Italy Off the Beaten Path – Cremona Violin Museum

traveleidoscope
2 days ago
2 min read

Outside the Violin Museum, Cremona, Italy

Headed to northern Italy and looking to stay clear of the well-worn tourist path? Ready for something different? Head to Violin Museum in Cremona Italy!

Where’s Cremona?

It’s a city of about 71,000, about one hour twenty minutes southeast of Milan, or just under two hours northwest of Bologna. Starting around the 16^th century, it became well know as the center of musical instrument manufacturing, specifically, the violin, the Stradivarius violin.

The Museum

Il Museo Del Violino is open Tuesday-Friday 11:00 – 17:00, Saturday, Sunday, and holidays 10:00 – 18:00.

Cost: The tickets are 12 euro per person online, but you have to pay a 2,40 euro processing fee. The entrance fee increases to 14 euro per person in January 2026. Make sure you download your ticket when you receive your confirmation email. I forgot and it took extra time when I got to the ticket/information desk. I was THAT person.

Outside the museum, there is a beautiful park and very cool sculptures. Inside, there are videos on violin making, an immersive audio dome, and an all sorts of violin throughout the centuries. They also have concerts and recitals at the onsite auditorium.

I don’t know anything about violins, but a visit to the museum gave me a real appreciation of the craftsmanship that goes in to creating one.

Walk inside to hear beautiful violin music

Why you should go

Because it’s not overrun with tourists. We went on a Tuesday in October, and it wasn’t crowded at all. I’m not suggesting that you plan your vacation around a visit to the museum, but if you want to head off the tourist trail, this is an option. We drove from, but if you don’t have a car, there’s a train station in Cremona.

Musical note scultpure outside the Violin Museum.

Please note that Cremona is not only off the path, but it’s not really a tourist city in my opinion. Surprisingly, I found the city a bit run down. Buildings had pealing paint, there was graffiti, we even saw a rat doing his rat thing. Yeah, you’ll find all those things in any big city, but the rat wasn’t remotely afraid of us! We didn’t feel unsafe, but like anywhere, it’s important to be aware of your surroundings.

Bonus Info

We found a delicious pizza place Pizzeria Birbe's Pizza & Food. The pizza was unique, basically focaccia with pizza toppings. One slice did the trick – it was really good and it was filling. One of the owners waited on us and she was lovely, but it helps if you speak Italian.

So, if you’re in northern Italy near Milan-ish looking for something different to do, visit the Violin Museum in Cremona!