You landed in the Italian food capital but you have only one day to spend there?
Don’t panic. It’s possible to get the best from Bologna in one day if you know how to mastermind distances, sightseeing and – of course – carbs.

Here’s my recipe to have the perfect day in Bologna: amazing food, a bit of culture and something unexpected.

A whole foodie day awaits you.
The temptation to skip breakfast can be strong, but don’t fall into it. 
​
Since Italians eat a little in the morning, it will take only a few minutes, but you’re definitely going to need those energies!
There’s a full post about the best breakfasts in Bologna with the addresses you shouldn’t miss.

My tip
Sit at the counter, order a cappuccino and a savory croissant (we call it “La Salata”). It’s light, fast and with enough butter to start the day with a big smile.

Bologna is the perfect city to spend all morning looking at the shops in the food markets. 
Especially if you were wondering in how many different ways pork can be cooked (Spoiler: soooo many).

Our Bologna food tours can save you time and bad tastes, but if you prefer to go on your own walk around Mercato di Mezzo.
The medieval Piazza Maggiore, the two towers and the intricate complex of Santo Stefano are just a few steps away from the mortadella.

My tip
Is it noon-ish? Get inside the Basilica of San Petronio and see the longest sundial in Europe working.
It happens only at noon, but it has to be the astronomical noon. How to know when it is exactly? Play with maths or just look at the chart next to the entrance of Bolognini Chapel.

Make sure to take your time for lunch, it will probably be your most vivid memory.
Best way to experience the living culture of the town is to put your legs under a table, grip a fork and relax.

At Sfoglia Rina, the menu is written on a blackboard on the wall, and – apart from the very traditional unchangeable dishes – it’s renewed every week.
Pasta is the freshest you can have, and they have special attention to the details.

My tip
Since you have one day, but unfortunately only one stomach, focus on the fab four:
1. Tortellini in brodo
2. Tortelloni with ricotta and parsley 
3. Lasagne alla bolognese 
4. Tagliatelle al ragù

Impossibile choice?
​Try one and learn to make the others during our cooking class in Bologna, because new cooking skills are the best souvenir you can get here.

Bologna isn’t only famous for tortellini. 
The University here was established in 1088 and it’s the oldest in the western world. 

Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio had been its venue for almost three centuries. You can read the students’ names in the 6000 coat of arms painted on the walls, and try to guess which country in Europe they came from.

Don’t miss Teatro Anatomico at the first floor, with its wooden stands around the marble table for the human bodies dissections.

My tip
Dig into the weird old studying methods at Museo di Palazzo Poggi. Anatomical waxes, optical experiments and old maps will make your day.
Plus, it’s in the southern part of the city, so you can have a nice walk through the former Jewish ghetto to get there.

Too early to go to dinner, too late to visit anything else: it’s time to have aperitivo.

During the summertime, relax at Le Serre inside the city’s most lovely park: Giardini Margherita. 
Besides the cool location, with trees and light bulbs everywhere, the menu is getting more and more interesting every year. 
Plus, they have an exciting program of live music and new-wave cinema, a nice way to keep you thoughtfully entertained while you’re sipping your freshly minted Hugo.

When it’s too cold to drink outside, MamBo (Bologna Museum of modern art) is one of the best aperitivo in Bologna.

My tip
Aperol Spritz is the king of aperitivo.
Craft beers, natural wines or a tailor-made cocktail work pretty well too. 

If you just one night in town, you should go for something really traditional. 
At Cantina Bentivoglio, they kept the vibes of the old restaurants and the recipes of the grandmothers. Their tortellini in brodo is legendary. After dessert, you could listen to some jazz music coming out of the cellars. 
If it happens, stay and enjoy: their concerts worth every penny.

My tip
Bologna is a perfect city to walk. Its almost 40 km of porticoes will cradle you around.
​It’s even more fascinating in the night, when the red light turns on and the music comes out of the windows.

---

Summer in Bologna is like a chocolate box, sorry Forrest. Rich and tasty, but ends always too soon.
Here’s my guide for the best places to enjoy and never miss any crumb of it.

You’ve drunk all the water of Nettuno fountain.
Jump between the shadows of the porticos.
Spend a full day through crypts and ice caves (yes, we have a lot of them).

But it’s hot, still.

Summer in Bologna can be very hot.
The good news is that you can find an escape in the green. 

Giardini Margherita is our Hyde Park.
People jogging in the evening, a small lake and a light, unexpected breeze.
From 2014 it also hosts my favourite place to spend a summer night in Bologna.

