elizabethG

I have two days I would like to do day trips from Bologna via train.

What would be the top two choices from this list ... if there are better options please let me know.
I know many of you may ask what we like to do but in a day I feel that you can just get the flavor of city so a nice walking city with a possible art or museum .. a nice outdoor lunch and gelato.
I did not put Venice on the list because we will have already visited Venice earlier in our trip
(I have been to Florence but my kids have not. ) Many thanks

Verona
Ravenna I understand the mosaics are beautiful
Florence
Modena
Padua
Parma
Ferrara
Regio Emilia

socaltraveler

I would vote for Ravenna and Parma, but just because we did those on a trip. You will probably get several votes for Modena and Ferrara too. A lot to enjoy on that list.

Jean

How old are the "kids"? What time of year?

elizabethG

Summer ... they are 12 and 9.. THANK YOU

Jean

I vote for Verona because of the arena.

I also enjoyed the atmosphere in Ferrara a lot. If you need to escape the sun, there's a nice archeology museum and a quirky manhole cover museum that the kids might think is fun.

For museums in any of these cities, check to see if they close for a few hours in the middle of the day. It can make it a little difficult to plan/fill a single day trip.

If possible, buy your train tickets as soon as you can. Some of the undiscounted fares on the faster trains from Bologna seemed high to us.

elizabethG

Yes that is why I was trying to figure out where we will go
I have bought some of our train tickets for other places and they were already getting filled up many thanks

bvlenci

I've been to all of these cities except for Reggio Emilia. I'd suggest Ferrara and Verona, especially with kids. I love Ravenna, but it takes longer to get to, with a change of train, and I'm not sure how interested your kids would be in 1200-year-old mosaics. (They are spectacular to me.)

Verona is a beautiful city apart from the Arena. There is a Roman bridge over the Adige river, and also a beautiful medieval bridge which is attached to the Castel Vecchio, a medieval castle that guarded the river crossing. The Piazza delle Erbe is also beautiful.

Ferrara has a splendid ducal castle.

Both are cities with lots of atmosphere, and both are great walking cities. Good food would be very easy to find in either city.

socaltraveler

There are some trains Bologna to Ravenna that do not require a change; those take a little over an hour. We took one a few years ago.

Southam

I like Bologna for itself -- history, food, architecture and somewhat less hectic tourist scene. It's also handy to some of the places you mention, plus several nearby headquarters for very fast and expensive Italian cars such as Ferrari. The tourist information office can help with the particulars:
http://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/
Wikipedia gives thumbnail sketches of its history and nature: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna

bruna64

hi,
i m Italian...from Florence to Verona one of the best city that you must visit is MANTOVA...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantua

very very very beautiful city. and for the children...is possible to rent a bike and to ride a long the 2 lakes...

dfourh

Ferrara by bicycle is especially nice. From the train station it is a bit of a hike to the center, but with a bike it is a delight, and branching out from there you can hit every sight in town easily (they are a bit far to walk, but biking is a breeze) and experience the place in its entirety - - it is calm, it is surprisingly interesting, and it is perfect by bike. It's also perfectly flat - - and everyone rides bikes there, all the natives, young and old.