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© Paolo Terzi© Paolo Terzi

Osteria Francescana

Top choice in Modena


Reserve months in advance (or pray for a waiting-list miracle) at this fabled 12-table restaurant, where reimagined Italian fare is art and tasting menus top out at €270. Owner Massimo Bottura is onto his third Michelin star (earned in 2011), and the restaurant claimed the number-one spot on the influential 'World's 50 Best Restaurants' list in 2016 and 2018.

Six tables per meal are now set aside for pre-paid reservation holders at their new Casa Maria Luigia B&B, so dropping €450 for a room is actually the most surefire route for a table here. For creative international cuisine with a more moderate price tag, try Bottura's equally diminutive bistro Franceschetta 58, 1km southeast of the centre.