Salsomaggiore Terme: what to see in two days between Art Nouveau, spas and Food Valley

In two days in Salsomaggiore Terme you can see the Art Nouveau centre with the Palazzo delle Terme Berzieri, spend a session at the spa, visit a castle and taste the products of the Parma Food Valley. Here is an itinerary that starts from Piazzale Berzieri, where Hotel Casa Romagnosi stands, and needs no car on the first day.

Day 1: the Art Nouveau centre and the spa

Piazzale Berzieri and the Palazzo delle Terme. Start from the square: the Palazzo delle Terme Berzieri (1923) is the most photographed monument in town, with its Art Nouveau façade and the decorations by Galileo Chini. Today it houses QC Terme Salsomaggiore; entrance to the wellness circuit must be booked in advance on the QC Terme website.

Viale Romagnosi and the Palazzo dei Congressi. The avenue named after the jurist born in the house that is now the hotel crosses the centre between shops and cafés. At the end, a five-minute walk from the square, the Palazzo dei Congressi, the former Grand Hotel des Thermes, with its decorated early-twentieth-century halls.

Parco Mazzini. A five-minute walk away, the town's large park with its pond, ideal for a break or a ride on the hotel's free bicycles.

Dinner. The hotel restaurant serves Parma cuisine; in the centre there is no shortage of trattorias and pizzerias a few steps away.

Day 2: castles and Food Valley

Scipione Castle. Five kilometres away, one of the oldest castles in the Parma area (eleventh century), still inhabited by the Pallavicino family and open for guided visits. Nearby, Contignaco Castle overlooks the vineyards of the hills.

Tabiano. Also five kilometres away, the second spa resort of the municipality, with sulphurous waters and a small village with a castle.

Parmigiano Reggiano and culatello. In the Parma lowlands, half an hour by car, you can visit dairies and ham producers; in Zibello and Busseto (Giuseppe Verdi's land) you taste culatello. The front desk organises visits on request.

Fidenza Village. On the way back to the motorway, the outlet with over one hundred shops is twelve kilometres from the hotel.

If you have a third day

• Parma (30 km): Cathedral, Baptistery, Teatro Regio and Teatro Farnese.
• Castell'Arquato (15 km): medieval village on the Piacenza hills.
• Fontanellato (20 km): the Rocca Sanvitale and the Labirinto della Masone.
• Piacenza (40 km) and the wine hills of the Colli di Parma.

Where to stay

To see everything on foot on the first day it is best to sleep in the centre. Hotel Casa Romagnosi, a 4-star on Piazzale Berzieri, is opposite the Palazzo delle Terme, a twelve-minute walk from the station and with parking for those arriving by car: 39 rooms, buffet breakfast on the terrace and free bicycles.

Distances and directions on the Location page; for the rooms, the Rooms page and the availability request.