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. 
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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.

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Somebody said that traveling together is all about the art of compromise. That’s why, sometimes, it’s wonderful not to.
I’m a solo traveller sometimes and I enjoy my total freedom in making plans and turn them upside down.
It’s fun to think about your own city as a solo traveler. But I figured out that Bologna can be one of the best cities in the world if you want to spend some quality time with yourself.

Take a walk

They call it Bologna la rossa, because of the colors of the walls and roofs. (Then the political orientation came, but I will tell you this story another time, maybe). The soil around here has always been full of clay, perfect to get terracotta tiles for roofs and paint with warm colors.

My tip is to stroll under the porticoes and explore the parts just outside the Roman city center. Start from the two towers and take Strada Maggiore, Via Santo Stefano or Via Castiglione. Here you can find some of the most fascinating corners, such as Piazza Aldrovandi, Via Rialto, San Giovanni in Monte.

See Bologna from the top

There are some magnificent ways to have a look at the city from the top, too.
Climb the steps to reach the rooftop and play the bells of the tower of San Pietro Cathedral: especially during sunny days, the view is breathtaking.

​If you feel like walking a bit, follow the world longest portico to reach San Luca Sanctuary. This is so far one of the best walks you can have in Bologna.

Or make your way to San Michele in Bosco, a former convent and then one of the first specialized hospitals in Europe in the early 1900s. During the daytime, the historical part of the hospital is open to visits.
​No spoiler but look outside the window at the end of the corridor on the first floor.

Info
Santuario di San Luca
Via di San Luca, 36 (Bus n. 20 until Arco del Meloncello and then follow the portico)
Opening times: 7.00 – 12.30 / 14.30 – 19.00 The portico is always open, but the sanctuary area closes at night.

San Michele in Bosco
Via Pupilli, 1 (Bus n. 30)
Opening times: 9.00 – 12.00 / 16.00 – 18.00 (church)
You can go also by night, just follow the street on the right and enjoy the view.

San Pietro Cathedral bell tower
Via Altabella, 2/4, 40125 Bologna BO
Tel. +39 051 222112
Opening times: Saturday 2pm 4:30pm
Ticket: 5€

Explore the University

Explore the University No Botticelli’s Venuses, no Monna Lisas, no Guernicas. You won’t find famous and overcrowded museums here, but still, Bologna is the paradise of culture-passionate.

Bologna’s University is the oldest in the western world, and one of the few that keeps the facilities in the city center. You shouldn’t miss Archiginnasio, with its creepy anatomical theatre.
And why not take advantage of the fact that you own your time schedule, and request for consulting one of the many manuscripts of the library?

At the end of Via Zamboni, you find Palazzo Poggi. It’s one of the strangest museums in Europe and surely one of the best museums in Emilia Romagna.
XVIII century students didn’t care too much of how creepy their work looked like.
They studied everything: from the inside of the insects, to the inside of the humans, that they represented carefully in a series of anatomical waxes. And then dioramas, warships models from the struggles against pirates, paper globes, and pretty much everything your science fantasy could ever imagine.

University wasn’t the only important school in town. W.A. Mozart himself cheated on the entry test for Bologna’s Conservatory. Apparently, Father Giambattista Martini made some corrections on the exam-sheets and let the young Austrian genius come in. Martini’s collection of musical instruments and charts are now in Museo della Musica, located in delightful Palazzo Sanguinetti. Even if you’re not a music expert, the beautiful garden at the entrance and the curious XVII century horns worth the visit.

