My wife and I decided to squeeze in Bologna for two full days in our Europe trip. We LOVED it. Bologna is known as the food capital of Italy. I mean, the famous Bolognese pasta sauce is named after the city itself. Below is our experience.

Transportation From The Airport

There is a monorail to the central station which is fairly close to the city center. The monorail is surprisingly costly (12.8 euros) for something that travels for only 7-10 minutes. After weighing pros and cons, we decided to take an Uber which was only 4 euros more expensive than two Marconi Express tickets. If you are on a budget, there are buses as well, but obviously, it is a far more inconvenient option, especially if you have luggage.

What To Do

Piazza Maggiore

The famous square lived up to its hype in my opinion. The pavements and the buildings look beautiful, authentic and original. What I loved the most is the vibe. Tourists and locals gathered in the square when it was cooler to chit chat, eat snacks or just soak in the atmosphere. My wife and I did that multiple times in our two days there. We even visited Piazza Maggiore and took it in one last time the morning when we had to leave.

Santuario Madonna di San Luca

This magnificent church sits on top of a hill that is 300 meters high. The interior and the view from the dome are stunning. But your experience with this church will actually start way before you set foot in it. To get to this church, you can walk under the Porticos of Bologna, which is a UNESCO Heritage Site. These are the longest covered walkways in the world. From our stay in the city center, it was a 5km walk before we could reach Santuario Madonna di San Luca. It was a good workout and we were rewarded with a remarkable experience at the top of the hill.

Walk Around The Old Town

We had a lovely time walking around the city and just popped in random churches we could find. Some great churches that we saw are Basilica di San Petronio, Basilica di San Paolo Maggiore, Basilica de San Domenico and Basilica Santuario Santo Stefano.

What To Eat

• Sfoglia Rina: hands down the best fresh pasta we have ever eaten. We were lucky enough to get in for lunch on our first day without delay. To use the famous words of Steve Jobs, it’s insanely great.
• Castiglione Pizza e Cucina: a few houses down the road from Sfoglia Rina, their pizza was a real deal
• La Salsamenteria Bologna: the food is good and we think they had an excellent Tiramisu
• Cremeria Santo Stefano: arguably one of the two best gelatos we had in Bologna
• Cremeria Cavour: the other best gelato we had in the city
• Terzi: excellent coffee
• Naama Cafe: another good place for coffee

Tips

• The majority of restaurants in Italy charge a covered fee (coperto) per PERSON. Look for the word Coperto in a menu to see how much you will get charged. It doesn’t matter if you sit inside or outside. You will get charged this covered fee.
• Gelato is made of milk, not cream. If you see any gelato shop with mountains of ice cream with bright colors and like 100 flavors, it’s likely that the shop doesn’t have handmade gelato.
• Buy a bottle of water, fill it with tap water before you go out every day and keep it. It is especially needed when you walk a lot.