This tour visits the production areas for some of Italy's most iconic foods. It's the so-called "Food Valley of Italy."

Emilia-Romagna is not just a destination. It’s an edible encyclopedia of Italian culture.

Welcome to Italy’s Food Valley, where some of the world’s most iconic foods are daily rituals. This is the birthplace of tortellini, Prosciutto di Parma, traditional balsamic vinegar, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, the cheese Italians call “The King.” In a country obsessed with food, Emilia-Romagna is the region Italians themselves revere most for its soulful, comforting cooking.

If food had a homeland, this would be it.

But this tour goes far beyond the table. At Tourissimo, we believe you cannot understand a place through taste alone. You must ride through it, walk it, breathe it, and meet the people who keep its traditions alive. On this Chef Bike Tour, we ride to understand and we taste with intention. Each day connects cuisine with history, landscape, and lived culture, from ancient spa towns with healing waters to quiet climbs into the Apennine foothills.

Our daily routes move through the heart of the region, between the fertile Po Valley and the hills that shape the wines, cheeses, and cures that made Emilia famous. You’ll pass through villages still defined by generational knowledge and explore places like Rocca Sanvitale in Fontanellato and the medieval jewel of Castell’Arquato. Every ride is fully supported, with the freedom to cycle as much or as little as you like.

This journey is designed and led by our senior guide, Federica, a native of Reggio Emilia who knows this region the only way that really matters, from the inside. When she built this tour, she didn’t start with a checklist. She started with memory. Family recipes. Back roads. Producers she trusts. Landscapes that shaped her palate before she had a name for it.

Alongside Federica, guest chef Elizabeth Falkner brings a creative, modern counterpoint to tradition. This is their third Chef Bike Tour together, and their rhythm shows. They plan tastings together, visit producers side by side, and shape each day as it unfolds. Federica opens doors to the local world; Elizabeth brings an outside eye and a chef’s instinct for asking better questions. Together, they translate the region in a way neither could alone.

This is not a tour for checking boxes. It’s for people who want to understand why food tastes the way it does when it’s grown in the right soil, shaped by the right hands, and shared at the right table. The riding is spectacular, too!

Our guest chef will play an important role in understanding the local productions and the preparations that better tell the story of the territory.

Chef Elizabeth Falkner is a world-recognized, award-winning chef from California. Her 30+ year career spans from restaurants to advocacy, to consulting and food competitions. Her well-appreciated and awarded San Francisco patisseries and restaurants paved the road to celebrity private events, consulting, and media.

She has competed in multiple culinary competitions including Food Network’s Tournament of Champions (seasons 1-4), Iron Chef America, and Next Iron Chef, Super Chefs, in which she was a finalist and runner-up. She has been a three-time competitor on Food Network Challenge, as well as a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters.

For Falkner, cooking competitions have been a favorite 'sport.' She also loves to travel, and cycling is one of her favorite pastimes.

Federica will take you to all her favorite places. She learned how to cook the Emilian way, with her grandma.

Companions that are non-riders are also welcome. E-Bikes available.

Highlights

Superb meals and the "best homestyle food" in Italy
Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano-Reggiano, balsamic vinegar and other Italian delicacies
The magnificent Reggia di Colorno, often called the “little Versailles of Parma”
The Po River Valley and its canals
The Appennino Tosco-Emiliano backdrop
The Castles of the Dukedom of Parma and Piacenza
Meet local producers who are keeping food traditions alive
Chef Spigaroli's Michelin-starred restaurant at Antica Corte Pallavicina
Learn why this area is known as "the Food Valley of Italy"
Emiliana cooking class
The perfectly preserved Medieval villages of Castell'Arquato and Fontanellato

[fa icon="plus"] Day 1

Reggio Emilia warm-up - 14 miles - Rolling

We begin the tour in the province of Reggio Emilia with a light lunch at Borgo del Balsamico, our first hotel. Set in the countryside at the foothills of the Appennino Reggiano near the village of Albinea, Borgo del Balsamico was once a noble family home. Recently restored, it is still privately owned and welcomes travelers who want to experience the quiet, understated elegance of the estate.

