For those of you visiting central or northern Italy, tired of being surrounded by other tourists (oh, the irony), you may be wondering ‘is Bologna worth visiting?’. Well, I’m here to tell you resoundingly YES!
Located smack bang in between the terribly overcrowded cities of Venice and Florence, and close to the tourist behemoth that is Rome, Bologna offers not only welcome respite from other people, but also an incredibly rich food heritage, and a spirited local culture which exudes life.
Prior to my arrival, I didn’t know much about the city, so with zero expectations I went there to take cooking classes, food tours, to eat and drink out, to hike, and to deliberately get lost to experience Bologna as the locals do.
So grab a slice of Mortadella and a cheeky aperitivo, because this is my Bologna travel guide, including all the usual Travel Tortoise tidbits, like getting there, where to stay, and what to do…
WHAT MAKES BOLOGNA SO WORTH VISITING?
Getting There
Bologna is super easy to reach from any of the main Italian cities which surround it. I arrived from Venice on a regional train, which took just two hours, and I chose the slower option. It’s possible to reach Bologna in an hour and a half from Venice if you jump on an Italo fast train. But if you’re travelling on a budget, the extra half hour on your journey means saving more than half the price.
Rather than trying to navigate the often confusing Italian train ticket machines that you’ll find at all stations, book your Italian trains with Trainpal as I did. They have an easy to use app, zero booking fees, and they split the fares to always offer you the best prices for your route.
WHERE TO STAY IN BOLOGNA CITY CENTER?
Budget Accommodation
I stayed in a comfortable and very spacious apartment called Rooms H Ercolani on Strada Maggiore, just to the east of the city center. The 10 minute walk into the city centre and the two towers from my hotel took me past my favourite portico in all of Bologna.
I chose their green room, which had its own private bathroom, a split-level bedroom with a huge double bed and another single, and a calm, quiet and non-touristy location. Price was just 70 EUR per night in peak season, and I booked my stay at last minute too! Thoroughly recommended.
Three other lower-priced alternative are Mitodea – Residenza D’ Epoca, just off Piazza Maggiore, Hotel Touring Bologna on the southern side of the city center, around a 5 minute walk to Quadrilatero, and 051 Room & Breakfast, a lovely B&B located in the shadow of the two towers.
Expect to pay around 120 EUR per night at all three, depending on what time of the year you book.
Mid-range Hotels in Bologna
In order of price (lowest first), try either Hotel Porta San Mamolo with its courtyard garden, BuonHotel Bologna, or Art Hotel Orologio opposite the city’s clock tower in Piazza Maggiore.
Luxury Accommodation in Bologna
Check out Hotel Corona d’Oro 1890 for a touch of elegant class right in the city center, and if you really fancy splurging, then it’s all about the Grand Hotel Majestic Gia Baglioni – arguably Bologna’s best 5 star hotel.
THE BOLOGNA POLAROIDS - PART 1
WHAT TO DO IN BOLOGNA?
Bologna is regarded by many as the food capital of Italy. I regard myself as both a fat bastard, and a middling cook who gets a little too confident at times without necessarily possessing the requisite skills to justify it. So where better to stuff my face and try to level up my skills than in Bologna…
I’ll get onto all the eating below, but for now it was time to learn, as I attempted their most famous export, Spaghetti Bolognese Tagliatelle al Ragu during a pasta making class.
A Side Note on Spag Bollocks
Before I talk about my cooking class, let’s get one thing clear – Bologna’s most famous dish is not, and never has been, Spaghetti Bolognese. Speak to any Bologna resident and they’ll tell you that good old Spag Bol is an entirely foreign invention.
You see, Tagliatelle, with its little pores, bumps and lumps makes the meat ragu stick to it much better than slippery southern spaghetti. Tagliatelle is also made differently – with eggs and flour rather than just water and flour. This key difference makes the freshly made pasta itself as much of a highlight as the ragu sauce, if not more.
Furthermore, we’re also making it wrong. As we all know from those endless You Tube videos of Italian chefs losing their sh@t at poor old Jamie Oliver adding cream to a Carbonara, or the whole city of Rome up in arms over a BBC Good Food recipe for Cacio e Pepe (seriously, read that – it’s comedy gold), the Italians don’t like it much when people f$ck with their recipes.
The people of Bologna, sick of the continuing misappropriation of their beloved dish, have even created official guidelines on how to make the ‘al Ragu’ with 1) a list of permitted ingredients that can be included; 2) a list of acceptable add-ons in times of crisis; and 3) ingredients that would make their long-gone great Nonna turn in her grave. And believe it or not, the official Ragu recipe is locked away in the city’s chamber of commerce building.
Anyway, once you’ve had Tagliatelle al Ragu you’ll be disappointed the next time you revert to our bastardized British/American version, which despite getting me through university, pales in comparison.
