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Voykit pocket guide · Italy
Bologna
Give Bologna 2 nights: walk the centre, eat at lunch and dinner, and ride the San Luca portico. Add a third night only for day-trips.
Bologna is a food city with a walkable brick centre, Europe's oldest university and 40 km of porticoes. Two nights covers Piazza Maggiore, the towers, Santo Stefano and San Luca; a third night buys a day-trip to Modena, Ferrara or Ravenna. High-speed trains reach Florence in 37 min and Milan in 65 min, so it works as a stop between them.
- Country
- Italy
- Best months
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (hot and humid), August (many shops and restaurants close)
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR, €). Cards and contactless are widely accepted in cities; small cafés, markets and rural places may prefer cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget €60–90 excl. bed · Mid €90–150 excl. bed · High €150+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- TIM, Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad sell prepaid SIMs in shops and at airports; a passport and an Italian tax code (codice fiscale, issued in-store) are needed.
- Emergency
- Europe-wide emergency 112 · Police 113 · Fire 115 · Ambulance 118
- Plugs
- Types C, F, L · 230 V · 50 Hz · Italian type L plugs have three pins in a row; most sockets also take two-pin Europlugs (C), and bivalent sockets take Schuko (F).
- Tipping
- Bar: Leave €0.10–0.20 of change on the counter if you like.; Restaurant: Coperto or service may already be on the bill; leave €1–2 a person or round up for good service.; Taxi: Round up to the next euro.; Hotel porter or housekeeping: €1–2 per bag or per night.; Tour guide: €5–10 per person for a half day.
- Water
- Tap water is safe unless signed otherwise; Rome's nasoni fountains run all day. Restaurants serve bottled water (naturale or frizzante) unless you ask for tap (acqua del rubinetto).
- Toilets
- Few public toilets; use bars (buy a coffee), museums and stations, where some charge €1.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee at the bar | €1.20–1.80 |
| Tagliatelle al ragù or tortellini in brodo | €12–18 |
| Aperitivo with a drink | €8–12 |
| TPER single ticket (75 min) | €2.30 (€2.50 on board) |
| Marconi Express airport monorail | €12.80 |
| Taxi airport to centre | about €15 (check) |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | €10–20 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- BLQ · Guglielmo Marconi (Bologna)
- Marconi Express monorail to Bologna Centrale, 7 min, €12.80; buses 81/91 from the Birra stop, about 30 min, €1.50
Typical fares
- BLQ → Bologna Centrale, Marconi Express
- €12.80, 7 min (check)
- BLQ → Bologna Centrale, bus 81/91 from Birra
- €1.50, about 30 min (check)
- Taxi airport → centre
- about €15 (check)
- Bologna Centrale → Florence, high-speed
- 37 min (check fares)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The centre is flat and walkable; cars are banned in much of it during the day. TPER buses cost €2.30 for 75 min (€2.50 on board) and a day pass is €9 (2026). Buy tickets at tabacchi or on the bus; validate before riding. Taxis and the RideMovi bike scheme cover the rest.
See and do
Known for
- Piazza Maggiore and Basilica di San Petronio
- The Due Torri (Asinelli and Garisenda)
- Porticoes and the Sanctuary of San Luca
- Tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini and mortadella
- Europe's oldest university (1088)
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Modena | High-speed or regional train from Bologna Centrale, 20–30 min | About 1 h |
| Ferrara | Train from Bologna Centrale, 30–60 min | About 1–1.5 h |
| Ravenna | Train from Bologna Centrale, about 1 h 20 min | About 2 h |
| Florence | High-speed train from Bologna Centrale, 37 min | About 1 h |
Sleep
- Piazza Maggiore and the centre
- Everything walkable; quietest at night, priciest. Best for a first 2-night stay.
- Bologna Centrale and Via Indipendenza
- 10–15 min walk to the centre, best for early trains and one-night stops.
- University district (Via Zamboni)
- Bars, cheap eats and student life; noisier at night.
- Saragozza and San Luca side
- Quieter, near the portico climb; 20 min walk from Piazza Maggiore.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Good morning | Buongiornobwon-JOR-no |
| Thank you | GrazieGRAH-tsee-eh |
| The bill, please | Il conto, per favoreeel KON-toh per fah-VOH-reh |
| A table for two | Un tavolo per dueoon TAH-voh-loh per DOO-eh |
| Can I pay by card? | Posso pagare con la carta?POS-soh pah-GAH-reh kon lah KAR-tah |
| Where is the toilet? | Dov'è il bagno?doh-VEH eel BAH-nyoh |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Say buongiorno (until mid-afternoon) or buonasera on entering shops and bars; avoid: Walking in and pointing without a greeting
- Cheek kisses: Two kisses, right cheek first, among friends; follow their lead; avoid: Kissing strangers or in business settings
- Dress: Smart-casual in cities; covered shoulders and knees in churches; avoid: Beachwear, bare chests and flip-flops away from the beach
- Queues: At delis and pharmacies take a number (numerino); avoid: Assuming the crowd at a bar counter is chaos — pay at the till first where asked
- Restaurants: Wait to be seated and ask for the bill; avoid: Splitting a bill item by item with a large group
- Conversation: Food, football and family are safe openers; avoid: Mafia jokes and north–south stereotypes
- Dinner at a home: Bring pastries, wine or flowers (not chrysanthemums, which are for funerals); avoid: Refusing seconds too firmly
Scams and watch-outs
- Scooters and small motorcycles ride everywhere in the centre: look both ways before crossing.
- Bikes get stolen around the university: use a good lock.
- In August many shops and restaurants close for the summer holiday.
- Marconi Express queues can run over 30 min at peak times; contactless cards only, no Google/Apple Pay.
- At Bologna Centrale, platforms 3, 3-West and 3-East are in different parts of the station: check before you walk.
Bologna is a safe, well-run city; the real risks are scooters in the centre, bike theft near the university, and August closures. Keep bags zipped in the station area and around Piazza Maggiore at night.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Bologna yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Piazza Maggiore and Basilica di San Petronio
- The Due Torri (Asinelli and Garisenda)
- Porticoes and the Sanctuary of San Luca
- Tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini and mortadella
- Europe's oldest university (1088)
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Bologna Welcome — official visitor site: www.bolognawelcome.com/en/
- Comune di Bologna: www.comune.bologna.it/
- Marconi Express: www.marconiexpress.it/en/
- TPER — Bologna bus network: www.tper.it/percorsi-orari/servizio-bacino-di-bologna
- Bologna Airport (BLQ): www.bologna-airport.it/
- Wikivoyage: Bologna, revision 5340200 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5340200
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Bologna
A questo indirizzo, per favore
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
Most countries have embassies in Rome; the US has a consulate general in Florence and Milan. Check your embassy's site for Bologna coverage.
Coperto (cover charge) is normal on the bill; tipping is not expected.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/bologna). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.