Ferrari Factory Tour Tips

I know of several people that set up a trip through their dealer only to show up and be refused admittance because Ferrari had never heard of them. Go to the horses mouth and call Ferrari of North America and set it up with them.
Be armed with proof of ownership when you call.

If possible allow at least a full day in Maranello so you can have lunch at the Cavallino across the street and dinner down the street at Montanas. Montana's has a good website. It is generally where factory groups or the race team goes.

You really should go to both.

Go to the Galleria across town and the Ferrari store across the street from the factory.

Stroll around Maranello. It is a very small but beautiful town. You can walk the entire town in a couple of hours.

 

Be careful...Maranello ain't Florence! Picturesque in a motor-head sort of way. It's the perfect town for a car guy armed with a camera to walk for 3-4 hours. It's a boring place for your wife or significant other if she isn't into cars. If it were my vacation...I'm in Maranello / Modena, my wife is in Venice and then we meet up in Florence!

 

my wife is not a 'car girl', but we both enjoyed our time in Maranello. Be sure to hit Milan while in the neighborhood.

 

Are they open on saturdays or sundays.

 

The factory? No.

 

Ferrari conduct tours for over 10,000 visitors per year. Most of them are either clients (owners) or Racing sponsors.

Your local dealership is the correct channel for a tour request. They will submit it to FNA, along with your Ferrari credentials (cars owned or purchases made through the dealership) and a few alternative dates. FNA will get back back to your dealer within 4 to 6 weeks with a confirmed date. FNA will follow up with a letter directly to you specifying exactly on what day and what time you are expected, and the letter serves as your officail invitation to be presented at the factory's front gate when you arrive.

My wife really enjoys Maranello and the factory tour, and we always visit the same restaurants, souvenir shops and Ferrari musuem. It's not worth staying in Maranelllo as the tour takes approx 2 hours and you can cover the rest of the Ferrari stuff in town in a few more hours. During our latest visit we were in Florence for several days and did a day trip to Maranello (about 90 mins on the autostrada to Bologna and then on to Modena and Maranello.)

The tour has changed over the past several years as the factory continues to be modernized and they open up new areas to visitors. It's a treat for Ferrari fans and I would recommend you do whatever is necessary with your dealer, or directly with FNA to secure a tour.

 

The store across the factory is open on weekends, You think I should be able to buy technical manual for my 550. Thanks

 

Mostly "bling" - not tecnical manual stuff - so I would think not.

 

In lieu of the "free" owner tour of 1.5-2 hours, you might consider the "paid" owner tour should same be offered during your respective time in Italy. It typically includes a night stay, dinner at Montana, night drive in the bus of Fiorano track, brunch at the factory during the preview, tour and lunch at Il Cavallino then a visit to the Galleria. In our experiences there's usually "tag-along wives" so this might provide your wife with some company. Well worth spending the Euro to do this. We've been to the factory many times haven taken the free tour, paid owner's tour and the F1 Test day (quite expensive but worth it). Last trip to Maranello we kinda got off the "beaten Ferrari tourist route" and found a fantastic restaurant, cool hotel, etc. Take your wife to San Marino where you can enjoy a beautiful country and tax free shopping in the castle shops and some even offer discounts on top of tax free. Wish I could be more helpful but I'm not a tag-along wife - I'm the one typically behind orchestrating these things!

Carol

 

The local dealer is only allowed so many requests per year (at leasts thats what they told me) and those are understandably reserved for their clients.

I went through FNA directly. It was pretty easy.

 

I know of two people that tried that and it was not even acknowledged that there was such a thing as a tour.

 

LOL! Given the expense, I'd want some kind of written confirmation....

Could you go thru the Owner's website, I wonder? They always respond very politely, when I email requests thru that method......I have Art Car pictures posted in "my Garage", and they have confirmed my original paint codes.

Napolis has his P3/4............I have the Art Car Ferrari.....ROTFLMAO!

 

I just discovered this web site, it is super. It tells you about every thing you need to see while you are in the maranello. Just type in visiting maranello in you web site and click ok. then choose the third one which says visiting maranello. www.barchetta.CC/Allferraris/. You can not use the www. Just type visiting maranello. It is beautifull you will see different sections.

enjoy it.

 

The Ferrari Owners Club web site has a area to register for a
factory tour.

https://www.owners.ferrari.com/cgi-bin/Feros/os/jsp/01_0_login.jsp


Bill H

 

The F1 museum down the stereet blew me away, could've spent days in there!

Montanas was, by far, the best Italian food I have ever eaten. Can't wait to go back.

 

Glad to be able to help "save your marriage". Montana is wonderful but make reservations and remember dinner in Italy usually doesn't commence until about 8 pm. Mauritizo and Rosella are great folks and you'll really like their restaurant. Each time we've been there, there's been a test driver - last time Luca. You might take her for expresso to "cap' the night at Maranello Rosso - it's where the locals go - in the square with City Hall adjacent to the Best Western Domus - definitely one of our favorite haunts. Our good friends from London met us in Maranello this past April for the GP and they stayed at a really neat hotel not far from the main factory entrance - just off the roundabout there. We ate dinner there on night - excellent - I'll have to email Paul for the name. We met our good friends who are Ferrari customer service in Maranello and we all went with their suggestion - fantastic place - does help to speak Italian but what you want to order is the Chef's suggestion - multi course dinner with different types of wine - runs about 60 Euro pp - it's about 15 km out of Maranello on a windy hillside road - name is La Noce, Via Giardini Nord. They also make balsamic vinegar in the really cool place just across the road from the restaurant. Here's another thought if you have time - perhaps another "marriage saver" idea. Take the wife to the Maranello Rosso Museum in San Marino where she can have the best history lesson ever about the cars and Enzo - in the loft she can read letters he wrote to Ascari's widow after his accident, the journal entry upon Dino's death (everytime I have read them, they bring tears), browse thru magazines, read descriptions on all the driver's photos, she can see Marilyn Monroe's white Ferrari, listen to Pachbel's Canon while touring the museum. Take her to the restaurant on top of the first castle peak - you get there by going past the cathedral then up some stairs. Sitting on the edge of the wall overlooking all San Marino and the Adradiac (sp) Sea enjoying pizza and wine - doesn't get any better than that.

Hope a few more suggestions can be of benefit to you. (I'm not at all into shopping for shoes, etc. I'd rather spend my $$ going to races!! so no help from me on that subject)

Carol

 

I am doing the Ferrari racing course in Fiorano in October, can I ask them at the school to set me up a visit? How long in advance?