Bologna sights

We spent 5 days in Bologna last September. Highy recommended.
Warning - Do not plan a stay after 26 September. https://www.cersaie.it/en/ causes lodging rates to triple

Read John Grisham's The Broker.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towers_of_Bologna

University of Bologna
Botanical Garden

FICO Eataly World ! https://www.eatalyworld.it/en/
Amazing food porn.
You will want to buy stuff and ship it home.

Easy day trips by train.
We went to the Ferrari Museum in Modena. Loved it.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187801-Activities-Bologna_Province_of_Bologna_Emilia_Romagna.html

This is a great time to visit Bologna: not as hot during summer, yet past summer shop/restaurant closures. Bologna (like Torino and Milano) is a large city where seasons are still dictated mostly by local business flows and conventions (see post above), not leisure tourism.

This being said, pick a hotel within the old walled medieval perimeter (which is much larger than in smaller Italian towns), which will allow you to go all around on foot. The city thas plenty of arcades that provide shadow from the sun.

Some attractions there include the famous Due Torri (two towers), the Neptune temple, the Margherita Queen park, the Finestrella, the monumental Piazza Maggiore, the Pinacoteca, countless churches (I'm not the expert here). The MAMBo is a very good modern art museum.

You can climb the Madona di Luca sanctuary, for the views. It is a neat walk up there.

Important to notice, Bologna has one of the most active modern-Italian gastronomic scenes in Italy. But even non-fine dining is likely to be good.

Why RS book doesn't cover it? I guess it is one of these old biases from the 1980s that get carried over. The central area of Bologna used to be much more gritty than now, with run-down buildings and high air pollution, and the city had the reputation of being a dangerous place after a spat of terrorist attacks in the early 1980s, including one that killed almost 90 people in 1980 at the train station. So I think there were more attractive options when RS started writing guidebooks, and as with other many omissions in Western Europe, it keeps being carried over and over the years.

I think Bologna is an amazing base for exploration of day-trips. San Marino, Ravenna, Pavia, Verona, Ancona are all within easy train reach; Firenze itself is just 38 min away by high-speed trains. As I said, it is a great city to eat out. Hotels will be slightly pricey due to the business-driven demand, though.

When planning our Bologna visit (April 2019) I used Lonely Planet, Frommer's, and Insight guides from the local library (I purchased the Insight guide at Barnes & Noble). Bologna's tourism office has many resources on their website, bolognawelcome.com. The tourism office, on Piazza Maggiore, offers a very good walking tour. It lasts about 2 1/2 hours; our guide was entertaining and informative. (She also gave great recommendations for dining.) The tourism office also provides information for a wide variety of tours in Emilia Romagna.

You can take the city bus to the Santuario di Madonna di San Luca, a basilica in the hills overlooking Bologna. After your visit, walk back down to the city on a path covered by nearly 4 km of porticos. Beautiful views, plus you will see many local residents out for their daily run coming up the hill to San Luca.

You will find no shortage of excellent food in Bologna! Mercato di Mezzo is a great place for a light or casual meal. Be sure to check on hotels soon. Many trade fairs and conventions are held in Bologna, which will determine hotel availability and prices.

Thanks for posting this --Bologna is not much discussed here, and I was thinking of adding it to our upcoming trip. Very helpful info.

We're thinking of stopping by on our way north and taking a cooking class. I've googled and found some info already but haven't really looked into it much. Does anyone know anything about English-speaking cooking tourism in this region?

I very much enjoyed the University tour. Other than that, I just liked walking around and poking into places.