One night Bologna

We were in Bologna last August for 2 days. It’s a small city. I would just walk around and enjoy the sights. Maybe duck into a church or two. We ended up taking the HOHO bus because it was very hot and we needed a rest. We ate dinner at a small place on the corner where the bus dropped us off.

Or you could take the tourist train up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. We had a car so we drove up there late on the afternoon we arrived. We stayed outside of the city because we had a car.

The church is beautiful but we haven’t visited any church in Italy that isn’t.

I don't think of Bologna as a small city. With that said, it's more an experiential city than a "must-see" place. Aside from the Piazza Maggiore, the many porticos and the anatomical theater, we mostly enjoyed walking around the city to see its old gates, enjoying the incredible cuisine and soaking up the culture. Make sure to look for the hidden canals; they're seriously cool. A week in Bologna was not too much for us.

Certainly visit Piazza Maggiore and go into the church to see the Meridian line. I'd also recommend Santo Stefano and the seven churches as it is called. The walk to San Luca through the porticos can be enjoyable if the weather is good. I've never taken the train but have walked several times with visitors. If you visit the Basilica of San Domenico you can see some smaller works of Michelangelo. Don't miss the canal views as has already been mentioned. On weekends Via Indipendenza is closed to traffic and you can join the locals and visitors as they walk through the city. There are lots of portas (city gates) and remnants of the various walls to see. Bologna also has the oldest university in the western world. Bologna is one of my favorite cities.