2 Days in Bologna A Perfect Itinerary for First Timers
Celiac Travel Pack contains affiliate links and is an Amazon Associates LLC affiliate program member. When you click a link and purchase something, I may receive compensation at no cost to you. I pay for all my travel (no sponsored posts or links here). Full disclaimer policy here.
Another note: my celiac is my celiac. Not yours. Take my info, but do what you need to do.
Thanks for supporting my blogging business. <3
There are so many cities to visit in Italy. If Bologna has shown up in any searches, I’m sure you’re wondering if it’s really worth it. It took several trips to Italy before I finally made it to Bologna, and I only visited because I was attending the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix for Formula 1.
On a tour of Lake Como, I was talking to our guides about a trip to Bologna, and they said, “Yeah! You need a week there, but mostly to eat. You can see everything else in two days, but the food is the best.”
Their opinion was spot on. There isn’t a ton to do in Bologna, which isn’t a bad thing in this case! You can explore in between eating and still see the best of Bologna. Plus, there’s great food even if you’re gluten-free like me!
Plus, you can add it to your itinerary for a couple of days. My favorite part of Bologna was that it was way less English-speaking tourist-heavy than the other parts of Italy I’ve been to.
This is what to do in 2 days in Bologna, so you can decide if it’s worth it to you. If you’re a big foodie, you should add it. If you’re not, you may decide to skip it. That’s okay, traveling is a matter of finding the cities that speak to you! This is everything you need to know to decide!
Day 2 in Bologna
Factory Tours, Food Tours, Cooking Classes
Ducati, Ferrari Museum, Lamborghini
Just Want a Tour? Start here.
Day 1 in Bologna- In Detail
After breakfast, start your day with a walking tour. When you’re short on time, a walking tour is always a good place to start.
On a walking tour, you can learn more about the city you’re in and get your bearings. It also gets you more information about a lot of the places you probably want to see anyway. With the race, I didn’t get to do a walking tour.
This is the walking tour on my list when I get to go back.
Piazza Maggiore
Make sure to spend some time in the Piazza Maggiore in Bologna. It would be hard not to, since it’s the main plaza and is where you’ll find the Basilica San Petronio. But it’s also a really beautiful plaza surrounded by government buildings, museums, and shops.
There is a really good chocolate shop on one corner! Their chocolates are labeled for allergens and are a perfect treat as you wander through the city.
While not one of the biggest churches in the region, take a minute to go into the Basilica. It’s a quick and easy visit. It will probably be on your walking tour if you choose to take one.
Just off the Piazza Maggiore, you’ll find Neptune’s Fountain and another small plaza. There’s nothing ultra-special about this plaza. I just found the fountain interesting, so you should pop over and see what you think.
See the Asinelli Towers
Take a walk to the Asinelli towers. These two towers are the tallest buildings in Bologna, and both are leaning.
The Asinelli tower is the taller of the two, and even though it’s leaning, it’s not as pronounced as the smaller tower. The smaller Garisenda Tower has a lean of about 10 ft. I felt like I was looking at a photo of a building mid-fall. It was trippy.
Honestly, you just have to see them. It’s a wild thing to see in person. It doesn’t look like they should be standing. Even though I’d just seen the Leaning Tower in Pisa, this just seemed even more mind-blowing to me.
In 2023, city officials announced the tower was in danger of falling. So, now, there are barricades around it and high tarps to protect the surrounding buildings in the event of a fall. They’re working on the tower to try to keep it standing.
Since it’s precarious right now, you can’t climb the Asinelli tower.
Explore the Area Around The University of Bologna and Stroll Under The Porticos
The university in Bologna makes it feel like a university town. I live in a university town and I love this kind of environment. I love being somewhere students are walking to and from classes, meeting to hang out or work, and the liveliness that comes along with it all.
The university area is lively and beautiful. Plus, there are some excellent and affordable kebabs in the area.
The part of the city is constructed with a bunch of porticos. These porticos were built as the university grew and the city needed to design spaces. They’re actually designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The porticos are everywhere, and some are elaborately decorated. It’s unique, even in Italy, and it makes it fun to stroll along, following the different porticos and seeing what they add to the city’s structure and feeling.
This was probably my favorite part of the city. I always love a good plaza, but these porticos were unique and special.
Day 2 in Bologna- In Detail
If you only have one day in Bologna, you can skip this day and not do some of the tours if you’d like. But, if you’re interested in any of them at all, try to make the time. Even if you just have one really busy day in Bologna.
