How to Spend an Amazing Weekend in Bologna, Bologna, Italy

In the summer of 2024, my friend and I spent an amazing two weeks in Italy. We kicked it off with a weekend in Bologna and it was the best way to start the trip. Bologna is incredible city known for its endless, covered porticos, mouth-watering food, and terracotta-colored streets.

I chose a weekend in Bologna, mostly because of the food. You just can’t go wrong. Tagliatelle al ragù (bolognese) was first on the agenda. We found some and spoiler alert, it was amazing! See where we got it below.

The other reasons we really wanted to check out Bologna was for its unique architecture and the fact that it is more authentic and less touristy than the big Italian cities like Rome, Venice and Florence. Are there tourists there? Of course, but it didn’t feel overwhelming at all and we were there in August!

I didn’t travel there with my kids this time, but it would be a fantastic city to visit with kids. It is pretty flat, so walking around is easy and you could easily push a stroller. It’s not too big either, so it’s convenient for those little legs. We felt very safe there. The only area that we found that was a little sketchy was near the train station. Nothing terrible, but enough to keep vigilant. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).