The best things to do in Bologna

Most visitors give Bologna a single night on the way to Florence or Venice. That's the mistake. The city packs medieval towers, the oldest university in Europe, a UNESCO portico network and Italy's best food into a centre you can cross in 20 minutes, and it's still refreshingly free of crowds.

Here are the sights worth your time, roughly in the order a first-timer should tackle them. Each links to a full guide with hours, tickets and how to skip the queues.

1. Climb the Asinelli Tower

Bologna once bristled with more than 100 medieval tower-houses; about 20 survive. The two that lean together at the end of Via Rizzoli, the Asinelli and the shorter, more alarming Garisenda, are the city's symbol. You can climb the 97-metre Asinelli's 498 wooden steps for the finest view in Bologna.

2. Stand in Piazza Maggiore

The civic heart of Bologna, ringed by medieval palaces and the enormous Basilica di San Petronio, whose facade was famously never finished. Round the corner is Giambologna's muscular Neptune Fountain. Read the full Piazza Maggiore guide.

3. Get lost in Santo Stefano

The most atmospheric corner of the city: a complex of interlocking chapels known as the Seven Churches, built and rebuilt since the 5th century around a quiet medieval courtyard. Entry is free.

4. Eat your way through the Quadrilatero

The web of lanes just east of Piazza Maggiore has been Bologna's market since the Middle Ages. Today it's a riot of delicatessens, fishmongers and wine bars. Don't miss the covered Mercato di Mezzo. See the Quadrilatero guide.

5. Walk the world's longest portico to San Luca

The Portico di San Luca climbs 3.8km and 666 arches from the city up to the hilltop Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. It's the showpiece of Bologna's UNESCO porticoes, and the view at the top is worth the climb.

6. See the anatomical theatre at the Archiginnasio

The first home of the University of Bologna hides a breathtaking carved-wood anatomical theatre, where public dissections were once performed beneath a canopy of statues.

7. Find Bologna's secret canals

Few visitors realise Bologna was once a city of canals. A little window on Via Piella, the Finestrella, opens onto a surviving stretch that looks like a slice of Venice. More on the hidden canals.

More to see

Beyond the highlights, dig into the museums (the Pinacoteca and modern-art MAMbo), the glass-floored Roman ruins under the Salaborsa library, the best viewpoints, and the city's hidden gems. Short on time? See the free things to do or pick a ready-made itinerary.