Anyway, back to the class…
Pasta and Spritz Cooking Class
Blissfully ignorant of all the above, the very first thing I did on arrival to Bologna was a Tagliatelle pasta making workshop, which, of course, we’d then be eating with some ‘al Ragu’.
This was a really wonderful cooking class with two local Bolognese instructors and one kitchen assistant (Anna, Luca and Steffi) who kept everything running smoothly for our small group of 10. On arrival we were taken down into their kitchen area inside a lovely building and through a pretty courtyard, before immediately being handed a welcome glass of wine. The instructors introduced themselves and asked us to do the same, which immediately helped to bring the group together.
We then proceeded to our workstations where everything was laid out, before following along as our instructors began mixing their two eggs and OO flour together. Once everything was fully incorporated, so began the kneading portion of the class which lasted for about 10 minutes. Once the dough had been throroughly ‘kned’, we let it rest for about 20 minutes, as we then learned how to prepare the famous Italian aperitivo drink, a Spritz.
A little tipsier, we then began the rolling element of the class, which took a surprisingly long time to get the pasta sheets thin enough to then cut into long strips of tagliatelle. I always thought that to make decent pasta you need a pasta machine, but that’s nonsense. You just need a large enough surface to roll on and a long rolling pin. We then cooked up our own individual Tagliatelle batches with a pre-prepared ragu, made by our instructors earlier on that day.
Now, I may be massively biased, but the resulting dish was the best Spaghetti Bolognese (ooops I did it again) I’ve ever eaten, largely because of the freshness of the handmade pasta. Served with local Sangiovese red wine, finished off with an espresso and a traditional Italian digestif, and accompanied throughout with great conversation, support and guidance, this was my favourite thing to do in Bologna by a mile.
I was lucky enough to share the experience with a wonderful group of people from the US, Australia, the UK and Serbia. We swapped stories of our Italian journeys to date and exchanged tips and advice on where to visit next. It was a great way to meet fellow travellers and is precisely why I love taking group activities.
It also gave me a much greater appreciation of the simplicity of Italian cuisine, and a better understanding of why they feel the need to protect their culinary heritage quite so aggressively enthusiastically as they do! Book it!
Bologna Food Tour
Having already spent a couple of days in Bologna, I then decided to do a food tour led by a local guide. In hindsight, I think that was a mistake, as by then I was probably harder to impress than someone fresh off the boat. You see, being the fatty foodie I am, I’d already sought out some of Bologna’s best Mortadella, Tagliatelle al Ragu, and gelato in the preceding two days.
Don’t get me wrong, everything we were served was top-notch, and I appreciated the historical context and local knowledge that our Italian guide Matteo provided throughout. Having grown up in Bologna, I was impressed with the information he shared as we passed by many of the city’s big-hitting sites, including Piazza Maggiore and the Statue of Neptune, the two towers, Piazza Galvani, and the Quadrilatero market area.
Additionally, there were two highlights of this tour for me:
1) a detailed Balsamic vinegar tasting inside the Giuani family shop. We tried several different vinegars, learnt about production and ageing methods, as well as the historical context within which this proud product of Emilia-Romagna has evolved.
2) getting reprimanded by Matteo for totally screwing up Italian Gelato etiquette on two fronts. Firstly, apparently it’s a sin to mix a fruitier sorbet style scoop with a creamier scoop. Not only did I do this, but I literally ordered a scoop of cream as my second choice. I was expecting a cold panna cotta flavoured ice cream, but what I got was a warm dollop of cream on top of my lemon sorbet. Its weird taste and sensation was only matched by the looks I was getting from Matteo as I both ordered and ate it. Seems Jamie Oliver isn’t the only Brit to stuff up an Italian classic then.
Overall, the tour provided solid historical and local insight, and a decent box-ticking intro to Bolognese food culture. It was also great value considering what you get, so keep an eye out for this food tour on Get Your Guide. If you don’t fancy the look of that food tour then check out what’s on offer on Trip Advisor instead, including this very highly rated tour.
WHAT TO DO IN BOLOGNA BESIDES FOOD!
Believe it or not, I did actually do some other things that didn’t involve food during my time in Bologna. This is a very cool city, that’s easily walkable and full of lots of quirky streets, corners and piazzas that need to be explored on foot…
Checking out Bologna’s Brilliant Street Art
After taking the scenic route back from hiking the Portico of San Luca, I found exactly what I didn’t know I was looking for along Via del Pratello on the western side of the city. Local shops lining this street were adorned with so many examples of great street art, and I loved being amongst it.
Stumbling upon these more off-the-beaten-track parts of a city is why I love travelling in the first place. It was clear that most people eating and drinking in the local bars and restaurants along Via del Pratello were locals, which made me feel even more smug about my discovery.
