Milan, Bologna or another place

I'm looking at the same area, only Bologna or smaller, and bookmarked this great thread about food tours. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/bologna-restaurants-and-food-tours

I don't think you could go wrong in either location, but Milan is a big city & Bologna is a smaller university town, with great rail connections if you wanted to go to Florence for a day, for example. I seem to recall Bologna has a very good Egyptian museum that rivals the British Museum. And thank you, researching an answer to you has tipped us over to staying in Bologna, as opposed to another town nearby, just look at the museum selection!
https://www.bologna-guide.com/best-5-museum-to-visit-in-bologna/#:~:text=Museums%20in%20Bologna%3A%20here%20are,are%20more%20than%2030%20museum.

Bologna, hands down.

We have been there twice, for 5 days each time, and have never run out of things to see and do.

Walking the porticos, safely away from vehicle traffic, is a pleasure. They are shady on hot days and out of the wet on rainy ones. On Saturday evening, the main street between the train station and the Piazza Maggiore closes to traffic,

https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/blog/unesco-award-winning-porticoes

The architecture and history are fascinating. There are too many museums to count, including quirky little ones scattered around the historic center and the university area (the oldest university in Europe). The Balilica of San Petronius, the main church, has an interesting shape reflecting the rivalry between the town and the Pope.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/emilia-romagna-and-san-marino/bologna/attractions/basilica-di-san-petronio/a/poi-sig/419321/359887#

It is a huge Gothic structure (6th largest church in Europe) , still unfinished, and not particularly beautiful inside, apart from the soaring Gothic arches. But it is very interesting in that it has connections to science at a time when that was disfavored by the church. The “sundial” on the floor is a long meridian line that aided scientific discoveries and even helped prove that Galileo was right about the earth orbiting around the sun rather than vice-versa.

https://pauls-bologna.blog/2017/11/02/the-meridian-line-of-san-petronio/

On weekends and public holidays, the major north-south avenue from the train station to Piazza Maggiore in the city center closes to traffic and pedestrians spill from the slide walks under the porticoes out into the street, especially during the evening passigiata. It is like a huge block party and lots of fun (if a bit noisy).

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bologna_Via_Indipendenza_2.jpg

And then of course there is the food.

For daytrips from there, Ravenna is the first recommendation. It is an easy trip by train.

https://www.ravennamosaici.it/en/

I could go on and on, but will stop here and let others state their views.

And yes, we have been to Milan a few times so I can make a valid comparison. Once to attend a ballet at La Scala. Another time to get close to our airport for an early flight. Most recently we spent 2 nights there in a very nice modern hotel close to the Duomo; climbed to the roof to enjoy the fantastic sculptures, and wandered around the piazza and the nearby Galleria. We walked to the Navigli neighborhood for dinner and took a bus back. And then we were done. No need to return, apart from passing through on our way elsewhere.

But we are always happy to return to Bologna.

Just wondering Lola if you have a 3 star hotel recommendation for Bologna? Thanks, don't mean to hijack the thread!

I don’t know that it is considered “hijacking” to ask a question about lodging, that will likely be helpful to the OP and others. But unfortunately I cannot answer the question from personal experience, as we stayed in apartments, not hotels, both times.

However, I do know that dear friends of ours, very experienced world travelers with good taste, really liked Hotel Roma when they went to Bologna. It is a 4* not a 3*, but that may only mean that it has an elevator or some other amenity not required of a 3+ hotel. It does not seem to be more expensive than others, or particularly fancy. The location is excellent. It is nice being close to Piazza Maggiore.

The whole Centro Historico is walkable, as is the walk from the train station if you want to do that (we did).

Thanks @Lola, the experienced traveler recommendation of Hotel Roma is most welcome! Now to book some flights before or after Easter...

If you are doing Northern Italy, consider a day in Ravenna, it is a wonder.

Also, in Tuscany and Umbria consider Siena, Lucca, Pisa, Assisi, Spello, Spoleto and Perugia.

Bologna is great, a relatively underrated destination. Agree that day trip to Ravenna is not to be missed. In response to one of the comments, though, the good Egyptian museum is in Turin, not Bologna. Bologna has some decent museums but as a museum city it doesn't compare with Florence or Rome.

Agree with @Lola in recommending Bologna over Milan based on your interests having spent time in both cities.

Bologna is a great base that will cover two full days itself with the university, porticos, towers and don't miss the views from San Luca and has great train travel links to many great options including Ravenna, Modena, Parma, Ferrara, and Padua. If you wanted to do a day trip to Milan to see Last Supper, Duomo, and core area would also be possible with the great high speed train service.

If you are into food would highly recommend the experience of taking an all day food tour in the area between Bologna and Modena (Prosciutto, Parmesan and Balsamic product) - it will mean an early start at about 7am from Bologna to be in time to see the cheese making but included a breakfast and lunch.

An option for Milan that you could consider is to stay in Bergamo (about 30 minutes east of Milan).
- This is a Conde Nast Traveler recommended short break town with a walled old city area and elegant Palladian lower town
- Noted food city with a top culinary schools, so local restaurants are great quality/ value for money
- North West - Direct regional train to Rick's favorite Varenna on Lake Como
- North - Easy access to the Dolomites
- West - direct regional train into Milan
- East - towards Lake Garda/ Verona

Enjoy your trip

Thanks everyone. Great advice. I have now booked for 9 nights in Bologna with plans for several day trips but staying in an apartment so we can just chill if/when we need to do nothing much. I'm about to start looking at the food tours, thanks for the suggestions

Good choice. If your apartment is anywhere near Piazza Maggiore on the north side, and you want to do any cooking, be sure to check out Sapore & Dintori, an upscale grocery in the Conad chain with take-out options as well as a full line of excellent quality grocery items. We did not discover it until we were nearing the end of our stay, and wished we had found it sooner. We were only 2 blocks away.

It is on Via Independenzia, the main North- South street between the train station and Piazza Maggiore, much closer to the latter.

https://itab.com/cases/a-grocery-experience-enhanced-by-history-and-culture

We loved our time in Bologna so much that we are considering a month long stay there.