There are so many tour options in Bologna, so this becomes a choose-your-own-adventure kind of day.
There are food tours and cooking classes if you want to learn to make pasta or get into the history of Parmesan Reggiano. I’m gluten-free and don’t eat dairy, so those aren’t great options for me. If you don’t have the same dietary restrictions, you should definitely check one of those out!
I opted to tour the Ducati factory. I’m not super into motorcycles (I hate them, actually). But this seemed like a cool tour, so we went with it. It was incredible. It was interesting to see how the motorcycles started and to follow the process all the way through to testing each bike at the factory.
I learned a lot through the factory tour, and then the Ducati museum brought the motorcycle racing side into it.
Bologna is in a region of Italy that is big into motorsport. The Ferrari museum is there, too! I debated between the two for a while, but went with Ducati only because it had the factory included, and Ferrari was just the museum.
Next time, I’d like to visit the Ferrari museum. If I’d structured my day better or planned with more time, I probably could have seen both.
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is a racing circuit in Imola. It’s about 20 minutes away on the train. This circuit has been home to many Formula 1 races and other motorsport races. You can visit the track and take a tour if that’s something that interests you. Plus, Imola is an even smaller and very beautiful little town. It comes alive during race weekends, but would probably be much quieter without the crowds the races bring in.
How to Get To and Around Bologna
Getting to Bologna is easy. It’s connected by train to all of the major cities in the area. You’ll just take the train to the Bologna Central Station and, as long as you stay in the center, it’s likely a fairly easy walk to your hotel.
Transit in Bologna is easy enough to navigate, but it is a public bus system. I recommend downloading Google Maps.
I use Google Fi and pay for data when I’m abroad, so I can always access the most accurate bus schedule and follow the bus along the route. So, I think it’s worth it. But if you don’t want to pay for data, you can download the maps offline so it’s easy to navigate.
Pro tip on navigating any bus system: pay attention to what side of the street you’re on. Compare the direction traffic is moving with the direction you want to go. It’s a quick way to sanity check that you’re on the right side of the street to get on the correct bus.
Every bus stop I was at in Bologna was well marked with the buses that came. Several in the city center had clear signs indicating when the next bus was arriving.
Note that the public bus system in Bologna was designed for locals and not tourists. So, it doesn’t run super late into the night like it would in some cities. At least not outside of the city center.
If you pick the right place to stay, it won’t matter. I just happened to pick the wrong place to stay.
Don’t be me.
Where to Stay in Bologna
Which brings me to my next point.
I booked a Hilton Garden Inn in Bologna on points because it made the trip cheaper. But, only later did I realize it was actually quite far out of the city center, and the bus didn’t keep it super connected. I didn’t realize how much business travel there was in Bologna. But with all of the factories, it makes sense.
So, stay in the city center. It’s easy to walk around and explore. Public transit is easy to navigate in Bolgona, but it doesn’t run as late as it does in other cities. Again, it’s just not that big of a tourist destination.
If I were going again, I’d stay here or somewhere similar.
Is Bologna Worth Visiting
I think so! If you’re on your first trip to Italy and you really want to see the big highlights in Rome, Florence, Milan, and/or Venice, I can understand how you wouldn’t think about Bologna.
If you think those cities are going to be too tourist-heavy for you (because they are pretty busy), Bologna could be a reprieve from the crowds.
I liked the university town vibe and the location to motorsport history in Bologna.
It’s a great destination for foodies or car/motorcycle enthusiasts.
I wouldn’t be writing about Bologna if I didn’t think it deserved a spot on your itinerary. But, you know what you’re looking for!
How Many Days Do You Need in Bologna
Locals we met in Como told us how much there was to eat in Bologna and that you could really see the sights in a day or two. After visiting, I think they were right. You really can see most of the “attractions” in Bologna in a day.
The best parts of Bologna aren’t the sights to see anyway. You can enjoy excellent food, a calm and less touristy city, and experience the autosport culture in the area. You can take a day or two in Bologna and slow down in the middle of a hectic trip.
It’s really the perfect cool-down kind of city with some excellent tour options.
You only need a couple of days. No one has enough vacation time to really spend as much time as they want to anywhere. I fully understand that you have to prioritize where you can.
But, if you’re looking to get away from the crowds, see some cool things, and eat some amazing food, Bologna would be a good stop for you to add to your itinerary.
Learn more about visiting Italy:
