Bologna

There are plenty of good day trips from Bologna, including Ravenna, Ferrara, Parma, Modena, Verona, Padua, plus Florence, Milan and Venice although of course these deserve longer stays (and Florence in particular has many good day trips of its own). We stayed about 5 days in Bologna a few years ago and had a great day trip to Ravenna. We had one planned to Ferrara too but that was thwarted by a rail strike. And Bologna itself, which we liked, has a couple days worth of things to see.

There are lot of day trips that can be made from Bologna since it is a very good rail hub. If you want to stay in that area, you might also want to consider Parma. Though it isn’t the transport hub that Bologna is, I think it is a much nicer city in which to spend your time. 10 days in Bologna seems awfully long and I have stayed there as well as in Parma. I’d also split the time and spend 5 days in Emilia Romana and then head to either Venice or Florence for 5 days since there is much to do in each of the cities and both offer amazing day trip opportunities as well.

How long is your trip total and where else are you planning to go? Bologna has easy day trips on the train to many places such as Parma, Modena and Ferrara. Also Florence is about an hour away. Bologna is a good location for many days. Last year we spent 11 nights there and we only did one day trip.

10-days in Bologna...that's quite a long time.

If your strategy is to do day-trips, why not plot-out locations around Emilia-Romagna that interest you and stay at those locations rather than constantly returning back to Bologna at the end each day? Over a 10-day period, the daily chore of gathering yourselves up and returning to Bologna is going to feel like you're doing a daily commute.

As for day-trips, well here's some suggestions, just keep in-mind how much time you're spending daily having to travel & return from your destination
1. Venice
2. Verona
3. Padua / Cittadella
4. Ravenna
5. Parma / Modena
6. Ferrara
7. San Marino
8. Florence
9. Treviso
10. Lucca

I think 10 days in Bologna sounds heavenly, but as you can see, others might find such a long stay limiting or confining. You've gotten good responses about the number of daytrips possible from Bologna, and certainly the list is long enough to fill the days. But I think there is a more esoteric question here -- would you enjoy spending 10 days in one spot? Do you want to develop some daily rhythms, find your favorite bakery, pick your go-to spot for an evening aperitif?

You ask about working to "keep us busy" and I think you have that; however, a 10-day stay is also about the un-busy: relaxing, unpacking once, and burrowing into your neighborhood. If that sounds boring and draggy or you feel like you'd be missing out on other parts of Italy, split the time with somewhere else. If that sounds delightful, I think you have your answer....

We did eight days in Bologna in summer 2019. I wish we'd done ten. There are lots of worthwhile day trips (Parma, Modena, food tour, etc.), and we didn't see everything I wanted to see in the city in two full days and parts of others.

We did Ravenna for three nights before going to Bologna. If you want to split your ten nights, I'd consider Ravenna as a option. One day trip to Ravenna doesn't give you time to go out to the excellent church and museum in Classis. I think the city needs at least two full days.

Wow! Thanks for all the good suggestions. I will present them to my husband. I now think I would like to split this trip up into 5 days each. I certainly don't want to keep packing and unpacking every few days. I think the 5 days sound good. Thank you all again for your input

Ravenna is magnificent. I didn't have quite enough time to see all I wanted to in two full days (three nights). Ferrara would be a viable day trip from Ravenna, but I don't know how much time is needed to see that city's top sights. Then you have Padua beyond Ferrara.

Ferrara is a great day trip from either Ravenna or Bologna. I did it from Bologna. The cathedral and another small site were closed, so I saw what I wanted to see in one day. That did include a long walk around the city walls - if you skipped that or shortened it one day might still be enough.

No-one actually said what there is to do in Bologna. We have three nights, two and a half days. One day we will go to Ravenna, the other I’m not sure but wander around and have dinner. We don’t do food tours or walking tours.. Also it will be Easter and Easter Monday. Tuesday we go to Ravenna which was easy to plot out an itinerary. .

We are staying 3 nights this fall and as usual, I’m finding it’s not nearly enough time.

It depends on what you have seen before in Italy.
Bologna is an excellent base to see many localities in the Emilia region. Florence is an excellent base to see many localities in the Tuscany region. So it really depends on what you’ve visited anlready and what you intend to visit.

Tammy: what do you do in the city itself? We are coming from 10 days in Venice, spent 4 in Florence last year, will go to Ravenna on the one of our two and half days.

I have now located more posts on this topic and have as good a grasp as I had to begin with. I guess we’ll just wing it, kick back and relax and eat.

No-one actually said what there is to do in Bologna.

In no particular order:

• Museum of San Colombano - Tagliavini Collection -- Great musical instrument museum in great old building
• Museo Civico Medievale -- Museum of medieval history
• Fontana del Nettuno -- the famous Neptune fountain
• Basilica di San Petronio -- Specifically for the Magi Chapel, for which you pay extra plus a camera fee for photography
• Archaeological Museum of Bologna -- not great by modern standards, but a step back in time to the way museums used to be. You can imagine Indiana Jones working there!
• Teatro Anatomico -- a highlight of the city; access only by scheduled tours (some are in English). Tours also include the Biblioteca Comunale dell'Archiginnasio
• Basilica of San Domenico -- Spectacular shrine to Saint Domenic (of the Dominican Order fame) including an early Michelangelo
• Mercato di Mezzo -- Fun covered market with lots of food options. Hopping with locals on the weekend
• Museo della Comunicazione e del Multimediale Gianni Pelagalli -- a wacky, wonderful privately-built collection of old radios and tvs.
• Grand Hotel Majestic -- classic "grand hotel" with beautiful public spaces. Enjoy an overpriced drink and soak in the atmosphere

I guess we’ll just wing it, kick back and relax and eat.

Yes, you can do that too!

Wow! Thank you History Traveler. Plenty to consider and much appreciated.

I spent several nights in Bologna back in 2015 and really enjoyed the walking tour of the historic center organized by the local tourist office.

Bap, we are going to the gelato museum, taking the all day Italian Days food and factory tour, wandering and visiting a few of the museums as well. Debating on a day trip to nearby Vicenza for our architecture fix. Ravenna and Sirimone (Italian Lakes area) would also be on our list if we had more time.

I have not been to Bologna yet but I recently bought the Mini Rough Guide for Bologna (Kindle version on amazon for under $6). There is a ton of sights listed plus pages on nearby day trips (Ravenna, Parma etc.), also places to eat.

In no particular order:

You forgot some other important things (speaking only of Bologna city and suburb):

• Santo Stefano churches complex;
• San Luca church and the portico to go up the hill;
• Ducati factory and museum;
• Townhall clock tower;
• San Pietro Church and belltower;
• the painting gallery;
• even a food tour of local products.

Tammy, do you know anything about the gelato museum? Is it worth a visit? Mostly for kids? I make ice cream at home and I don't know if I'd learn anything by going to their "gelato masterclass". Have you heard any personal recommendations about this place?

Thanks,
Tony

The Carpigiani Gelato museum is a little museum about the history of Gelato. A guided visit is interesting to learn something more about the that product. Is inside the Carpigiani factory, the most important producer of whipping machines. They do several kind of lessons: from the short ones (2-3 hours) dedicated to gelato lovers, but even kids and family, to the professional ones (usually 4/6 days).
More info here: https://www.gelatouniversity.com/en/home