1.Headed on a cruise from Ravenna. Looks like Bologna is closest airport.
Recommendations for doing something around there?
Also, place to stay there?
Ravenna has churches and chapels with magnificent Byzantine mosaics and an attractive historic center. There's enough there to fill a couple of days if you are a fan of mosaics.
Thank you. Was thinking 1 night in Bologna.
If it were me, I would prioritize visiting the mosaics in Ravenna if possible. However, it sounds like you may be looking to fly into Bologna, spend just one night (?) and then take a train to Ravenna the next day. If that is correct, then you would have at most a couple hours to sightsee in Bologna and have a good dinner. Bologna is known for food; reservations are advised. There are also a number of food tours. For sightseeing, depending on what time you arrive in Bologna, you might be able to do the walking tour offered by the visitor center -- check the Bologna Welcome website. If not, you could walk around Piazza Maggiore and the nearby historic center. If there is enough time, I would recommend the Santo Stefano complex of churches, parts of which go back to the 5th century. The Bologna Welcome tourist office in Piazza Maggiore has a handout with the opening and closing time for a long list of museums and churches.
Ravenna is a huge historical draw, with the mosaics. Dante died there. It was the capital of western Rome for a short time.
