Bologna --what to do for a week there and day trips please

Any ideas are appreciated!

Take a food tour! We took one in 2019 (before the pandemic…) with Italian Days Food Experience, led by Alessandro, and it was fantastic! We’ve taken many food tours around the world and this was one of the best. It’s also easy to train to Ravenna to see the amazing mosaics and to Ferrara for the beautiful Castello (& more amazing food). We saw some of Parma and Modena on our all day food tour, but those are also nearby for day trips. We loved Bologna and plan to return in fall 2022.

Thanks,Elizabeth! I will check out your ideas.

Definitely take a food tour. I took one that lasted nearly all day and took me to Parma to the Parmesan cheese factory, to Modena for balsamic vinegar and to Parma for prosciutto plus an option of either a winery, which is what I chose, or a tour of the Ferrari factory at an additional fee), which others chose. There were samples and chances to purchase at each place. After all four food events we were taken to a restaurant where we enjoyed a several course meal. It was a wonderful tour and I would do it again in a heartbeat. In Bologna, you should hike up through the many, many porticoes to the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca. Views are terrific. There are city sponsored walking tours as well. I stayed at a monastery near the church of San Domenico. Nice, if sparse,room with a balcony and breakfast, in easy walking distance from the town center. A restaurant I can heartily recommend is Sette Tavoli (7 tables). Great food in a charming tiny local restaurant.

I enjoyed the university tour and walking through the historic center. Padua and Florence are less than an hour by train.

Ravenna is a long train ride but well worth it. Leave as early as possible. All but one sight are easy walking from the train station. That one sight - Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe - is well worth the bus trip. Or rent a bike for the day. It's about a 20 minute ride. Ravenna is well suited to bikes. So is Ferrara.

Parma has the famous restaurant La Forchetta; Modena our favorite in Italy Da Danilo.

In Bologna I suggest some guided tours in the center, to deeply know the city and the local history. Unfortunately there are few group tours about specific topics in English, so is better hire a private guide. You can do even a food tour in the center, that is usually different than the ones done in the countryside.
A food tour in the countryside is a good idea, mainly if you don't want to rent a car. On top of the standard ones I suggest you even one in Romagna, talking of olive oils, pit cheese and Sangiovese wine.
Wine is another topic for a tour, because every province of Emilia-Romagna has its own traditional vines and so different wines: Pignoletto (Bologna), Lambrusco Grasparossa or Sorbara or Salamino (Modena and Reggio Emilia), Malvasia (Parma), Bonarda and Barbera (Piacenza), Sangiovese and Cagnina and Pagadebit and Ortrugo (Romagna), Fortana (Ferrara and Ravenna).
If you like motors there are several supercars museums (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ducati, Pagani, Dallara, Stanguellini, Maserati), can be visited car factories (Lamborghini, Pagani, Ducati, Maserati, Dallara) and can be done car test drive.
For history and art there are 4 UNESCO world heritage cities: Bologna (porticoes), Modena (Romanesque architecture), Ferrara (Renaissance) and Ravenna (Byzantine mosaics). On top of them even Parma is very nice and interesting, like Piacenza. And even Cesena, Carpi, Imola, Rimini worth a visit, like several castles and fortress scattered everywhere. The cities are easy to be reached by train from Bologna, usually within 1 hour of travel. Villages and small cities are a little more tricky and a car is better.
If you like nature and hikes there are two UNESCO MAB areas, completely different each other. One on the border with Tuscany, the highest part of the Appennines in the provinces of Modena. Reggio Emilia and Parma. The second in the Po delta, on the border with Veneto, flat and rich of wild birds.
Don't forget to check for events, fair and festivals, that often offer something special to be visited.
Two websites to collect ideas: https://emiliaromagnaturismo.it/it and https://emiliaromagnatours.it/

In 2015 I enjoyed a walking tour of the historic center run by the tourist office. I don't remember whether there were multiple walking tours offered.

On our 1-week stay in Bologna 4 1/2 months ago, our one day trip out of town was the food tour with Alessandro described above - it was outstanding.

In town, the Tourist Information office on the main square downtown gives one walking tour of the many sights in that area. That gives you suggestions of other things to see that aren’t on the tour.

Be inside the Basilica of St. Petronio, the big church on the main square, at noon. The sun comes through a tiny hole in the roof, and lands on the largest sundial in the world, inside the church. It was a scientific marvel 400 years ago, and still works!

Climb the wooden stairs to the top of the leaning Asinelli medieval tower, for fabulous views and an appreciation of ancient building technology.

Museums: the modern art museum, MAMbo, is small enough to allow seeing in a relatively short time. Its star attraction is the collection of work by noted hometown artist Giorgio Morandi. One of the paintings in that collection had been owned by Pavarotti. Also, see the wonderful Museo Davia Bargellini, in what had been Bargellini’s palace.

The Church of San Domenico has the tomb of Saint Domenic, founder of the Domenican Order. The elaborate tomb has artwork from several masters, and includes two small statues by Michelangelo. One hints at his future David in Florence.

The D’Azeglio street at the south end of the city has a phenomenal gelateria, Cremaria d’Azeglio. One of the two best restaurants we went to in town (twice!) is a couple doors down from there: Ristorante Alice da Oscar. Our other favorite restaurant in town - went there one night for dinner, and another day for lunch, is Osteria La Traviata.

As mentioned above, I agree with the recommendation for a visit to Ferrara. That would be an easy daytrip from Bologna. It is a 30 minute train ride and less than 5 €. I learned about Ferrara from posts here on the forum and stayed there for a night a few years back. It was a very attractive town, particularly its piazzas and castello. There just happened to be a medieval reenactment celebration at the castle with different groups from the city participating in period dress, games and music when I was there and that was a very pleasant surprise. It is a very walkable town. I like towns and smaller cities that are not on the regular tourist track. Also take a look at nearby Modena. That's the kind of place I would head to. Less than thirty minutes from Bologna and 4€ by train.

Is this the food tour company people are posting about? https://www.italiandays.it/destinations/bologna/

I see an all day tour which goes to Modena and ends with a farmhouse dinner for €170, and also a walking tour for €93. They both look good.

Jane has the right Website for the Italian Days €170 food extravaganza tour. Please note that while the tour ventured into what I believe is the district of Modena, we did not get into the urban city of Modena. Once the two tour vans left the city of Bologna (just after 7:00 AM), we arrived at the cheese plant, just as farmers were delivering their morning milk. Early morning is when the cheese is made, so the timing was important. After strolling the cheese operation, while wearing plastic hair nets, smocks, and booties - plus required masks, and led between copper vats where curds are formed and raked out into large shaping molds, we saw the immense aging rooms with hundreds (thousands?) of wheels of cheese, waiting for inspection and official designation as Parmesano Reggiano.

The balsamic vinegar operation was in the scenic vineyards a short drive away, with lots of food, espresso, and wine, in addition to vinegar of various ages and recipes. We saw a cask of artisanal balsamic vinegar that was over 100 years old - a very special aged batch!

The prosciutto factory was down a highway, and was the most industrial of the locations. Room after room of pig (and beef) hind legs coated in salt, in different stages of aging.

Lunch was at a restaurant high in the impressive hills. Our tour were the only ones there, at a long table. Course after course, served family style. Different wines, paired with each course. Magnifico! i

The Italian Days food tour with Alessandro that other posters have been raving about is truly amazing. We love doing food tours but this one is exceptional. Lots of food and lots of fun plus we learned so much about the production of cheese, balsamic and prosciutto. If you can only do one tour then this is it.
There is a small “Tourist Train” that stops in Piazza Maggiore in Bologna and can take you up to Madonna di San Luca. We took the train up and then walked back down through the beautiful porticoes.