The afternoon is dedicated to bike fitting and an easy warm-up ride along the flat, quiet country roads of Reggio Emilia, a favorite for local cyclists. Back at the hotel, there’s time to relax before a short drive to dinner at a traditional, old-fashioned trattoria.

Let the Emilian food feast begin!

[fa icon="plus"] Day 2

Reggio Emilia - Canossa loop -30 miles - Hilly

After breakfast, we ride to Albinea and stop at the weekly market to shop for ingredients for tonight’s dinner. Chef Elizabeth will lead us through the stalls and local shops, introducing specialties from the Reggio Emilia area that we’ll enjoy later.

Once back on the bikes, we warm up on flat roads before heading into the hills for one of the few climbs of the week. From the top, we’re rewarded with sweeping views of the valley and mountains, dotted with castles once owned by Countess Matilde di Canossa. One of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages, she ruled this region in the 11th century and remains deeply revered by the people of Reggio Emilia. Her legacy lives on in the area’s culture, history, and especially its food.

Back at the hotel, the family who owns Borgo del Balsamico will show us their aging room for traditional balsamic vinegar and guide us through a tasting of their own production. Dinner prepared by Chef Elizabeth follows at the hotel.

[fa icon="plus"] Day 3

Colorno - Polesine Parmense - 30 miles - Flat

We leave the lowlands behind for a stop at the Parmigiano Reggiano Vacche Rosse Consortium, where we taste rare, exceptional cheese made from the milk of the local Vacche Rosse cows, the same breed used by Benedictine monks over 800 years ago. You’ll see how the “king of cheeses” is still made today using techniques that have barely changed since the Middle Ages.

From there, we cycle through the lowlands of Emilia near the Po River, Italy’s longest river and the border with Lombardy. Riding is easy and flat as we make our way to our next hotel, with a relaxed lunch stop along the way, crossing into the province of Parma.

We spend the next two nights at Antica Corte Pallavicina, a former feudal estate now run by the Spigaroli family and home to Culatello di Zibello, the king of Italian cured meats. Chef Massimo Spigaroli and his team will show us the estate, including the gardens and the curing rooms where these prized hams slowly age in the misty air from the Po.

If time allows, wander the small forest on the property before the main event: a Michelin-starred dinner prepared by Chef Spigaroli at the hotel restaurant.

[fa icon="plus"] Day 4

Fontanellato loop – 41 miles - Flat

We ride a loop through the flat lands between the Po River and the ancient Roman road Via Emilia, passing through quiet villages, farmland, and castles that once formed part of Countess Matilde di Canossa’s defensive network.

A highlight is Fontanellato, where we stop for coffee with a view of the Rocca di Fontanellato. Built in 1124 as a watchtower and later expanded into a noble residence, it still dominates the town today.

From there, we return along the Po River and stop for lunch at a traditional local restaurant before returning to the hotel. In the afternoon, we join a hands-on cooking class with Chef Massimo Spigaroli.

Dinner is the reward: the dishes we’ve prepared are served at the Hosteria del Maiale inside Antica Corte Pallavicina, a space that still carries the spirit of the medieval inns that once welcomed travelers along the river.

[fa icon="plus"] Day 5

Polesine Parmense - Castell'Arquato - 30 miles - Rolling

We leave for the foothills, crossing into the province of Piacenza. Along the way, we stop at a local winery on the first hills for a tasting of Piacentine wines. Here, grapes like Barbera, Ortrugo, and Gutturnio show their best character, shaped by the cooler hills and soils of the region.

Our destination is Podere Palazzo Illica, near Castell’Arquato, where we spend the final two nights. This 17th-century noble estate belonged to the Illica family, including Diogene Illica, the celebrated librettist for Bellini, Puccini, and Mascagni. The house has been carefully restored and still feels like a private residence, with original furnishings and a distinctive old-world atmosphere.

