After three days in Florence we, wife, I, and two teenage girls, will be heading to Venice, via train, for three nights. Would we be foolish to try and stop in Bologna for a brief day visit? We would like to store our luggage at the train station.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Be a bit careful here on your choice of train tickets. Most train runs to Venice from Florence are Italian Eurostars. If you buy such a ticket, you will have seat assignments for the entire trip. The train will most likely stop in Bologna as part of the run. If you get off the train in Bologna and your train departs, your ticket goes with it.
If you really want to get off at Bologna, buy a ticket from Florence to Bologna and buy a second ticket from Bologna to Venice. On the second ticket, if it's on another Eurostar, you will have a firm train and time to meet later in the day. If the second ticket is on an R train, it's an open ticket with no date, time or train number. You can get on any R train making that journey for up to 60 days. It takes a bit longer on the R train but if you want the flexibility for your stay in Bologna, the R train ticket will provide it.
The Trenitalia site shows that Bologna has a storage service at the train station.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
32 posts
I did this last year, and I found Bologna to be an lovely, underrated city. (I stayed the night.) I walked into the tourist office on the main square and found myself on a fantastic walking tour given by a local grad student. Like all college towns, in addition to the beautiful city for walking, there were lots of great things to do. Concerts, tours, etc. That day there were groups of school kids all over town reciting Danta Aligheri - apparently it was his birthday. Great meals there, too.
Posted by
The Hague, NL (AMS)
2207 posts
Marty,
I've done what you suggest as we were heading to Verona and wanted to revisit some parts of Bolonga. The train station in Bologna is very close to the centro district and you can catch a bus or walk! It's a great town to spend a few hours in as the architecture (and porticos) are fantastic... So yes, buy your tickets as Larry astutely suggests - and have a GREAT time!
Ciao,
Ron