Le Serre dei Giardini Margherita are former greenhouses brought back to life by Kilowatt association. Photos hardly describe the atmosphere of this place. Enjoy one of the best aperitivo in Bologna, listen to live music or just relax between rosemary and thyme. 

Rudere is the next big thing.
Literally translated as “the ruin”, Rudere is another example of regeneration of a forsaken place. Free-grill, live music and craft beer on a hill with a view on San Luca Basilica. Not bad, uh?

Not exactly a place for aperitivo, but once you’ve tried Scaccomatto agli Orti then it’s hard to not talk about it.
An oasis of peace and harmony hidden behind a gate.
A secret vegetable garden where you can have dinner under fig trees.
A chef, Mario Ferrara, who greets you with a smile and surprises with his dishes.
Fixed menu that changes every evening. Be sure to book in advance.

Info

Le Serre dei Giardini Margherita
Via Castiglione, 134, 40136 Bologna
leserre.kilowatt.bo.it

Rudere
Via Gaibara 1, 40136 Bologna
www.rudeosteria.it
Tel. 051 235944

Scaccomatto agli Orti
Via della Braina 7, 40124 Bologna
Tel. 051 263404
www.ristorantescaccomatto.com

When I was 8, I used to wait for the new collection of Panini soccer stickers.
When I was 20, for the new Radiohead album.
Now, for both of them still, but also for the program of Sotto le Stelle del Cinema.

From mid-June to August 15th, Piazza Maggiore becomes a cinema. The best cinema I’ve ever seen.
 
First Cinema Ritrovato Festival brings back to life old masterpieces, restored by the lab of Cineteca di Bologna.

Then Sotto le stelle del cinema enlightens the biggest screen in Europe with old Italian movies, the hidden gems you’ve missed in the last season, and some unique events like silent movies with an orchestra. 
All movies are in original language, with English subtitles if Italian. 

June is also the month of Biografilm Festival: a month of previews, small productions and documentaries that enrich the park of Cavaticcio day and night. After the movie, you can have some street food in a park and enjoy live music near the old Cavaticcio canal. 

If you speak a bit of Italian, or you’d like to learn it, Arena Puccini is another open-air theatre to consider.
Not only because of the selection of movies, mostly last season highlights.
The park around it called DLF (former after-work railway area) now hosts beach-volley playing fields, a nice restaurant and the great pizza of Pizzartist. 

Info

Cinema Ritrovato
June 23rd – July 1st 2018
Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it

Sotto le stelle del cinema
July 2nd – August 15th, 2018
Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
www.cinetecadibologna.it

Biografilm Festival
Parco del Cavaticcio, Via Azzo Gardino, 40122 Bologna
Tel. 051 219 3111
www.biografilm.it

Arena Puccini
Mid June – first days of Sept
Via Sebastiano Serlio, 25/2, 40128 Bologna
www.cinetecadibologna.it

Live music in Bologna is a big thing.
Name a rock star, a pop idol or a jazz master and you can be sure he made a walk under the porticoes.

The most important clubs move their stages outdoor during summer.
Botanique offers a wider range of concerts, but it’s also a place to get a beer and relax sitting on the grass.

Jazz lovers, we don’t forget about you. 
Via Mascarella, the street of jazz, closes for pedestrians in summer and becomes a living room.
During Salotto del Jazz Festival, hosted by Cantina Bentivoglio and Bravo Caffè, Moustache and Cinema Odeon, you can relax with a glass of wine and a dish tagliatelle al ragù while the brushes are drumming.
 
Enter the old gate of Palazzo Re Enzo in Piazza Maggiore for Round Midnight Jazz Club. A temporary jazz club with live concerts and jam session after midnight. With a view on Neptune’s fountain. Not bad, huh? 

Info

Botanique
June 16th – July 22nd, 2018
Via Filippo Re, 40126 Bologna
www.botanique.it

Bravo Caffè
Via Mascarella 1, 40126 Bologna
Tel. 051 266112
www.bravocaffe.it

Cantina Bentivoglio
Via Mascarella 4/b, 40126 Bologna
Tel. 051 265416
​www.cantinabentivoglio.it

---

Summer in Bologna is like a chocolate box, sorry Forrest. Rich and tasty, but ends always too soon.
Here’s my guide for the best places to enjoy and never miss any crumb of it.

You’ve drunk all the water of Nettuno fountain.
Jump between the shadows of the porticos.
Spend a full day through crypts and ice caves (yes, we have a lot of them).

But it’s hot, still.

Summer in Bologna can be very hot.
The good news is that you can find an escape in the green. 