This is clearly a lively area at night, and I’m sure it would be worth a visit then too, but if you want to see all the cool murals and paintings that adorn seemingly every local establishment’s shutters, then visit during the day when these are down and you can actually see the artwork.
Take a walk yourselves down Via del Pratello and its side lanes to check out some of Bologna’s best street art and to soak in the young hopeful and rebellious vibes. This kind of place makes me happy to be alive and hopeful for the future.
If you’d like to cover more ground and see almost all of Bologna’s street art, then take this 2 hour e-bike street art tour as well.
Hiking the Portico di San Luca
Hiking up the Portico di San Luca was the perfect way to burn off at least some of those pasta and mortadella calories that I was rapidly stockpiling. But I wouldn’t really describe this as a hike, more of a walk. For me hikes need to be outside in nature, so being covered by the world’s longest porch throughout my 1-hour uphill amble didn’t really give me ‘hike’ vibes. Having said that, I was knackered by the end, and glad to have made it.
I wanted to do this from the city centre, so I began at Piazza Maggiore and headed out to the south-western corner of the old city walls to Porta Sarragozza, which is the official starting point for the hike. Here, a long continuous porch leads just shy of 4km all the way up to the hilltop Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca.
I was lulled into a false sense of security in the early stages of my walk, as the first 20 or so minutes are pretty flat. I did however note that there were some very red, sweaty faces coming back down in the opposite direction so my trepidation grew. Around half-way the uphill part begins and doesn’t relent until you reach the Sanctuary at the top.
I’m in moderate shape, and it took me around half an hour without stopping to conquer this uphill section. In total, from Porta Sarragozza it takes around one hour, maybe less if you’re in better shape, or a little more if your usual ‘hikes’ are to the nearest Chinese take away.
I certainly felt much better for it, and the views at the top of the hill over Bologna and the surrounding countryside were worth the effort. Also, the church was a calming place for contemplation which I also appreciated. Followers of a different form of religion (football) will also appreciate seeing the Serie A football club Bologna’s stadium on the way down.
THE BOLOGNA POLAROIDS - PART 2
WHERE TO EAT IN BOLOGNA
Of course, no Bologna travel guide worth its salt would be complete without offering up my personal recommendations for where to eat. I deliberately avoided Trattoria da Me, Osteria dell’Orsa or Sfoglia Rina, as there are already loads of other travel blogs, newspaper articles and TV personalities (Tucci) telling you to eat there, and so they’re always super busy. Besides, this is about going where the locals go and I wanted to try out some lesser-known spots…
Restaurants
Bistro San Felice
The best meal out I had in Bologna was at a small, informal place called Bistro San Felice. I was grabbing a late lunch after hiking the Portico di San Luca, so I was all about the carbs. I went for their Tortellini with a parmesan crème sauce and it was absolutely lush, with a delightfully long yet not overly cheesy finish. The tortellini were stuffed with mortadella and ricotta (as is traditional in Bologna) and they were cooked to perfection i.e not too ‘al dente’.
Osteria Broccaindosso
I was also a big fan of Osteria Broccaindosso, which was conveniently close to my hotel just off Strada Maggiore. I walked in there on a Friday night with a hopeful smile and a pathetically hungry looking face and they squeezed me in sans reservation.
The service was really friendly, but I was presented with just their English menu which I ordered from, only to realise that the locals on the tables next to me were eating dishes that I hadn’t seen. I therefore took one for the team and bravely ate two main courses, as the look of their Lasagna Verde (the lasagna sheets are green by blending spinach into the dough) was too much for me to resist.
The lasagna was decadently rich and satisfying, and my mouth is watering now thinking about it. I was however a little less impressed with my first dish (i.e Gramigna al Torchio), which I found to be a little too ‘al dente’ for my tastes (you’d thiunk Italians would know how to cook pasta, right? I’m ducking…). Overall though it was an authentic Bolognese dining experience with accommodating staff, reasonable prices and a bustling local atmosphere both inside and out.
Mercato di Mezzo
Sure, this place is hardly off-the-beaten-track but it served good value and high quality food, which makes for an ideal lunch in the town center. There’s loads of places to choose from so you’ll almost certainly find something you like, as well as getting a quick introduction into what’s popular among locals in Bologna.
Regular readers of The Travel Tortoise will know that I’m a sucker for dumplings and the like, so I went for some Balanzoni filled with ricotta and mortadella, served in a sage butter sauce. I could have eaten 5 times the amount I was served, it was that good.
It’s fast, informal, good value, and thus right up my street. Go early during your visit to help orient yourselves foodwise.
Street Food in Bologna
Mortadella Magic
I tried two of the city’s highest rated Mortadella delis and while both were excellent, one really shone for me. You may already have heard about Mö Mortadella Lab, but the hype is real. They’ve two hole-in-the-wall places in Bologna – I got mine from Via San Vitale 4/f, just behind the two towers.
