Hotels in Cremona

Cremona has made violins since the sixteenth century, and the Museo del Violino still displays Stradivari, Amati and Guarneri instruments that are played rather than just glassed off, with weekend sessions letting you actually hear them. More than a hundred small workshops still work around the centre, and the craft carries a UNESCO Intangible Heritage listing.

The medieval Piazza del Comune gathers the Duomo, its baptistry and the Torrazzo, one of Italy's tallest brick bell towers, into one square. It is a quiet provincial town, more a slow overnight or day trip from Milan an hour away than a multi-day city break. Stay in the centro storico around Piazza del Comune to walk to the museum, the cathedral and the Ponchielli theatre.