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An Italian Mama's Guide to Italy

The Ferrari Museums in Modena and Maranello: how to visit (+ which one to choose)

The Ferrari Museums in Modena and Maranello: which one to choose, how to book, tips for visiting with kids.

The Ferrari Museums in Modena and Maranello are among the best car museums in Italy .

They are a treat for Ferrari lovers and car people in general and they are set out in such a way, you can enjoy them at any age.

We visited as a family of four, with varying degrees of interest in cars, and we all loved it.

The car lover in the family dubbed the place as ‘his favorite place in the whole world’.

However, even the least interested got excited there: the cars, the power of the story, the overall experience is inspirational, easy to enjoy and great fun.

This is a visit I now recommend to everyone and today, I am sharing how to book it and how to arrange your day.

The Ferrari Museum in Modena and Maranello: what you need to know

The first thing you need to know when it comes to the Ferrari Museums is that they are not one museum but two.

One is called ‘The Enzo Ferrari Museum’ and it is in Modena city.

The other one is the Ferrari Museums and Factory and it is in Maranello, a small town about 20km out of Modena.

The two museums complement each other and you can see one or the other on their own or book a combined visit.

Which one to choose depends on what you are most interested in.

At a glance, I recommend you:

• Visit the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena if you love classic cars and want to see where it all started
• Visit the Maranello Museum if you love the Ferrari brand and F1. This is also the best museum to visit if you want to take a guided tour of the Ferrari factory estate.

Let’s look at this more in detail.

Which Ferrari Museum is best? How to choose

If you have the time, I highly recommend you visit both museums.

The two are rather different from one other and have a different take on the whole Ferrari experience.

The Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena

The Enzo Ferrari Museum is in Modena city and develops around the original Enzo Ferrari workshops.

The museum has an older part, with Enzo Ferrari’s first office, and attached to it there is a beautiful, modern and futuristic-looking dome with a large display of classic cars.

The place is fantastic: the large showroom has many beautiful car models from different times, there are some incredible engines on display and there is a photo booth where you can be photographed while driving a Ferrari!

At regular intervals, a short film tells the story of Enzo Ferrari and explains how the brand came to be.

The museum is not very big and it is easy to visit in about an hour. As well as the showroom, there is a merchandising shop and restroom facilities.

There is no restaurant on-site; however, since the museum is in Modena city, it is easy to find places for lunch nearby.

You can get here to / from the station in about 10 minutes on foot.

The Ferrari Museum in Maranello

The Ferrari Museum in Maranello is very different from the one in Modena.

Located about 20km out of the city, the museum is more focussed on the Ferrari Brand as it developed for one-off models and F1 endeavors and feels a lot more like an immersive experience than just a museum.

The whole place is designed with the red and black Ferrari brand colors and Ferrari logos and touches are everywhere.

In the various rooms, you see cars, displays of photos, videos and all the Ferrari trophies and F1 cars.

In the ‘Victory Room’ you are literally surrounded by the F1 winning cars and you can see the names of the pilots and their victory cups.

The whole thing is captivating even if you do not like cars.

The place has made an incredible job and getting people on board with the idea of Ferrari being more than cars and you feel like you are part of a big successful family.

As well as seeing the museum displays, here you can also participate in two main activities:

Ferrari driving simulator : for an extra charge, visitors tall more than 150cm can experience the Ferrari simulator. This is a 7-minute experience and you get to sit in a car and ‘drive’ along a circuit of your choice.

Our son did this and said it was similar to a videogame experience, albeit ‘bigger and better’.

For it, you sit in a car shell in front of a wrap-around screen. With the help of a Ferrari Museum warned, you learn how to use the steering wheel and gear, pick a circuit to drive and you are ready!

The experience doesn’t require a headset nor goggles and others can watch you while you drive.

Panoramic Bus Tour of the Factory: for an extra charge, you can hop on bus and get a guided tour of the Ferrari factory estate.

This tour is highly informative and leads you inside the Ferrari Factory village, where you see the outside of the plants and workshops and the wind gallery where they test the cars.

This is also where Ferrari owners bring their cars for checks so, while you bus around, you will see many Ferrari zooming around the place in all possible colors!