Tonight, Chef Elizabeth takes over the Palazzo Illica kitchen to prepare a classic Emilian dinner, celebrating the final stretch of our journey.

[fa icon="plus"] Day 6

Castell'Arquato - Vigoleno loop - 27 miles - Hilly

After breakfast, we ride the hills around Castell’Arquato, looping through some of the most scenic countryside of the trip. Lunch along the way features classic Emilian dishes, hearty and earthy, perfect for fueling the final ride back to the hotel.

Back at Palazzo Illica, there’s time to relax in the garden before our last excursion. In the afternoon, we drive into Castell’Arquato, a beautifully preserved medieval town with narrow alleys and stone houses. In the 1980s, it served as a filming location for Richard Donner’s Ladyhawke, and today it’s recognized as one of Italy’s most beautiful villages.

We explore the medieval center before a farewell dinner at one of the town’s top restaurants. One last meal, one last toast, and a proper goodbye to Emilia, its food, and its people.

[fa icon="plus"] Day 7

Bologna

After breakfast, there will be a group transfer back to Bologna (about an hour).

Bikes
What's Included
What's Not Included

Two or more professional tour guides throughout the program
Accommodations in 4-star hotels and one agriturismo
All breakfasts, all lunches, and all dinners
Wine with meals
Tastings of local specialties
Cooking class
Museum entrance
Logistical support during the tour and luggage transfer
Shuttle at the beginning and at the end of the tour
Commemorative cycling jersey
Bikes (choice road carbon or hybrid; pedal-assisted at additional cost)
All activities mentioned in the day-by-day description

Airfare
Pre-tour hotel stays and post-tour hotel stays
Personal expenses such as laundry and cell phone
Guide gratuity

More Info

Food and Wine

Nestled between the Alps and the Apennines, Emilia-Romagna owes a great deal to the unique nature of its territory when it comes to explaining its rich culinary tradition, which is often revered as one of the finest in Italy. The Po River, which runs across the whole of the region, marks the boundary between the fertile soil of the Pianura Padana Valley, the agricultural heart of northern Italy, and the gentle curves of the pre-Apennines on the border with Toscana. Following the course of the Po, the east of the region opens widely onto the Adriatic Sea with a low and uniform coastline and shallow waters.

Once marshland, the Pianura Padana is today one of the most fertile areas of the country following a long history of cultivation. Perhaps the first to spot the enormous agricultural potential of the region were the Romans, who made it a key center for the empire’s food production. Often dubbed ‘the food valley’, it is abundant in cereal crops and cattle rearing and home to some of the most renowned food producers in the country.

While institutionally one, from a cultural and gastronomical point of view Emilia-Romagna is in fact two. The sub-region of Emilia, which lies along an ancient Roman trading route, stretches from the western tip of the region with the cities of Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, and Ferrara dotted around it like jewels in a crown. It is known for its solid, rich and indulgent cuisine, heavily based on pork and animal fats thanks to the Lombard (a Germanic tribe) domination of the region. It is also equally revered for being naturally effortless in its sophistication, something that the Renaissance court tradition has left as an indelible mark. In the words of Pellegrino Artusi, nineteenth century author of The Science of Cooking and the Art of Fine Dining: "When you come across the Cucina Emiliana (Emilia’s cuisine), take a bow, because it deserves it."

In the western part of the region, from Bologna to the Adriatic coast, lies Romagna. Here, unlike in Emilia, the Byzantine heritage influenced many aspects of Romagna’s culture; it is still evident in the stunning churches and mosaics of the city of Ravenna and in the prominence of terracotta-based cooking methods. Influenced more by the closeness of the sea than by the aristocratic tradition of the courts, Romagna’s gastronomic tradition is simpler and closer to the land, but just as varied and deep as its counterpart in Emilia.