Ravenna or Remini

Well do you want to see beautiful mosaics and a charming older town (Ravenna) or do you want to see hordes of Italians doing aerobics in the water to really bad music (Rimini)?

Well, I guess that answers that question!

Definitely, Ravenna. Take the bus to Classe to see more mosaics at Sant' Apollinare in Classe.

Thank you, Zoe.

I have not been to Remini, but Ravenna is one of my favorite "small cities" anywhere.

We will be spending 2 nights in Ravenna in October - what is the best way to get to Sant'Apollinare in Classe ? I see notations for a bus and train.

From Ravenna, there is a bus that runs to Classe every half hour or so (regular city bus, sorry I don't remember the number). It will drop you across the street from the church. The return stop is on the same side of the street as the church. Wait out the occasional tour bus and you will have the church to yourself for a while before the next bus comes.

There is a Tourist Information office (TI) on the main road that runs straight from the train station into the center of town. See RS's Italy book for a Ravenna map with exact location. It's on your right as you walk into town. The folks there were very friendly and helpful, and gave me a local map with instructions about where and how to catch the bus to Classe and where in Classe to get on the return bus. I seem to recall there is also some information on how to do so on the brochure that you receive when you buy the "pass" that you need for entry to many of the main mosaics sites. Also see RS's book on which mosaics sites sell "the pass." This was all my experience in summer 2015.

Also: If you are taking the train from Florence, you will likely have a train connection. Be SURE to write down the name of your connecting station, and the arrival and departure times from that station. That information will NOT be on your ticket. Easy to also take a screen shot of the information when you buy your ticket at a ticket kiosk in Florence. It's a simple connection, but you won't have the info you need about making the connection once you get on the train leaving Florence. I suggest also buying your return ticket (which won't have a time on it; it can be used on any local returning train) while you're in Florence, too. In Ravenna, I experienced that there was only one ticket kiosk, it was broken, and the one line for a ticket agent was half an hour long. Of course, be sure to validate your ticket in the validation machine before going to the train platform, each trip!

Ask the very helpful tourist office, which is not far from one or two of the mosaic sites, to mark the location of the bus stop for the trip to Classe on your Ravenna map. I remember walking around a bit, feeling uncertain. I think the problem was deciding which direction I needed to head in, because Ravenna wasn't the terminus for the bus. The two buses made different stops. Also check on whether you need to buy a bus ticket in advance or can just pay the driver.

Edited to add: jmauldinuu and I evidently had similar positive experiences with the Ravenna tourist office, except that I neglected to ask the key question about the location of the bus stop.

We loved Ravenna. The mosaics of course, but also we found the accommodations and restaurants very affordable, and the people kind and friendly---not rushed.

A few years ago the tourist office gave me a bottle of wine with my Ravenna Card.

You can also get to Classe and around Ravenna (though you can easily walk to everything in Ravenna itself) by bicycle. Some of the hotels provide/rent them to guests. You can see a lot in a day trip from Bologna, but it's much better if you can stay overnight (good restaurants too) and have a few more hours for the sights.