I ordered #18, which was filled with mortadella, cream cheese, and a wonderful pistachio pesto which added a subtle sweet nuttiness. I’m sure all of their sandwich variations are banging though.
The other mortadella joint I tried was called L’antico salumiere. Not having had breakfast, I needed something to fuel my hike up the Portico di San Luca (more on that below), and this was the only place open earlier in the morning (they open at 10am whereas Mö Mortadella only from 11:30). It was a great sandwich, but once I visited the Mö Mortadella Lab I understood the difference between them and the rest.
As Bologna is the world’s oldest university city with a large student population hovering in and around in its university district on the eastern side of the city, I figured there must be some pretty good cheap eats in that part of town. I was right, because I found a place called Indegno, who specialise in one of Bologna’s most famous street foods – the Crescentina – think fried dough stuffed with various fillings. I had both their mortadella and vegetarian ragu Crescentinas and both were delicicioso.
Indegno is also one of the best places to try what I can only assume is one of Bologna’s most popular post-piss up street foods, i.e fried Tortelloni! I imagine that students across the city get through tons of the stuff every weekend.
The Best Bologna Gelato
While wondering aimlessly one afternoon, I got chatting with a bloke from Nottingham in England. We spoke only for one minute, but in that time he convinced me to not only go for my second Mortadella sandwich of the day at the Mö Mortadella Lab, but also to try a Gelato place called Cremeria Santo Stefano. An obvious foodie, he claimed each had given him the best sandwich and Gelato he’d ever eaten, while also emphasising how hard to impress he is on these topics.
Well, call me a sheep, but I’m all for in-situ recommendations, and Cremeria Santo Stefano was only a 5-minute walk from my hotel. So the next morning, as my last act in Bologna, I diligently arrived as their first customer at 11am. I ordered the salted caramel and cinnamon, and their custard crème scoops. Both were immense, and while I’m not much of an ice cream guy, I could see how seriously they took their craft, with everything made fresh each day. If you’re searching for ice-cream utopia then check it out and get there early!
Aperitivo & Coffee Spots in Bologna
Try Aurum for some seriously good sours. I first had their passion fruit version, but for my second was convinced by the owner to try their signature Aurum sour, made with their own in-house rum. Both were lush, with the perfect blend of sweet, sour and booze.
Also try Vellutto Botanique Electique for the most amazing cold coffee (they call it a Cappucino Vellutato), served with a frozen whipped milk that is the very definition of silky and smooth. Like nothing else I’ve ever tried, I strongly urge you to visit this place for one. To call it iced coffee would be doing it an injustice, but it’s the closest known description I can give you.
Drinking in Bologna
Despite the fact that Tom, Dick & Harry all seems to be banging on about Osteria del Sole, all I can say is that I had a bloody great night in there with my pasta making crew. The place just has a really sociable feel to it, and it was surprisingly easy to get seats, although probably don’t leave it too late if you wanna get settled in for the night.
Expect great good value local wine and drinks (try Pignoletto), starting up random chats with people on the tables next to you, and one of the worst toilets this side of the Ganges.
Bologna Food & Drink Map
WHAT I'D DO NEXT TIME
A Foodie's Day Trip from Bologna
When in Rome they say…well, when in Bologna one really should visit the nearby countryside of Emilia Romagna, arguably Italy’s most famous food producing region. Famous for the Balsamic vinegars of Modena, the Proscuitto hams of Monteveglio, and of course Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
This full-day food tour of the region incorporates a gourmet breakfast and lunch, as well as detailed tastings at some of Italy’s best producers. While I haven’t done this tour myself yet, its reviews are incredible.
SO THEN, IS BOLOGNA WORTH VISITING?!
For those of you who couldn’t be arsed to read my full Bologna travel guide, yes, it’s great here and you should definitely visit! Do a cooking class, take a food tour, eat lots of street food, and go check out its brilliant street art while you’re there.
While Bologna is hardly an off-the-beaten-path destination, it may offer you a welcome few days of relative calm and respite from its more famous neighbours Venice, Florence and Rome. Unless you’re a fan of cattle markets, this fact alone makes Bologna an infinitely more attractive Italian city break destination in comparison.
Bologna is also a great place to visit year round. I’d describe it as a largely weatherproof city due to its famous porticos, which mean that even when it’s pouring with rain or blazing with sun, you can wander around largely protected from the elements.
So what are you waiting for? Get planning your own Bolognese escape – just don’t tell the locals how you’ve been butchering their favourite dish for all these years 😉
And if you’re headed north after visiting Bologna then check out my post on Lake Garda, and if you’re southward bound then maybe you’ll make it all the way down to Sicily.
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