. I will do that. It looks like my factory visit will go forward thanks to my dealer and FNA. Ferrari Concierge is putting together a list of restaurants and some sight seeing for me which I will learn more about tomorrow. Things are coming together.
We stayed in Modena when we did the tour. Loved the smaller Italian city feel. We didn't love Bologna when we visited on a previous trip. The Cavallino restaurant at Ferrari's gate is as good if not better than Montana on any given day. Don't miss it. Lastly, we loved the Enzo Museum in Modena as much as The Ferrari Museum at the factory. Depending on the exhibit, you will like or love it. Best
Thanks, Randy. I'm generally not a big fan of the larger cities, certain exceptions of course, but it will be easier for me at the Hotel Maranello as a base. I will have two full days there which should be plenty. I love Florence and have driven a rental car there but it is a bit hectic. The lady behind me at the car rental line said she would pray for me.
I am sure you will have a ball. We are taking our daughter to Italy this summer. We have been 4 or 5 previous times without her. This is a good excuse to go back and see a country I never tire of. Don't get me wrong. Bologna has some very interesting things to see. I just didn't like all the graffiti from the college kids on the historic building walls. Made it look too "American" if you know what I mean? I really do recommend the Enzo Museum. Or, if you like the foodie thing, Modena is the place to do a balsamic wine tour and have some great food as mentioned above. Best
You will love the factory tour, museum, etc. We were Italy in September for our son's wedding and my dealer organized a tour for us. It was first class. They don't allow photos in the factory but you can take them in the museum, which is exceptional. Agree with the suggestion that you park in the lots across the street. Get there early though as parking fills up early. We got a bit lost driving to Maranello from Siena and arrived just as they were getting ready to begin the tour. Parking was a challenge. Here's some pics we took while there. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks, again for all the suggestions. I will be coming from the Geneva car show which I dearly love and will be on the Ferrari platform, among others. I have a very open mindEd and am very flexible and patient in terms of what I will see in Maranello and Modena as I will be sated somewhat on all of the beautiful metal auto art I will see at the show. I would rather see some country side wineries or other car places instead of Bologna as I have seen and enjoyed plenty of city sites in Rome, Florence and Milan. This should be great fun. Thanks, again!
I suggest reading this thread: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/ferrari-discussion-not-model-specific-sponsored-algar-ferrari/377045-ferrari-factory-tour-2012-a.html
