Is the Labirinto della Masone worth it?
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The Labirinto della Masone is Franco Maria Ricci's maze of about 300,000 bamboo plants outside Fontanellato, opened in 2015. A €20 day ticket covers the maze, his collection of about 500 works and the temporary exhibition. The Labirinto itself says visitors take about 45 minutes to solve the maze and about the same again in the museum.
So you are paying €20 for roughly an hour and a half. Whether that is good value depends on two things: how you get there, because no bus reaches the gate, and whether the art interests you, because the collection is half of what you pay for. Here are the sums.
At a glance
- Ticket
- €20 from age 26; €16 for ages 6 to 25 and students; family €50 or €65; under 6 free. The same ticket costs €22 on GetYourGuide.
- Time inside
- The Labirinto says visitors average about 45 minutes in the maze and about the same in the museum.
- Getting there
- 21.4 km (13 miles), 26 minutes by car from Parma; free parking. The hourly weekday bus stops in Fontanellato, 5 km short.
- Closed
- Tuesdays, December 25 and January 1. In 2026 it also closed January 7 to February 6.
- Weather
- Paved paths, open in rain; in heavy rain it gives a discount voucher for a return visit.
- On now
- Visioni. Milo Manara nel Labirinto, October 3, 2026 to January 6, 2027, included in the ticket.
In this guide
The arithmetic: ticket plus journey
Round trip from Parma, checked September 29, 2026. Fuel is 43 km at 7 liters per 100 km, our cautious assumption, at the Emilia-Romagna average of €2.122 a liter. The Labirinto's car park is free.
| How you go | 1 person | 2 people | Time on the road |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own car | €26.40 | €46.40 | about 52 minutes |
| Hire car (from €39 a day) | €65.40 | €85.40 | about 52 minutes, plus collecting the car |
| TEP bus 23 to Fontanellato + taxi | €28 + two taxi rides | €56 + two taxi rides | 80 minutes on the bus, plus taxis |
| Radio Taxi Parma both ways (fixed €35 each way, daytime) | €90 | €110 | about 52 minutes |
| Private tour with the Rocca Sanvitale (Viator) | from €192.31 per person, falling with group size | ||
The bus costs €4 each way, hourly Monday to Saturday, and takes 40 minutes, but it stops in the town, about 5 km from the maze. Nobody publishes a fare for that last 5 km leg; the Labirinto gives a taxi number, +39 347 3731302. Radio Taxi Parma does publish a fixed daytime fare from Parma: €35 each way. On Sundays and holidays the bus runs only a handful of times.
Compare with the city: the Pilotta charges €18 for five museums and the Teatro Farnese, and its average visit is about 3 hours. That is €6 an hour against about €13 an hour at the Labirinto, before transport.
The maze vs the collection
The maze is the photograph everyone takes: paved paths between bamboo up to 15 m tall, a star-shaped plan and a small pyramid chapel in the middle. It is pleasant and not hard; the Labirinto's own average is 45 minutes. Picnics are not allowed inside.
The collection is the reason to pay. About 500 works from the 16th to the 20th century, hung by the collector's associations rather than by date: Carracci and Cambiaso, court artists of the Duchy of Parma, Hayez, the sculptor Adolfo Wildt, Ligabue and a room of skull-filled Vanitas still lifes. You can book a museum tour with an art historian of the Ricci Foundation; the maze has no guided option.
If you would walk past the paintings in 10 minutes, the ticket is €20 for a maze. If they hold you for an hour, it is a fair price for a private museum you will not find anywhere else. The ticket allows re-entry all day, so lunch in the entrance court and a second round are possible.
Weather and season
- Rain: the paths are concrete, so any shoes will do and the maze stays open. In heavy rain, or weather that spoils the visit, the Labirinto gives a discount voucher for a new ticket.
- Summer and autumn: to October 31, 2026 it opens 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., last entry 5:30 p.m. On October 2, 2026 it closes at 6 p.m.
- Winter: November 1, 2026 to March 30, 2027, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., last entry 4:30 p.m. In 2026 the site closed from January 7 to February 6; the official site announces no break for 2027, so check before a January visit.
- Weekends: online tickets guarantee entry; at the desk you get what is left, and entry can close when the site is full.
- This season: the Milo Manara exhibition runs October 3, 2026 to January 6, 2027. If comics interest you more than Mannerism, this is the time to go.
