I have read all the threads on accomodations in Bologna. When I started to book someplace I found the prices were triple what I found in books, this site, etc. Some wouldn't allow me to check out on my date? What is up - is this time some special festival - couldn't find anything in my guidebook about it. The prices I have found are much higher than Rome or Venice - not what I expected. Our dates are September 28 - leaving on the 30th - 2 nights. Help!!! cannot afford 500 euros per night.

I just answered my own question with a quick visit to the online tourist office. There is a trade fair for ceramic tile during that period! Suggestions on where else to go for those two nights - prior we are in Florence - after venice

I just got back from Bologna...fantastic,. The place I stayed in I Portici www.iporticihotel.com was around 108 euros. In checking your dates the rate is 385 euro...so yes something is going on in Bologna at that time. As a matter of fact the rate is that high from 9/27 till 10/3. Hope you can change your dates!!

Will you have a car?

You could spend one night in Ravenna, which you might well have visited from Bologna on a day trip. It is a small town, but the center is quite pleasant. The mosaics will keep you occupied most of the day, anyway. We made a day trip so I don't have any specific hotel recommendations, but there are a number in the center.

We just faced the same situation. We wanted to spend 10 days with an apartment in Bologna as our base, but there was a huge trade fair for the first 5 days and nothing was available.

I asked on Fodors and got lots of great recommendations- Verona, Trento, Lucca, Turino, Sienna, etc. We wanted to stay in Northern Italy for the five days. In the end, we decided on Liguria after hearing friends rave about hiking the Cinque Terre. We've been to Italy before and done the major cities so we are interested in food, wine, relaxation, and some sightseeing on this trip.

In the end, we decided to stay jsut down the coast from the CT in Portovenere, where we found a great looking apartment, so we will get the coastal view, hiking, stunning scenery, delicious pesto and seafood, light white wines etc for the first half of our vacation.

We figure this will make a nice contrast to the city life of Bologna, which we see as fabulous red wines, meaty dishes, art and churches, sightseeing and architecture.

I think the question is: how do you want to spend the days? City or countryside? Relaxing or touring? Mountains or ocean? From my own search, it seems like you can find all of these options within a few hours so I tried to envision what I wanted from the vacation and then picked a place that seemed to fit.

BTW- when I was involved in this dilemma, my sister reminded me that there is no wrong choice. It is a great thing when your hardest decision is where to go in Italy! You can't really make a bad decision, right? No matter where you go, you will still be in Italy!

blue: This will be toward the end of our month - and we will have done rome, tuscany, piemonte (Asti), Cinque Terre, Florence and after these two night to Venice and then home. Rome, Venice Florence will be city - Tuscany and Asti country, CT - well CT. What we really wanted was the wonderful food of Bologna -

ourjet: We will have a car for the first part of the trip but planned on giving it up before CT and then doing the train from then on. So short answer is no - not the way the trip is planned thus far.

The question is is it worth redoing the entire month's trip for two nights in Bologna - we cannot change the 12th - 21st in Asti.

ddandbob-

I completely understand wanting to visit Bologna for the food. We loved it and had fabulous meals, inspiring us to return. Remember though, that the entire Emilia-Romagna region is known for its food.

What about staying nearby in Parma or Modena, also good food towns, and short train rides to Bologna. Train over to Bologna in the morning, sightsee and have an amazing lunch somewhere like Trattoria dal Biassanot (I highly recommend it), do somemore walking, have a snack of salumi and cheese at a wine bar, take a late afternoon train home to your base, and have a wonderful dinner there.

Right now there are 5 hotels under 200 Euros in Modena with availability during your dates on Venere.com. Parma doesn't look so good for availability but I just did one search. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

thanks blue - I'll check out Modena - I could also do some rearranging of the dates around just that part of the trip.

Hey- I just thought about this cool b&b in Bologna that we almost booked. We decided against it because we couldn't find reviews online and it didn't have kitchen access, but it looks gorgeous. It seems off the beaten path- not listed on any major sites that I could find except Sleep in Italy which seems to have removed it. Might be worth an email: http://www.molineventidue.com/index.asp


Good luck!

We stayed at Casa Ilaria in Bologna and really liked it. It's an apartment that has 2 bedrooms. U can rent just 1 bedroom or both. The owner lives upstairs.
http://www.casailaria.com/eng_page.htm Last year we paid about 110 euros

A few years ago we faced the same problem. Wanted to stay in Bologna, but trade fair, etc., etc. Only room I could find was at the Baglioni for $349. (Outside our budget then.) Finally, my husband said... to hell with it... just book the room.
Well, it was one of the most fabulous places we've ever stayed. Primarily because they upgraded us to a suite (guess all the reg. $349 rooms were taken.) Service was wonderful, the hotel itself has ancient ruins in the lower level and their scrambled eggs were all yolks -

You might try Ferrara as well - I haven't been but I've read good things about it. We visited Modena and it also has excellent food. We did love Bologna though... the food was to die for.

I would recommend Parma above Modena. I just returned from 6 nights in Bologna and daytripped to both, and preferred Parma significantly more than Modena. I found the center of Modena to be rather uninteresting whereas Parma was really beautiful.

Another option to keep your original dates, but stay outside of Bologna, would be to stay in Faenza. About :40 train ride from Bologna. The Hotel Vittoria (4 star) shows rates for Bologna trade fair dates at 100-150 euros for a double. Faenza is quite small, but there is a good ceramics museum there, and the centro area is nice. The hotel is walkable from the stazzione if you don't have a lot of luggage.

http://www.hotel-vittoria.com/

Ravenna would be a good alternative, as it has the wonderful mosaics that should be seen.