Antonio Stradivari made 1,116 instruments in Cremona between 1666 and 1737. About 650 survive. Each one is worth €2-20 million. Nobody has ever figured out exactly why they sound the way they do — theories range from the density of the wood (a mini ice age grew the trees slowly) to the varnish recipe (lost when Stradivari died) to the acoustic properties of the city's humidity. What's certain: Cremona still makes violins. Over 150 luthiers work in workshops you can visit, continuing a tradition that UNESCO declared Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Museo del Violino (€10) displays actual Stradivarius instruments AND lets you hear them played live in a concert hall built specifically for their acoustics. The Torrazzo (112m) is the tallest brick bell tower in Europe — 502 steps, €5, the Po Valley laid flat to the horizon. Cremona is 1 hour from Milan, and most Milanese have never been. This is criminal.
Plan my Cremona trip →Cremona's other obsession: torrone (nougat), made here since the 15th century. The Festa del Torrone (November) fills the piazza with nougat stalls. Year-round: Sperlari (Via Solferino 25, since 1836) sells every variety from soft to rock-hard, almond to chocolate. €5-15 for a block that lasts a week (theoretically).