Bologna included in Rick’s TV series?

There is not. Rick Steves does not cover Bologna in his tv shows or any of his Italy travel guides. I have found some good videos of Bologna on You Tube by simply doing a search for Bologna. And some of the other travel guides do cover Bologna.

Also, if you can find a repeat of Stanley Tucci's "Searching for Italy", last week's episode was on Bologna.

Sarah Murdoch, who has guided for RS, was in Bologna this past September and created this walk/video

She follows it up with an evening video having dinner.

Maybe this will give you an idea. I have not visited myself.

Thanks Debbie for posting Sarah Murdoch’s videos. I miss seeing Sarah. I have taken several of her classes at RS Travel Center over the years. The last was in Jan. 2020 at the RS Reunion. I also agree to watch Stanley Tucci “Searching for Italy” segment on Bologna. I may watch the repeat tonight. I too have not been to Bologna. I was impressed with the pedestrian vibe of the city and of course the wonderful cuisine!

Bologna has what I once read is Europe's largest medieval district. It's a great area just for wandering around. Many of the streets are arcaded, so you can do some outdoor sightseeing even in sub-optimal weather. The city is known for its food and gets very few American tourists.

Thanks, Debbie. We had planned to spend about 4 or 5 days in Bologna last year, but .... well, you know. But it's still on my list.

I went back and checked my You Tube viewing history. These are two of the videos on Balogna that I have watched that I think will give you a good sense of the area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSqyXaVaV48&t=575s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Pbm-jbilM&t=2896s

I haven’t been yet, but it’s on my itinerary as a day trip from Florence when I make it to Italy in some unknown year. 😊 What I liked about Balogna from my research is that it appeared to be less crowed than many other Italian cities. And, as acraven mentioned, the medieval district appealed to me.

Thanks everyone, that gives my a lot of info to research.

I haven't had bologna in ages. As a kid I ate it all the time. What does RS have to do with balogna?

My October 2019 trip Bologna was done without any Rick Steves help, either by TV video or guidebook. My husband photocopied a few pages from a Rough Guide guidebook from the library, but most of my Bologna travel arrangements came via the Internet. I rented an apartment for 3 nights through VRBO. The apartment owner recommended a restaurant for my 2nd night, and called in a reservation for me. The TI (tourist information office) was a great resource once I got there. A bus tour of the city on Day 1 that departed just outside the TI was helpful for getting oriented, and finding sights to see that trip. There are a couple of museums I want to see on the next trip, which is currently scheduled for late September 2021. I took a cooking class my last day, which I booked online before leaving for Italy.

This is more than you asked for, but if you’re looking for Rick Steves footage because you’re planning on visiting Bologna, it hasn’t been on his Back Door list yet.

BigMike, weren’t the stringy red wrapper bits off the bologna slices nasty? Did you put yellow mustard, or catsup (or was it ketchup) on your bologna?

There was a conspiracy theory a few years ago that Oscar Mayer was supposedly going to buy out Europe Through the Back Door and replace Rick Steves with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The catchphrase for the new shows was going to be, “I’ll Be Back...door.”

I believe is a little naive with respect to a standard of Rick's video, but is actual until we aren't ready again to start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2VgVHJryjg
Is at least a way to see some monuments around Emilia-Romagna, not only the most famous. Was did 1 year ago, when as guides we believe was the moment to come back to normality. :-D

BigMike, a number of the posts on this Forum surely qualify as pure Bologna --- or baloney.

great video Ricky.

Is that you with the yellow umbrella?

I took the walking tour offered by the tourist office back in 2015 and liked it a lot.

Bologna is a lovely city; not many tourists, at least not when I was there in 2012, and lovely to just wander along under the covered arcaded sidewalks no matter what the weather.
Plan to walk up the covered pilgrim's walkway to the church of San Luca; it's a bit of a hike but well worth it.

We spent three weeks in Bologna during August, 2019. We were attracted to Bologna because it was "off the beaten path" for most Americans. We loved it! We liked wandering around and appreciated the arched colonnades throughout the city which shielded us from the hot summer sun. Bologna is the capital of the Emilia Romagna region with a tradition of great food and the central location provides lots of easy (by train) day trip travel opportunities such as to Modena, Parma, Verona and Milan. It's also close to Venice and Florence but I wouldn't recommend day trips to those places as they deserve more time. Bologna has history, culture, great food, a highly regarded university, warm welcoming people and more reasonably priced than the the well traveled Italian destinations. I hate to unleash hordes of tourists to this wonderful place but go and see for yourself.

