Parma is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second most populous city in Emilia-Romagna after Bologna, the region's capital. The city is home to the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world. Parma is divided into two parts by the stream of the same name. The district on the far side of the river is Oltretorrente. Parma's Etruscan name was adapted by Romans to describe the round shield called Parma.

The Italian poet Attilio Bertolucci (born in a hamlet in the countryside) wrote: "As a capital city it had to have a river. As a little capital it received a stream, which is often dry", with reference to the time when the city was capital of the independent Duchy of Parma.

Main sights include:

• Parma Cathedral: Romanesque church houses a 12th-century sculpture by Benedetto Antelami and a 16th-century fresco masterpiece by Antonio da Correggio.
• Baptistery: construction began in 1196 by Antelami, stands adjacent to the cathedral.
• San Giovanni Evangelista: Abbey church originally constructed in the 10th century behind the Cathedral's apse, rebuilt in 1498 and 1510. It has a late Mannerist façade and a bell tower designed by Simone Moschino. The cupola is frescoed with an influential masterpiece of the Renaissance: the Vision of St. John the Evangelist (1520-1522) by Correggio which heralded illusionistic perspective ceilings. Cloisters and library are also notable.
• Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata.
• San Paolo, Parma: (11th century) Former Benedictine convent houses Correggio's frescoes in the Camera di San Paolo (1519-1520), and works by Alessandro Araldi.
• San Francesco del Prato: (13th century) Gothic church served as jail from Napoleonic era until 1990s, during which the 16 windows in the façade were opened. The Oratory of the Concezione houses frescoes by Michelangelo Anselmi and Francesco Rondani.
• Santa Croce: 12th-century church in Romanesque style, had a nave and two aisles with a semicircular apse. Rebuilt in 1415 and again in 1635-1666. The frescoes in the nave by Giovanni Maria Conti, Francesco Reti and Antonio Lombardi) date to this period.
• San Sepolcro: church built in 1275 over a pre-existing religious building. Interiors were largely renovated in 1506, 1603 and finally 1701. The Baroque bell tower was built in 1616 and the bells were completed in 1753. Adjacent is a former monastery (1493-1495) of the Regular Canons of the Lateran.
• Santa Maria del Quartiere (1604-1619) church characterized by an unusual hexagonal plan. The cupola is decorated with frescoes by Pier Antonio Bernabei and pupils.
• San Rocco: late Baroque style church rebuilt in 1754 and dedicated to one of Parma's patron saints.
• Santa Cristina
• Palazzo della Pilotta (1583): it houses the Academy of Fine Arts with artists of the School of Parma, the Palatine Library, the National Gallery, the Archaeological Museum, the Bodoni Museum and the Farnese Theatre. It was partially destroyed during World War II
• Palazzo del Giardino, built from 1561 for Duke Ottavio Farnese on a design by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola. Built on the former Sforza castle area, it was enlarged in the 17th-18th centuries. It includes the Palazzo Eucherio Sanvitale, with interesting decorations dating from the 16th centuries and attributed to Gianfrancesco d'Agrate, and a fresco by Parmigianino. Annexed is the Ducal Park also by Vignola. It was turned into a French-style garden in 1749.
• Palazzo del Comune, built in 1627.
• Palazzo del Governatore ("Governor's Palace"), dating from the 13th century.
• Bishop's Palace (1055).
• Ospedale Vecchio ("Old Hospital"), created in 1250 and later renovated in Renaissance times.
• The Teatro Farnese was constructed in 1618-1619 by Giovan Battista Aleotti, totally in wood. It was commissioned by Duke Ranuccio I for the visit of Cosimo I de' Medici.
• The Cittadella, a large fortress erected in the 16th century by order of Duke Alessandro Farnese, close to the old walls.
• The Pons Lapidis (also known as Roman Bridge or Theoderic's Bridge), a Roman structure in stone dating from the reign of Augustus.
• The Orto Botanico di Parma is a botanical garden maintained by the University of Parma.
• The Teatro Regio ("Royal Theatre"), built in 1821-1829 by Nicola Bettoli. It has a Neo-Classical façade and a porch with double window order. It is the city's opera house.
• The Auditorium Niccolò Paganini, designed by Renzo Piano.
• The Museum House of Arturo Toscanini, where the famous musician was born.
• Museo Lombardi. It exhibits a prestigious collection of art and historical items regarding Maria Luigia of Habsburg and her first husband Napoleon Bonaparte; important works and documents concerning the Duchy of Parma in the 18th and 19th centuries are also kept by the Museum.