After spending one day exploring Parma and the next day doing the bike tour to the cheese factory and countryside, we decided to spend our last full day in the area doing a day trip to the small village of Torrechiara. Tori chose Torrechiara because it’s known for its vineyards and a medieval castle overlooking the countryside. So we hopped on the public bus in Parma and rode about 30 minutes south to the small village.

Interior of the castle

The interior has several beautiful frescoes painted on the walls/ceilings featuring mostly elements from nature and landscapes.

Mountain biking around the vineyards

We spontaneously decided when you got there to rent e-bikes and bike around the countryside. The e-bike store was right in the town square, you can’t miss it. The owner helped me download the app Komoot which gave us a route to follow. It was actually pretty hilarious because we were not dressed or prepared to be off road mountain biking that day. The route was 11 miles and it took us down steep gravel roads, through the middle of vineyards, and completely off the beaten path to the point where we had to stop because we couldn’t figure out which way to go since it was not straighforward. Made for a good story and it was actually really fun since we were out in the middle of nowhere and got to really see how the locals live.