@ Nigel
I am the one who "is called" while cooking.
The yellow one isn't an umbrella, but a big tortellino. :-D Is a sign used by a colleague when she leads groups.

Both Lonely Planet and Rough Guides do a travel guide for Emilia Romagna region. I prefer Lonely Planet.
If you want visuals, look up Dream of Italy vlogs on YouTube...particularly if a foodie. I am not sure, but she may also have a website.

Thanks for all the info, everybody.

As visual resources there are even the videos created by local tour operators and tourist offices. I can suggest you the ones of Italygate: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkCki7cclUNZGLjjuYGrtTg
Bologna Welcome (city tourist office) often do video, even if a lot are in Italian: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bolognawelcome
Even this video of Modena is very nice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t43BOpeC4Y (from the official Modena municipality https://www.youtube.com/user/retecivicamodena )
Several videos from the regional tourism office: https://www.youtube.com/user/turismoER . Divided by topics.

I have been wanting to book a trip to the Bologna region, and if all is well to travel in October, we may (2 of us) go. I have been to Italy many times, but NEVER to this region. Does anybody have a good itinerary for the region? Seems flying in from the US is not direct, and probably to Pisa as closest airport? I am thinking off top of head basing in Bologna, and possibly visiting Parma, Modena, Lots of food destinations for sure. Is Verona really doable as a day trip? I was there, but 15 years ago and loved it. Any good food cooking lessons, etc? Any ideas welcome! I'll re-read this thread as well.

Thanks!

Glenn

On June 13, 2021 Trenitalia.com will upload all the schedules of trains running up to December. Verona station is called Porta Nuova.
Did you search for flights to Bologna Airport? If you fly into Pisa you'll have to take a train to Pisa station and another one to Florence. I'd rather fly to Florence, to avoid one change of trains.

Florence or Venice would be closer than Pisa airport. Othersise figure out which of the european cheapo airlines flies direct to Bologna and connect the dots that way.

Perhaps it's bad form to mention that there are two rather well-known travel guides that start with F that will have info that Rick might not

To Bologna there was (before Covid) a direct flight from Philadelphia. American Airlines, if I well remember. Instead Bologna is well connected to any other important European Airport hub. Every main airline has some connection flights from/to Bologna every day. Being the Bologna's airport very close to the center (10 minutes with the new monorail) is much simpler change airplane in a big European city (London, Paris, Frankfurt, Brussel, Madrid...) than flight to another Italian city (where you need to commute to the train station, than take a train to Bologna and arrive in the same place).
When I need to travel to America now I start from Bologna and switch airplane in Frankfurt or Madrid or London, because is much simpler and fast than go to another Italian city's airport. and the luggage is managed by the flight company: I don't need to stroll to the train station with bags or backpack.

there are two rather well-known travel guides that start with F that will have info that Rick might not

It may be my rusty English, but "The F. guide to Italy" doesn't sound right.

Florence or Venice

It's only one hour from Central Milan to Central Bologna by high speed train. I'd add Milano Linate (not MXP) to that list.

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile perhaps? (Italian wing = Ferrari = FIA = Ferrari International Assistance)

Touring Club Italiano is an excellent resource - but it doesn't start with "F"...

If you are content with a guidebook rather than a TV programme, then Bradt publish a guide for Emilia-Romagna, including a substantial chapter on Bologna. Bradt produce by far the best (English-language), guidebooks I've ever come across. Sadly, they don't bother with much of continental Europe, but in this case you are in luck. We have used this particular guidebook and it was v. helpful.

PS Frommer and Fodors for the two mysterious 'F's?

full points to Nick.

Also if you're into ASMR (and you know who you are), or if you just want to see the scenery and don't need a produced video, there are lots of folks now on Youtube who strap a Go Pro to their chest and ... just walk. Just natural sound, they wander up and down the streets. It's a great way to really get a sense of a place, I watch these videos on areas of London or Paris for hours. The ones on Venice, depending on the time of year, can be pretty scary.

Thanks, I will get some other guide books from the library.

This is not the most recent but it is a good show for art and food fans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW9-b3J3-DY&t=2s