What is the Modena self-guided walking tour?
The Modena self-guided walking tour is a narrated stroll through the centre with no guide in tow: the World City Trail app marks the way on the map and, at each landmark, tells you through your earphones what you are looking at. Allow about 2 hours in all; the 10 stops are spread over 1.7 km, which comes to roughly 23 minutes on foot. Ducal Modena and the medieval quarter around the cathedral lie side by side, so each walk between stops is a short one.
At the Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni the narration tells how Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni, both born in Modena in 1935, are said to have shared the same wet nurse as babies. In front of the Palazzo Ducale, begun in 1634 and now home to the Military Academy, cadets in uniform are a familiar sight. The Ghirlandina keeps a copy of the wooden bucket that Modena's soldiers carried off from Bologna in 1325, on the cathedral façade Wiligelmo's reliefs tell the story of Genesis, and the Porta della Pescheria shows one of the earliest known scenes from the legend of King Arthur. In Piazza Grande you hear about the Preda Ringadora, the stone slab where debtors were once publicly shamed.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 23 min · 1.7 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
Along the route
A chapter for every stop
Each landmark comes with its own narrated chapter of history, local legend and curious facts, and the full text stays on screen for anyone who likes to read along.
The map does the steering
Google Maps shows the way to each stop; the full route is 1.7 km, around 23 minutes of walking in total.
Your timetable, nobody else's
No meeting point, no group to wait for. Spend an hour in a museum or linger over lunch, then rejoin the route later or on another day.
Where to eat and browse
The app recommends cafés, restaurants and local shops close to the stops, and lets you choose a different first stop or change the order.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who gets the most out of it
First time in Modena
One walk gives you the lie of the land: where the main sights are and why each of them matters.
Travellers who set their own pace
Linger where something catches your eye and move on where it does not, with no group to keep up with.
Half a day to spare
About 2 hours covers the centre and still leaves an afternoon or an evening for something else.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
From the dukes' garden to the friars' church
10 stops · about 23 min walking · start: Giardino Ducale Estense · finish: Church of San Francesco
The walk opens in the Giardino Ducale Estense, laid out by the Este dukes, and passes the Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni on Corso Canalgrande before reaching the long façade of the Palazzo Ducale and Piazza Roma, where the Ciro Menotti monument stands. Piazza Mazzini, with the synagogue on one side, leads to the Ghirlandina, the cathedral and Piazza Grande, which together form Modena's UNESCO site. The Mercato Albinelli is a few steps away, and the walk ends at the Gothic brick Church of San Francesco. Starting somewhere else is a setting in the app, and you pay no admission at any of the ten stops.
Open the route map ↗
1Giardino Ducale EstenseStart
The Este dukes laid out this garden beside their palace after moving their court from Ferrara to Modena in 1598, and it later became a public park. Its 17th-century pavilion, the Palazzina dei Giardini, is now used for exhibitions, and the city's botanical garden lies at its edge.
2Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni
Modena's opera house opened in 1841 on Corso Canalgrande, behind a neoclassical façade. It is named after two of the city's most famous singers, Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni, both born in Modena in 1935, who as babies are said to have shared the same wet nurse.
3Palazzo Ducale
Duke Francesco I d'Este began this vast Baroque palace in 1634 on the site of the old castle, and it remained the seat of the Este court until the unification of Italy. Today it houses the Military Academy, so cadets in uniform are a familiar sight in front of its long façade.
4Piazza Roma
This wide square opens in front of the Palazzo Ducale and is now largely free of traffic. Its monument honours Ciro Menotti, the patriot who led an uprising against Duke Francesco IV and was executed in 1831, one of the early heroes of Italian unification.
5Piazza Mazzini
This square was created in the early 20th century by demolishing part of the old Jewish ghetto, opening a space beside the Via Emilia. On one side stands the synagogue, built in the 1870s, and the square is named after Giuseppe Mazzini, one of the leaders of Italian unification.
6Ghirlandina
Modena's bell tower rises about 86 metres beside the cathedral; begun at the end of the 11th century, it received its Gothic spire in the early 14th century. A copy of the wooden bucket that Modena's soldiers carried off from Bologna in 1325 is kept here, the subject of the mock-heroic poem La secchia rapita.
Read the full story →
7Modena Cathedral
Begun in 1099 by the architect Lanfranco and consecrated in 1184, the cathedral is one of the major Romanesque churches in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Ghirlandina and Piazza Grande. On the façade, reliefs by the sculptor Wiligelmo tell the story of Genesis, and the Porta della Pescheria shows one of the earliest known scenes from the legend of King Arthur.
8Piazza Grande
Modena's main square lies between the cathedral and the Palazzo Comunale, the town hall. Look for the Preda Ringadora, a large stone slab once used as a speakers' platform and for the public shaming of debtors, and for the Bonissima, a medieval female statue on the corner of the town hall.
9Mercato Albinelli
Modena's covered food market opened in 1931 in a hall of iron and glass just a few steps from Piazza Grande. In the middle stands a fountain with the statue of a girl carrying a basket of fruit, and the stalls are full of local produce such as Parmigiano Reggiano and balsamic vinegar.
10Church of San FrancescoFinish
This Gothic brick church was begun in the 13th century for the Franciscan friars and was heavily restored in the 19th century. Inside is a dramatic terracotta group of the Deposition from the Cross by the 16th-century Modenese sculptor Antonio Begarelli.
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