Giardini Margherita is our Hyde Park. People jogging in the evening, a small lake and a light, unexpected breeze.
From 2014 it also hosts my favourite place to spend a summer night in Bologna.
Le Serre dei Giardini Margherita are former greenhouses brought back to life by Kilowatt association. Photos hardly describe the atmosphere of this place. Get a drink and listen to live music or just relax between rosemary and thyme.

Rudere is the next big thing of 2018.
Literally translated as “the ruin”, Rudere is another example of regeneration of a forsaken place. Free-grill, live music and craft beer on a hill with a view on San Luca Basilica. Not bad, uh?

Not exactly a place for aperitivo, but once you’ve tried Scaccomatto agli Orti then it’s hard to not talk about it.
An oasis of peace and harmony hidden behind a gate.
A secret vegetable garden where you can have dinner under fig trees.
A chef, Mario Ferrara, who greets you with a smile and surprises with his dishes.
Fixed menu that changes every evening. Be sure to book in advance.

Info

Le Serre dei Giardini Margherita
Via Castiglione, 134, 40136 Bologna
leserre.kilowatt.bo.it

Rudere
Via Gaibara 1, 40136 Bologna
www.rudeosteria.it
Tel. 051 235944

Scaccomatto agli Orti
Via della Braina 7, 40124 Bologna
Tel. 051 263404
www.ristorantescaccomatto.com

When I was 8, I used to wait for the new collection of Panini soccer stickers.
When I was 20, for the new Radiohead album.
Now, for both of them still, but also for the program of Sotto le Stelle del Cinema.

From mid-June to August 15th, Piazza Maggiore becomes a cinema. The best cinema I’ve ever seen.
 
First Cinema Ritrovato Festival brings back to life old masterpieces, restored by the lab of Cineteca di Bologna.

Then Sotto le stelle del cinema enlightens the biggest screen in Europe with old Italian movies, the hidden gems you’ve missed in the last season, and some unique events like silent movies with an orchestra. 
All movies are in original language, with English subtitles if Italian. 

June is also the month of Biografilm Festival: a month of previews, small productions and documentaries that enrich the park of Cavaticcio day and night. After the movie, you can have some street food in a park and enjoy live music near the old Cavaticcio canal. 

If you speak a bit of Italian, or you’d like to learn it, Arena Puccini is another open-air theatre to consider.
Not only because of the selection of movies, mostly last season highlights.
The park around it called DLF (former after-work railway area) now hosts beach-volley playing fields, a nice restaurant and the great pizza of Pizzartist. 

Info

Cinema Ritrovato
June 23rd – July 1st 2018
Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it

Sotto le stelle del cinema
July 2nd – August 15th, 2018
Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
www.cinetecadibologna.it

Biografilm Festival June 1st – 24th 2018
Parco del Cavaticcio, Via Azzo Gardino, 40122 Bologna
Tel. 051 219 3111
www.biografilm.it

Arena Puccini
Mid June – first days of Sept
Via Sebastiano Serlio, 25/2, 40128 Bologna
www.cinetecadibologna.it

Live music in Bologna is a big thing.
Name a rock star, a pop idol or a jazz master and you can be sure he made a walk under the porticoes.

The most important clubs move their stages outdoor during summer.
If Covo Summer Club is the Mecca of indie-rockers, Botanique offers a wider range of concerts, but it’s also a place to get a beer and relax sitting on the grass.

Jazz lovers, we don’t forget about you. 
Via Mascarella, the street of jazz, closes for pedestrians in summer and becomes a living room.
During Salotto del Jazz Festival, hosted by Cantina Bentivoglio and Bravo Caffè, Moustache and Cinema Odeon, you can relax with a glass of wine and a dish tagliatelle al ragù while the brushes are drumming.
 
Piazza Verdi is the most controversial square of Bologna.
Coen’s brother would say that the heart of University area is not a country for old men.
A​ stage for concerts and public conferences tries to change its mood, by bringing some great musicians like trumpeter Paolo Fresu. Keep an eye on it.

Info

Covo Summer Club
June 7th – July 14th, 2018
Viale Zagabria 1, 40127 Bologna
Tel. 051 505801
covoclub.it

Botanique
June 16th – July 22nd, 2018
Via Filippo Re, 40126 Bologna
www.botanique.it

Bravo Caffè
Via Mascarella 1, 40126 Bologna
Tel. 051 266112
www.bravocaffe.it

Cantina Bentivoglio
Via Mascarella 4/b, 40126 Bologna
Tel. 051 265416
​www.cantinabentivoglio.it

---