This tour also brings you to see the local race track; however, racing regulations do not allow for practice on the track, therefore you do not actually see cars in action her

The Maranello Museum also has a merchandising shop on-site, restrooms facilities and a cafe on site.

Immediately outside of it, you have several restaurants and cafes. It is worth noticing that the Ferrari-themed restaurant ‘The Paddock’ is not here but in Maranello Village, which is a short drive away.

Visitin the Ferrari Museums of Modena and Maranello with kids

We visited the Modena and Maranello museums with our two children: a car-loving 11-year-old and a car-uninterested 9-year-old.

They both loved the day.

We started with a visit to Maranello and we all immediately felt the buzz and excitement of the place.

Unsure about the simulator, we hadn’t booked it but quickly got sucked into the desire to treat our son to it.

There was no queue at the simulator desk and there were several children who had just finished and were enthusiastic about it, which reassured us it was suitable for their age.

The museum desk person was lovely with our son and they had a grand old chat about circuits while he explained how to use the commands.

The simulation itself only lasts 7 minutes and at 25 Euro is all but cheap. However, it stayed as one of the highlights of our son’s day and you can take photos of them driving, which is an incredible memento for them.

There is a minimum height requirement to do it and this is strict as it has to do with the size of the car.

My son just about made the height and was able to just about hit the pedals: any shorter would have been technically impossible to drive.

If you are unsure about height, I recommend you only decide about the simulator on the day as they will be able to advise.

After the visit to the museum we went to a nearby cafe/restaurant (not branded, just beside the museum) andf then we joined the factory tour.

The factory tour is the most informative part of the visit albeit possibly the least impressive.

You hop on a bus and a guide brings you to the factory estate (no photo allowed there): you pass the main gate and you are driven around the factory lot, seeing the different paint/tire etc workshops from outside, and getting a taste of what it may feel like working at Ferrari, passing the company canteen etc.

In the estate, you also see the outside of the wind gallery which they use to test for aero dynamicity.

The highlight of this part of the tour is the guide who gives an incredible amount of information about Ferrari cars and F1 regulations.

This part of the tour was excellent for my car-obsessed son but too information-driven for my daughter who mostly just enjoyed sitting on the bus and seeing the Ferrars from the windows!

If you have a car lover, highly recommend this part of the tour. If you are here with a little one, however, or just want to see the beautiful cars, you can stick to the museum only.

How to visit the Ferrari Museum in Modena and Maranello on the same day

It is possible to visit the Ferrari Museums in Modena and Maranello on the same day. however, it takes a little bit of planning.

Since the two are in different areas, you will need to book both entrances, make arrangements for transport and you will also need to separately book the bus tour if doing.

You can do all this by yourself on the Ferrari Museums Ticketitn platform or you can do what we did: send an email to Vivara Viaggi their travel agency partner, and get them to book it for you!

In our case, the day worked perfectly and it entailed:

• 10.40 Shuttle from Modena train station to Maranello Museum
• 11.15 Arrival and self-guided visit to the museum
• Simulator experience (booked last minute on site)
• Lunch (own time, no booking needed)
• 13.00 Bus tour from Maranello Museum to factory lot
• 14.45 Shuttle to Enzo ferraru Museum in Modena
• 15.25 Self guided museum visit

Since we were staying in Bologna, we then just easily walked back to the station to get back to the city. we were home in the late afternoon.

How to book the Ferrari Museums

There are several ways to book your visit to the Ferrari Museums.

From the Museums, Websites (combined tickets available) >> click here <<<

Via Vivara Viaggi >>> click here <<<, this is the museum’s official partner, recommended on the museum website. They are perfect if you don’t have your own transport and want to also get tickets for the Ferrari shuttle.

Where to stay to visit the Ferrari Museums of Modena and Maranello

There are many options when it comes to accommodation, depending on budget and plans for the other day so your trip.

Please note: this post contains affiliate links. Should you make a purchase through them, we will make a small commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Some you may like are:

Hotel Maranello Village : A Ferrari-themed property, this hotel is the equivalent of an in-park hotel at a theme park.

The hotel and ‘The Paddock’ restaurant and perfect if you want to live and breathe Ferrari for the entire duration of your stay. Please note: this hotel is a 5-minute drive from the museum: own transport recommended.

