Bologna in a day trip?
 

We will be in Rome in December and are considering a day trip via TrenItalia. We know Firenze (Florence) is close 1.5 hour train ride. We have been there and know it can be done in day. However, we were considering other places to visit, via fast train in a day with Rome being our home base. Is Bologna doable? Is it worth it? I understand the train is 2 hours each way. Any advice would be helpful. Many thanks.

If you could do Florence in a day you can definitely do Bologna in a day. It's mainly a walking city.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57622914503405

Thanks, I guess I was saying that we could do Florence in a day, because we have been there before and stayed for a few days, so revisiting is easy in a day. We like to walk, so the question is, is it worth it to take the fast train out to Bologna, early morning and see the town, and then train back to Rome that evening?

If not, we will go to Hadrian's villa for a 1/2 day visit, since we have not been able to do that yet.

Thanks,

It depends on how much time you have in Rome and what you enjoy most seeing and doing. I love Bologna, and feel there's plenty to see and do in one (or several) day, but if I were in Rome, I'd probably spend that day seeing more in Rome, or visiting places that were closer to Rome. Rather than spending that time on the train.

I'm really fond of Bologna, but in December, I'd rather head south than north. Napoli is more frustrating as a daytrip because it so spectacularly rich in art, but you can get a very good sense of the historic depth of Napoli with a half-day walk plus a trip to the archeological museum -- which really should not be missed as part of a Rome stay because it has the astonishing sculptures from the Baths of Caracalla.

If you are not averse to a private guided walking tour, it would be the most efficient way to do it, but if you'd rather do it on your own, it's not difficult. During December, it would be worth heading to the center of town where craftsmen make Napoli's famous nativity scenes.

From the train station, walk down the via dei Tribunali to San Gregorio Armeno. In that area, make sure you don't miss the Cappella San Severo. From there, make your way to Santa Chiara and see the Cloister. Now head up to Piazza Dante (have coffee at Caffe Mexico!), and make your way to the Museum. Before the Museum, have pizza (Sorbillo is quiet nearby, you can look up the address on the web). After the Museum, head back to Rome.

But like I said, somebody who would meet you at the station and show your their town for the morning would add a lot and enable you to see even more.

If Hadrian's Villa, do not overlook the Villa d'Este in Tivoli. Count on a day's outing with lunch between the two sites.

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Thanks so much, these replies are very helpful. We have been to Rome a few times, so have seen it all, but still love it. We have 5 days, so one day we will do Hadrian's villa and Villa d'Este in Tivoli. The other day we may tray Naples, sounds like a great day trip. We won't get to see it all, but it sounds like a good start!

Thanks again.

I'm not sure why you would limit yourself to fast trains when there are many places easily reached by the slower R trains.

Orvieto 1:15
Viterbo 2:00
Frascati :30
Castel Gandolfo :40

Yes, we checked on Orvieto as well, which was our other option. So many to choose from!

An alternative to Ovieto might be Tarquinia. I preferred its museum to the Etruscan museum in Rome.

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Ovieto = Orvieto