How to make the trip pay
Pair it with the Rocca Sanvitale in Fontanellato, 5.2 km and 10 minutes away. Its full route costs €12 and includes Parmigianino's Diana and Actaeon room. The castle closes for lunch on weekdays and the Labirinto does not, so do the castle at 10 a.m. and the maze after lunch. Both close on Tuesdays. The two tickets together cost €32 per adult for a full day.
With a car, add a Parmigiano dairy: Soragna's cooperative dairy, 8 km from Fontanellato, is on the consortium's booking page from €18. Our castles by car itinerary and Parma in 3 days both fit it in. Buy the ticket from the Labirinto's own site: GetYourGuide sells the identical ticket for €22.
Who should skip it
- Car-free visitors with two days or less. The bus-and-taxi version costs close to the car version in money and much more in time.
- Anyone who only wants a maze. 45 minutes for €20 plus the journey is poor value.
- Tuesday visitors. Both the Labirinto and the Rocca Sanvitale are shut.
For car-free alternatives, see the Food Valley without a car and do you need a car in Parma?
Tickets and tours you can book
Fontanellato: Labirinto della Masone Full-Day Entry Ticket
The Labirinto's own adult ticket is €20, so this costs a little more. Includes a discount at Rocca Sanvitale. No transport.
Rating as shown on GetYourGuide
Fontanellato: a castle and a labyrinth in Parma countryside
Private, so the per-person price falls with group size. Lunch not included. Only 12 reviews. The Labirinto alone is €20 direct.
Rating as shown on Viator
Booking through these links supports this site at no cost to you. Prices move by date, so we do not print them here; the official prices we checked are in the page above.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Labirinto della Masone worth visiting?
Yes if you have a car and an interest in art: the €20 ticket covers the maze and Franco Maria Ricci's collection of about 500 works, and the Rocca Sanvitale is 5 km away. If you only want the maze, or you have no car, it is poor value.
How long do you need at the Labirinto della Masone?
The Labirinto says about 45 minutes for the maze and about the same for the museum. Allow two hours with a coffee, and a full day if you add the Rocca Sanvitale.
Can you visit the Labirinto della Masone in the rain?
Yes. The paths are paved and the maze stays open. In heavy rain, the Labirinto gives a discount voucher for a return ticket.
Is it cheaper to buy Labirinto tickets online?
Buy on the Labirinto's own site: €20 for adults. GetYourGuide sold the same day ticket for €22 on September 29, 2026. At weekends, booking online also guarantees your entry.
How do you get to the Labirinto della Masone without a car?
TEP bus 23 runs hourly Monday to Saturday from Parma station to Fontanellato in 40 minutes (€4), but stops about 5 km from the maze. You need a taxi for the last leg; no fare is published for it. A Radio Taxi Parma cab straight from Parma is a fixed €35 each way by day.
Further reading
Official sources
- Radio Taxi Parma - tariffs and tourist fares (official) – Fixed daytime fare Parma to the Labirinto della Masone €35 one way, tolls included; checked September 29, 2026
- Labirinto della Masone - Tickets (official) – €20 from 26, €16 reduced, groups €16; prices updated March 18, 2024; re-entry all day; checked September 29, 2026
- Labirinto della Masone - FAQ (official) – 45 minutes maze + about 45 minutes museum; paved paths, open in rain, discount voucher in heavy rain; no picnics; free unguarded parking; guided museum visits only; checked September 29, 2026
- Labirinto della Masone - Opening times (official) – Hours to October 31 and from November 1, 2026; Tuesday closure; October 2 early close (read by our day-trips team September 29, 2026)
- Castelli del Ducato - Labirinto della Masone – 2026 closure January 7 to February 6
- TEP - Line 2120 timetable (Busseto-Soragna-Fontanellato-Parma) – Hourly Monday to Saturday, 40 minutes; €4 single from Parma station
- GetYourGuide - Labirinto della Masone ticket (t438237) – €22 (€21.64), sold by the Labirinto; checked September 29, 2026
- Viator - Fontanellato castle and labyrinth private tour (114362P41) – From €192.31, tiered, private; checked September 29, 2026
- Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy - Average fuel prices by region – Emilia-Romagna petrol €2.122 per liter, September 29, 2026
