Emilia-Romagna
Bologna
Come for the food, stay inside the porticoes, factor in that the leaning Two Towers are closed for now, and ride the Marconi bus in before day-tripping to Modena and Parma.
Best length
2-3 nights
Airport
Bologna Marconi (BLQ), ~6km northwest
Airport to centre
Marconi Express monorail ~7 min to Centrale; ticket includes 75 min of city buses
Best base
Centro storico for first-timers; Santo Stefano for a quieter walk to everything
In short
Bologna at a glance
Bologna is a two- or three-night break built around food and a compact arcaded centre: stay inside the viali ring near Piazza Maggiore or Santo Stefano, take the Marconi Express monorail in from the airport, eat tagliatelle al ragu rather than anything called bolognese, and use the fast trains to make Modena and Parma day trips. Don't plan your trip around climbing the Two Towers — both are closed.
The short version
- Stay inside the viali ring road: the centro storico for first-timers, or Santo Stefano for a quieter, more elegant base a short walk from Piazza Maggiore.
- Take the Marconi Express monorail from the airport — seven minutes to Bologna Centrale and the simplest arrival in any Italian city this size.
- Skip the search for 'spaghetti bolognese': the local dish is tagliatelle al ragu, and the meat-sauce version on a menu in English is usually a tourist tell.
- Both the Asinelli and Garisenda towers are closed for safety work, so build the trip around the food, the porticoes and the Archiginnasio instead.
- Two full days covers the centre; add a third for a high-speed train day trip to Modena, Parma or Florence.
Bologna rewards a different kind of trip from Florence or Venice: there is no single unmissable sight to queue for, and the pleasure is in the eating, the porticoes and the easy pace. The medieval centre sits inside a ring road called the viali, and almost everything — Piazza Maggiore, the Quadrilatero food market, the painted courtyard of the Archiginnasio, the student lanes around Via Zamboni — is a flat ten-minute walk under nearly forty kilometres of covered arcades. Base yourself inside that ring and you can leave the umbrella, and any thought of a hire car, at home.
The one thing not to build a trip around is the Two Towers. The leaning Garisenda has been closed and braced for a long stabilisation project, and the taller Asinelli is shut to climbers alongside it, so the rooftop view most guidebooks sell you isn’t available. That’s no loss: spend the time on a food tour learning why locals never say “bolognese” (it’s tagliatelle al ragù), walking the world’s longest portico up to the San Luca sanctuary, and treating Bologna Centrale as the launchpad it is.
Two full days covers the centre well; a third lets you keep your hotel and day-trip by fast train to Modena for balsamic, Parma for ham and cheese, or Florence in well under an hour. Below, the structured planning — where to stay inside the viali, real ticket and food costs in pounds, the Marconi Express from the airport, and the best months to come — picks up from here.
Plan your Bologna trip
Keep a first trip focused: book the big timed sights, then leave room for neighbourhoods and food.
Top things to do in Bologna
Two Towers of Bologna
You almost certainly can't climb the Two Towers right now: the taller Asinelli (97m, 498 steps) is shut for area maintenance while engineers stabilise the leaning Garisenda next door, a job expected to run for years. The towers are still free to look at from the street at the foot of Via Rizzoli, and they're worth a ten-minute stop, but don't build a Bologna day around going up. For an actual rooftop view, book the Clock Tower (Torre dell'Orologio) on Piazza Maggiore instead.
Basilica of San Petronio
Walk straight in — the cavernous brick nave of San Petronio is free, so this is the rare blockbuster church you can see without buying a ticket. Pay the €5 (about £4.30) only for the Bolognini Chapel of the Magi, which holds Giovanni da Modena's hellfire fresco. Don't come for the rooftop: the panoramic terrace shut permanently after restoration. Allow 30–45 minutes, and time it so the sun crosses Cassini's 67-metre meridian line on the floor near midday.
Where to stay first
The areas that make a first visit easier — not an exhaustive directory.
Centro storico (around Piazza Maggiore)
££ mid-rangeThe arcaded medieval core inside the viali ring. Everything worth seeing is a flat 10-minute walk away, the porticoes keep you dry, and you never need transport. It is the obvious first-timer base; book early because the genuinely central stock is limited.
Best for: First-timers, short stays, walkers
Santo Stefano
££ mid-rangeA short walk southeast of the square around the seven-church complex, calmer and more residential than the busiest centro lanes but still entirely walkable. The best balance of atmosphere and quiet for a couple.
Best for: Couples, quieter evenings, repeat visitors
University quarter (Via Zamboni)
£ valueLoud, young and cheap, full of student bars and aperitivo spots. Good value and good fun if you want nightlife on your doorstep; a poor choice if you want to sleep before midnight.
Best for: Budget travellers, nightlife, solo trips
Near Bologna Centrale / Bolognina
£ valueHandy if you are doing day trips by train or arriving late, with cheaper rooms than the centre. The walk in takes 12-15 minutes and the immediate area is plainer; choose it for value and rail access, not atmosphere.
Best for: Day-trippers, value, late arrivals
Airport to city centre
| Option | Time | Cost | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marconi Express monorail to Bologna Centrale | ~7 min | about €11.50-12.80 single | Ticket includes 75 min of Tper buses to your hotel |
| Tper bus to the centre | ~20-25 min | standard city bus fare about €1.50-2.30 | Cheapest but slower and less frequent |
| Taxi to Piazza Maggiore | ~15-20 min | usually €20-€30 | Useful late at night or with heavy luggage |
When to go
Sweet spot: April to early June and September to October are the sweet spot: mild walking weather, the food in season, and fewer crowds than Italy's headline cities ever see. October brings local truffles onto tagliatelle, which is a quietly good reason to come in autumn.
High summer is hot and humid on the plain, and mid-August around Ferragosto sees a chunk of family-run trattorias shut for the holidays — check opening before you book an August trip. Winter is cold and foggy but cheap, atmospheric under the porticoes and good for a food-and-museums weekend rather than long walks.
What it costs
UK return flights to Bologna are often £30-£90 outside school holidays when booked ahead — Ryanair and easyJet run frequent direct services from London, Manchester and other UK airports at around 2h15. Summer and half-term fares climb quickly, so book spring and autumn weekends early.
Daily budget per person
Bologna is cheaper than Florence or Venice for what you eat, but the easiest way to overspend is sitting down in the Quadrilatero for a tourist platter. Eat at a proper osteria a few streets out and a plate of tagliatelle al ragu rarely tops €12-14.
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