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Bologna: A one week itinerary
I'll be traveling with my mother to Bologna in November, arriving on a Friday evening (5pm). We will be staying in an apartment in the center of the city.
I've been working on our itinerary and wanted to post here to get some feedback as to whether or not I'm packing in too much or if I should add anything. A couple activities have been booked, but I think it's a pretty flexible itinerary that we can rearrange as we like adding or dropping things as we see fit. I will mention one of the main reason we chose Bologna was for the food. I have purchased the Fred Plotkin Book, Italy for the Gourmet Traveler but have not yet started to read it, so meal options aren't listed, and generally we use my research and just plain observations when we are there to determine which places we will dine at. Thursday: Depart US and fly into Bologna via AMS arriving Friday evening just before 5pm. Friday: check into apartment have aperitivo and diner and go to sleep Saturday: exlpore the markets and any interesting food stores (Tamburini & Eataly are definites) Sunday: Explore the historic center/churches Monday: Booked the Italian Days Food Experience, departing Bologna at 7:30am and returning at approximately 4:30pm (I know a long day, but we wanted to use a tour to see the outlying proscuitto/parmigianno, and balsamic production operations) Tueday: Tentatively planned a day trip via train to Ravenna, we were there in the 1980's but since I was a teenager then I can barely remember what I saw...want to see several of the churches with mosaic works. Wednesday: Booked a market tour with cooking class. It's a split day itinerary. Market for 2 hours in the morning from 10:30am until 12:30pm and then meet at local resident's apartment at 4:30pm for cooking lesson and dinner. I figure we can relax over a nice lunch or go to a museum or church we are interested in seeing during the mid-day break. Thursday: Tentatively planned a day trip via train to Verona...just because I've heard it's a nice town with some interesting sites and yes, the fact that we recently saw the movie Letters to Juliet played a part in deciding to see this town. Friday: I have nothing scheduled this day and anticipate we will want to use it to buy any of the interesting foods we may have found in the shops around the city that we may have seen earlier in the week. OR, we can visit any of the sites in the city we may not have had a chance to see yet. Saturday: Take a fast train (late morning) to Rome for 6 night stay there. |
Another food shop to visit; they are celebrated for bread/pastry:
http://www.paoloatti.com/ Among the most famous stuffed pasta (tortelline, tortellone, etc) makers in the city are the women of Le Sfogline, 7/b Via Belvedere. You are in an enviable position since you will have your own kitchen! |
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One comment: Can I join you?
It sounds like a lovely trip, well scheduled.I have visited all these place (aside from the food tour) and think you have balanced the time well. |
ahhh...2 of my favorite NYC posters have replied! :-)
EK...thanks for the links, I will check them out. Ellenem...thanks, I'm trying not to cram too much in, (we want to savor the experience!) but it's so hard when I keep reading about this great city and all it has to offer! :-) |
The one glitch I see in your plan is that Sunday is not a good day for church touring, at least not in the mornings. Bologna has a number of outstanding and unusual museums and sights that aren't churches -- the Pinocoteca, the Morandi Museum, the anatomical theater -- you might find something at the opera house that appeals to you. Anyway, you'd need to check opening hours for the alternates, but I urge you -- if you are at all interested in Italian painting in the slightest bit -- not to skip the Pinocoteca. It's a truly enjoyable museum and a real eye opener (at least it was for me!) But if you hate museums, skip it!
It is worth stopping by the tourist office and to help ferret out the many small treasures of Bologna -- like the recently restored oratorio of St Cecilia, or the memorial to the WW2 resistance fighters -- that the standard guidebooks don't talk about, but are really right under your nose. The trip up San Luca is rewarding, but more so if you walk either up or down or both -- but none of that is advisable if you have back or any skeletal issues. Some people go all the way to Ravenna and fail to walk the extra 50 steps to enter the mosaic-encrusted mausoleum of Galla Placidia in the backyard of the church of San Vitale. Don't make that mistake! Be sure to go inside: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/i...galla-placidia |
I spent five nights of my honeymoon in Bologna many moons ago and did much as you suggest. We'd already stopped in Verona for a few nights so didn't day trip from there. We did do a day trip to Ravenna, which I enjoyed so much and that I returned for a two night stay years later. We also did a day trip to Ferrara. We spent the rest of the time seeing the sights of Bologna and a very easy pace, and even spent an afternoon making the 3.5 km porticoed climb to the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca.
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zeppole...
