Even if you’ve never been near Parma in Italy's province of Emilia-Romagna, you probably have savored its best-known exports, but a visit to this elegant city will allow you to taste its incomparable prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano at the source, along with a host of other scrumptious edibles.

While food plays a big part in the Parma experience, there are plenty of cultural offerings too, with major art, fine opera and outstanding museums to pull visitors away from the table. With such a rich heritage, it's not surprising that many artistic notables have come from Parma, among them film director Bernardo Bertolucci, conductor Arturo Toscanini and opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, who hailed from the nearby village of Le Roncole.