Casa Palestro in Modena : this is a lovely apartment in Modena city, close to the station and the Enzo Ferrari Museum, good for larger families (sleeps 5)

Starhotel Excelsior Bologna : if you prefer to base yourself in Bologna and come for the day (like we did!), we found the Starhotel Excelsior in Bologna to be excellent.

They have family rooms, excellent breakfast and an excellent location right in front of the train station. Our top pick.

I hope you enjoyed this quick guide to the Ferrari Museums in Modena and Maranello and the review of our experience helped you plan your day at best. Safe travel planning!

Marta Correale

Marta Correale is an Italian mama of two. Born and raised in Rome, Marta has a passion for travel and especially enjoys showing off Italy to her kids, who are growing up to love it as much as she does! A classics graduate, teacher of Italian as a second language and family travel blogger, Marta launched Mama Loves Italy as a way to inspire, support and help curious visitors to make the most of a trip to Italy and learn about Italian culture on the way.

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How to Tour the Ferrari Factory, and Other Car-Lover Destinations

By Laura Dannen Redman

Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, Modena, Italy

Modena has become a destination unto itself for lovers of the great Italian ride—thanks largely to not one, but two Ferrari museums in the area. In Maranello, the birthplace of Enzo Ferrari, you can take a bus tour inside the Fiorano test track and along the Viale Enzo Ferrari, past production sites and the Ferrari “Cittadella." About 10 minutes away is the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, which looks at the man behind the machine, and the Museo dei Motori Ferrari inside the former workshop of Enzo’s father. Best of all: The "Museum + Track" ticket lets you take your own car out for a 15-minute track session at the Autodromo di Modena.

Pictured: Formula 1 racing cars in the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, Modena, Emilia Romagna, Italy.

Porsche Museum, Stuttgart, Germany

Is it a mandate that all car museums be as sleek as the cars themselves? The Porsche Museum, which opened in 2009, is all sharp angles, supported on three V-shaped columns, while the 80 vehicles inside are all curves. The latest addition to the museum is a new interactive “Porsche Touchwall"; at the end of the tour, visitors can interact with a 40-foot-long installation that covers 90 years of Porsche history.

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Those who know the difference between a Bimmer and a Beamer* should make a pilgrimage to BMW global HQ at some point in their lives. Just outside Munich is a BMW campus, where a museum that looks like a parked UFO houses vintage cars and new models, and the BMW plant and welt offer guided tours.

*For the record, "Bimmer" is a nickname for a BMW car, and "Beamer" refers to a motorcycle.

America's Car Museum, Tacoma, Washington

You thought Jay Leno had the ultimate hot rod collection: The late Harold LeMay and his wife, Nancy, once owned a fleet of some 3,000 vintage cars: everything from a Model T to an ’83 DeLorean. In 2012, the personal collection became America's Car Museum, a four-story, 165,000-square-foot facility in Tacoma and what's now one of the largest car museums in the world.

The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan

The Henry Ford Museum is where history buffs and car lovers come together. Located just west of Detroit (the Motor City, naturally), the museum is all about America’s past—particularly in its premiere exhibition, Driving America. The display features 130 vehicles, including America’s first production car from 1865 and one of only six 1931 Bugatti Royales in the world. Round out your visit with a Ford factory tour and a ride in a vintage Model T.

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, Indianapolis, Indiana

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame has historically paid tribute to the star cars of the Indy 500, but the museum covers it all: NASCAR, Formula 1, motorcycles; Duesenberg, Mercedes, Ferrari; even dragsters and cars that have broken land-speed records. The site is now a National Historic Landmark and welcomes half a million visitors a year.

Pictured: Jim Rathmann, 1928-2011

Mercedes-Benz Plant Tour, Sindelfingen, Germany

The tour of Daimler AG's largest car production plant winds from "the press shop, where the first parts are shaped, past the ballet dancing of the robots at the body shop, to the marriage of the vehicle body and powertrain in the assembly areas. In the logistics 'supermarket' you can see how vehicle parts are lined up ready to be transported to the assembly lines, some of them by 'Bertha' and 'Gottlieb,' two driverless transport systems." Couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Pictured: Assembly of the S-Class Coupé in the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant.

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