Thanks for the reminder about Sundays and touring churches, we certainly do want to see some of the museums, so I will make sure to check the opening hours before making any final decisions, so as not to be disappointed. I've been reading the walk to San Luca can be a bit of a "hike". I may decide to do that on my own while mom does something else...I usually can't pass up a good view, although in November I understand the weather may not be the best, I'm prepared for fog and rain. Thank you for the information about Ravenna...I will be sure not to miss the mausoleum of Galla Placidia. One question for anyone who may know... after viewing the link EK posted to Paolo & Atti I'm wondering if we will be too early for panetonne. We'll be there November 12-20. My gut is saying that it may be too early to buy one. I found a fantastic panetonne last year from a bakery near San Francisco and had it shipped to me for Christmas...it arrived several days before the holiday and it was so good it never made it to Christmas day! :-D |
I think you can take a bus to the Sanctuary and then walk down.
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You can take a bus up. A taxi ride won't break the bank. But I didn't realize you were traveling with your mother, and even assuming she is fit as a fiddle, if you are unused to long walks down stairs, it is a lot of skeletal impact. The reason to go up is not the view, but the over-the-top decor of the shrine, and to enjoy the walk. I suggest you skip it.
There is always something to eat in Bologna. There are many cakes more special to Emilia-Romagna than panetonne as I recall. Try them instead! http://taste-of-italy.blogspot.com/2...n-bologna.html |
Bookmarking to help with my Bologna trip research (also November). Really good info about San Luca and Ravenna, two activities I've penciled in, as well. Thanks!
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But by the end of your stay, you should already find some panettone! Btw, I second zeppole's Galla Placidia advice: among all the gorgeous mosaiques in Ravenna, these are the very best IMO.
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On my day trip to Ravenna from Bologna, we were able to see most of the sights that were included in the tourist pass available at the time . . . San Vitale and Galla Placidia, Neonian and Arian Baptisteries, Sant' Apollinaire Nuovo, the Archbishop's palace and chapel. My do-not-miss is to take the frequent local bus (#4 or 44) about 5 km from Ravenna to Sant' Apollinaire in Classe, which I found stunningly beautiful.
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Franco...thank you, good to know we may see some panettone while we are there! Of course, I love any kind of cake or pastry, so I am sure I will be sampling all the city has to offer! ;-)
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ellenem...
Seems like I was posting when you were. Back in the early 80's I went to Italy for the first time with a group from school. My mom also happened to be a chaperone on that trip and it was one of those "If It's Tuesday It Must Be Belgium" student bus tours. One of our stops was in Ravenna to see the mosaics...looking back now and knowing what I know I am positive it was Sant' Apollinarire because it we were not in the center of a city. Part of the reason for including Ravenna in this trip was because my mom remembered how incredible those mosaics were...I on the other hand, being a teenager, gave a cursory glance at the church and wondered about elsewhere. I've read about the combination ticket available for purchase in Ravenna for the churches and plan to buy that and see as many as we can in the time we are there. |
Another thing I've noticed on my visits to it seems as if the bus tours all come through in the morning. In the afternoon we found most places gloriously empty compared to the morning. Since you will be visiting in November, days will be shorter so you may not have this problem, but you will certainly have shorter daylight hours.
I clearly remember visiting San Vitale that first time. When we went outside to visit the mausoleum of Galla Placida, we were confronted with a school group of about 40 teenagers all trying to cram through the very small door at the same time, their three teachers standing to the side having a smoke and paying no attention to the craziness. We retreated to San Vitale and waited for the group to leave. 20 minutes later, we had the mausoleum to ourselves. It was a truly inspirational moment--my traveling companion found the solution to a design problem at work in the ceiling mosaics. |
I messed up this thought. Let me try again:
Since you will be visiting in November, there will be less tourists so you may not have this problem, but you will certainly have shorter daylight hours. |
ellenem...
I totally got your thought the first time. You are right, our daylight hours will be short, but we will just have to deal with it. We decided to go in November for 2 reasons...lower airfare and maximizing our vacation time from work. We will be away for 2 weeks (we go to Rome for 6 nights after Bologna) and with 3 paid holidays during that time frame in November for us, we will only need to be out for 9 work days...there's always a method to our madness! :-) |
I have visited Italy many times in November so I totally understand (and agree with) your viewpoint.
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if ellenem is coming, I'm coming too.
actually, I have Bologna shortlisted as a place to do an italian language course, possibly in November. my main dliemma is trying to decide whether to go for one week or two. by the sound of it, two weeks [with the course as well] would be a minimum. |
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