Getting There -- There are good train connections to and from Bologna (one train every 30 min.); trip time is 20 minutes, and a one-way fare is 2.60€ ($3.40/£1.75). Trains arrive from Parma once per hour (trip time: 40 min.); the one-way fare is 3.35€ ($4.35/£2.25). For information and schedules, call tel. 892021.
If you have a car and are coming from Bologna, take A1 northeast until you see the turnoff for Modena.
Visitor Information -- The tourist office is on Piazza Grande 17 (tel. 059-2032660; http://turismo.comune.modena.it). It's open Monday 3 to 6pm, Tuesday to Saturday 9:30am to 2:30pm and 3 to 6pm, and Sunday 9am to 12:30pm.
All of Modena seems to be a stage during 1 week each year at the end of June or beginning of July, when vendors, artists, mimes, and other performers take to the streets for the Settimana Estense; festivities culminate in a parade in which the town turns out in Renaissance attire.
