Start from 40 curated places around Bologna, IT, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Trattoria di Via Serra
A small Michelin Bib Gourmand trattoria in the Bolognina district run with obvious pride, serving short-menu Bolognese cooking — tortellini in brodo, tagliatelle al ragù, cotoletta alla bolognese — made with the kind of attention to ingredient quality that makes the simplicity of the dishes feel like the point. One of the best places in the city for the full traditional experience without the fuss.
All'Osteria Bottega
An acclaimed osteria near Porta Saragozza holding a Michelin plate and a standing reservation among Bologna's serious food community, with an emphasis on exceptional local ingredients turned into precise, deeply traditional dishes — the tortellini in brodo, culatello, and cotoletta alla bolognese are benchmark versions. The room is warm without being precious, and the service unusually well-informed.
Trails & outdoors
Portico di San Luca Walk
The classic Bologna walk — 3.8 kilometers of the world's longest continuous covered walkway, starting from Porta Saragozza and climbing 300 meters through 666 numbered arches to the hilltop Santuario della Madonna di San Luca. The entire route is under cover, making it walkable in any weather, and the views expand progressively as you gain elevation.
Via degli Dei
A multi-day trekking route of 130 kilometers following an ancient road that once connected Bologna to Florence across the Apennine mountains, passing through beech forests, alpine meadows, and small hilltop villages. The first segment from Bologna to Badolo can be done as a single-day walk offering a representative taste of the Apennine landscape without the full commitment.
Things to do
MAMbo – Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna
Bologna's modern art museum housed in a converted bread bakery near the Manifattura delle Arti cultural district, with a permanent collection anchored by the largest holding of Bologna-born painter Giorgio Morandi's work anywhere in the world. The temporary exhibition program tends toward ambitious, well-researched shows that draw serious art visitors from across Italy.
Cineteca di Bologna
One of Europe's most respected film archives and cinemas, based in the Manifattura delle Arti, that screens restored classics, rare prints, and contemporary Italian film in its original-language program — the same institution responsible for the annual Cinema Ritrovato festival that brings silent film scholars and cinephiles from around the world to watch films on outdoor screens in Piazza Maggiore.
Landmarks & sights
Basilica di San Petronio
The dominant church of Piazza Maggiore and the largest Gothic brick building in the world, started in 1390 and famously never finished — the facade still shows raw brick where the marble ran out. Inside, a 67-meter meridian line inscribed on the floor functions as a working astronomical instrument, making it one of the most scientifically unusual churches in Italy.
Le Due Torri
The Asinelli and Garisenda towers are Bologna's most recognizable landmarks — two medieval skyscrapers built by rival noble families between 1109 and 1119. At 97 meters, the Asinelli is the tallest leaning tower in Italy, and the 498-step climb up its narrow wooden staircases rewards with one of the best views in Emilia-Romagna.