La Dotta, The Learned
The oldest university in Europe
Founded in 1088, the University of Bologna gives the centro storico its bookshops, cheap wine bars and a student energy that never quite leaves Via Zamboni.
About the university →
The local's guide · Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Bologna, the city Italy keeps to itself
La Dotta, La Grassa, La Rossa, the learned, the fat, the red. Forty kilometres of porticoes, the oldest university in Europe, and a plate of tagliatelle al ragù that will ruin "spaghetti bolognese" for you forever.
Three nicknames that explain the whole city
Bologna has been called the same three things for 700 years, and each one points you at a different reason to come.
La Grassa, The Fat
Italy's food capital, no contest
Tortellini, tagliatelle al ragù, mortadella, lasagne verde. This is where the dishes the world copies were actually invented, and they're still better here.
What to eat →
La Rossa, The Red
Terracotta roofs and 62km of porticoes
Bologna's covered colonnades are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can cross the whole city in the rain without an umbrella, and one portico climbs 3.8km up to San Luca.
The porticoes →Plan your trip, section by section
Everything on this site hangs off six guides. Start wherever your trip needs the most help.
Things to Do
The Two Towers, Piazza Maggiore, Santo Stefano, the Quadrilatero and the rooftop views, ranked and mapped.
See & do →
Where to Eat
Traditional trattorias, the Quadrilatero market, food tours and the dishes you genuinely shouldn't leave without.
Eat & drink →
Where to Stay
Which neighbourhood suits you, plus hotels near Piazza Maggiore and the station for every budget.
Find a base →
Day Trips
Florence in 37 minutes, Modena's balsamic and Ferraris, Ravenna's mosaics, Parma's ham, all on fast trains.
Get out of town →
Getting Around
From Marconi airport to the centre, the train station, the buses, and why you'll mostly just walk.
Sort logistics →
Plan Your Trip
How many days you need, the best time to visit, weather by month, and ready-made 1–3 day itineraries.
Plan it →The sights everyone comes for
If you only had a morning, this is the short list.
Eat & Drink
There is no spaghetti bolognese in Bologna
Ask for it and you'll get a smile. The real local dish is tagliatelle al ragù, flat egg pasta with a slow-cooked meat sauce, and once you've had it at a proper trattoria, the supermarket version stops counting.
Add tortellini floating in capon broth, mortadella sliced paper-thin in the Quadrilatero, and lasagne made with green spinach pasta, and you start to understand why they call the city "the fat."
Bologna is the best base in northern Italy
It sits on the high-speed line between Milan, Florence, Venice and Rome. Half the region is a day trip, many of them under an hour by train.
First time in Bologna?
Start with how long to stay and the best time to come, then drop into a ready-made itinerary.