Info
Biblioteca comunale dell’Archiginnasio
Piazza Galvani, 1, 40124 Bologna
Tel. +39 051 276811
Opening times: 9.00 – 19.00 closed on Saturday afternoons and Sundays.
To access the library, check the rules on www.archiginnasio.it

Museo di Palazzo Poggi
Via Zamboni, 33 40126 Bologna
Opening times: weekdays 9.00 – 16.00 / weekends 9.00 – 18.00, closed on Mondays
sma.unibo.it/it/il-sistema-museale/museo-di-palazzo-poggi

Museo internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica
Strada Maggiore, 34, 40126 Bologna
​Tel. +39 051 275 7711
Opening times: 10.00 – 18.30, closed on Mondays
www.museibologna.it/musica

Enjoy the show

They call it “the most beautiful cinema in the world”, and it is definitely true for me.
Every summer, starting from the half of June to the half of August, Piazza Maggiore turns into an open-air cinema, and movies of all kinds are projected on a big screen just in front of San Petronio façade.
You could be as lucky as to be there the night when the silent movie and live Orchestra are scheduled to play together. All the movies are in original language, with subtitles. Plus, they’re totally free.

During the rest of the year, the programming continues at Cinema Lumiere. Movies are selected by Cineteca di Bologna, usually one or two best new releases and a bunch of old classics. Still no dubbing allowed.

At Cantina Bentivoglio you find great live jazz music, as well as a good bowl of homemade tagliatelle al ragù.

Locomotiv, Covo Club and Estragon are the best rock and indie clubs, in my order of preference.

Info
Sotto le Stelle del Cinema
Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
From June to August, every night at 21.45
www.cinetecadibologna.it/sottolestelledelcinema

Cinema Lumiere
Via Azzo Gardino, 65/b – 40122 Bologna
Tel. +39 051 2194810
www.cinetecadibologna.it

Locomotiv Club
Via Sebastiano Serlio, 25/2, 40128 Bologna
Tel. +39 348 083 3345
www.locomotivclub.it

Wondered how we developed the art of cooking?
We had to feed hungry students and professors coming from all over Europe to study at University. You’ll never feel strange while you share your dinner with your book in Bologna. They’ve been doing that for almost a thousand years.

For sure you won’t feel alone at Osteria dell’Orsa. The queue begins a few meters from the main door and it’s a good way to make new friends. Big tables to share with the students and simple local cuisine. Cheap prices too.

Speaking of queue Sfoglia Rina has nothing to envy. Ask for a place at the counter and watch the lively street outside while you try your tortellini in brodo, or passatelli with seasonal vegetables. Or both. There’s nobody around to judge you, after all.

​No time to sit? Check the menu of Ragù. The tagliatella will do only 3 steps: from the cutting board to the stove, from the stove to the carton. Then to your mouth.

Osteria dell’Orsa
Via Mentana, 1, 40126 Bologna
Tel. +39 051 231576
www.osteriadellorsa.com

Sfoglia Rina
Via Castiglione, 5/b, 40124 Bologna
Tel. +39 051 991 1710
www.sfogliarina.it

Ragū
Via Goito, 9/b, 40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 268585
www.ragubologna.it

Bologna is a really safe town, for everyone, everywhere, so you can choose your accommodation in every area.

Try one of the hostels and you will never feel alone: big common rooms where to find new friends, relaxing gardens with chairs and tables where to fill your sketchbook, shared bikes to explore the city with.

Albergo Pallone is young, close to the city center and with an osteria inside. The newborn WeBologna is just on the back of the train station, in the lively Bolognina area.

Airbnb in Bologna are becoming more and more popular in Bologna, so you have a wide choice.
Book an entire apartment if you want to enjoy your solitude as its best, or a room in a house if you prefer to meet some locals. Bolognese people are known to be very warm: ask for the recipe of ragù, it will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

If you prefer traditional hotels, my personal advice is to choose between the ones with a rooftop, like Hotel Metropolitan, in Via Indipendenza, or Hotel Touring, close to Piazza San Domenico. To look at the city from the top of a roof is the best way to understand why they call it “Bologna la rossa”. Spoiler: it’s not for salame. Not only.

Albergo Pallone
Via del Pallone, 4, 40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 421 0533
www.pallone.lapiccolacarovana.net

We_Bologna
Via de’ Carracci, 69/14, 40129 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 039 7900
www.we-gastameco.com/we-bologna

Hotel Metropolitan
Via dell’Orso, 6, 40121 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 229393
www.hotelmetropolitan.com

Hotel Touring Bologna
Via dè Mattuiani, 1, 40124 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 584305
www.hoteltouring.it

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