I found a city walking tour that seems great, and I need to try to maximize our short time in Bologna.

We arrive (jetlagged, from the US) on a Thursday afternoon and hope to be settled into our hotel room by 4pm. We are staying for two nights in a B&B just southeast of Piazza Santo Stefano.

The next morning I've booked a half-day walking tour that will cover the following sites:
-Piazza Maggiore and Fontana del Nettuno
-Sala Borsa (Stock Exchange),
-Town Hall, Palazzo dei Notai, Palazzo del Podesta, Palazzo dei Banchi,
-Basilica of San Petronio
-Walk along Pavaglione
- the old Univeristy Building and Anatomical Theater,
-Santo Stefano
-Mercatto De Mezzo and food shops, with tastings at Tambourini
-Palazzo della Mercanzia
- the Due Torri

I figured that after lunch we will have a nice nap and then venture out for a stroll and a little shopping, and then dinner.

That leaves me to wonder what we should try to see or do on Thursday afternoon when we arrive and on Saturday morning before we leave.

We would like a nice neighborhood to stroll in or see some more beautiful sites. We are interested in great food, history, and architecture. We also want to SHOP. (not interested in high end designer stuff)

Any restaurant recommendations are welcome, as well, of course.

Thanks so much!!
Dina

Your half day tour covers a fairly small area, but is packed with good things to see. The area around the Piazza is delightful, especially the market. Much of what you may want to see is walkable from there. We liked the university area and walking through the old Jewish Ghetto nearby. One restaurant I can highly recommend is:"Trattoria dal Biassanot." It is not a tourist restaurant and serves typical Bolognese dishes. The chef has won awards. It's very popular with locals so either get there when it opens or get a reservation. Lunch may be easier for a walk in. Their prices are quite moderate. The green lasagne and gnocchi are particularly good as is the house prosecco wine that you can order by the glass. If you care to click on my name, you will find a trip report that includes Bologna with some more detail.

We're going to Bologna in December, so this is good for us. Thanks.

Our trip was in early January 2008 and we were surprised at the comfortable weather at the time. Although we had no rain, many of the walking areas are covered with porticos so rainy days are not much of a problem,

Dina,
Bologna has so many areas to just roam around in but you are covering a number in your walking tour (you may want to return to the market area near Tamburini---go to Simoni and to La Baita for cheese, even looking). Be sure to walk around the Via Farini area with the lovely painted frescoes---and you may want to poke around the upscale stores around Via Cavour. The ghetto area is interesting since the streets are very different. Head up Via Catiglione too and stop at La Sorbetteria for gelato---architecture is interesting too in these sections. Saturday morning might be fun to go to the flea market up Via Independza---you could go via the ghetto and Via Oberdan, a pretty/interesting street. One of the best parts of Bologna is peering into open doorways and seeing the courtyards of the old palazzos.

Basingstoke---thanks for your earlier posting about Bologna which was very helpful to me before settling in here!

I haven't been to Bologna yet (2 weeks!), but Zeppole and some others have posted about a church called Santa Maria della Vita with some wonderful sculpture that definitely sounds worth seeing.

Basingstoke's trip report is full of great info. I have Trattoria dal Biassonot on my list as a result. (Kathy, perhaps you'd be interested in joining us?)

jmct714,
When is it you are going to be here? Hope we can connect,
Kathy

Hi Kathy - I'll be there 11/8-12. Can't wait.
Jeanne

Dina,

To me, the only problem with your city walking tour is that it doesn't suggest to you that you actually enter many of these buildings to discover the treasures within.

I'm discovering -- much to my dismay -- that there are very few good guides to Bologna. Last week, I spent in an hour-plus in some Bolognese bookstores looking for guides to the city.

The best one I found (in English) was in the international bookstore Feltrinelli, on on the via Zamboni. The books is called "City Spots."

Bologna is a city of hidden gems. For the first time last week, I wandered into the town hall. There is a a Bramante staircase deliberately designed so that horses could ascend the stairs. I climbed to the upper floors -- there are amazing freschi there, and views of the piazza Maggiore.

The local tourist office puts out some material that alerted me to the presence of early Michaelangelo works in a tomb in the church of San Domenico. I went there, and the tomb is magnificent, but since the material also briefly mentioned wonderful woodwork in the in the choir stalls. I went hunting for that inside the church -- and the choir stalls are glorious!!!!

Someone else mentioned above the church of Santa Maria della Vita, right in the market/food store district. The church --- which has incredibly dramatic, theatrical terracotta statues expressing their horror and grief at the dead, crucified body of Christ -- so unique -- is only open in the mornings.

Just the other day I mentioned to my Italian landlord that I needed to be in Bologna later this month. He has traveled the world (he used to be a sea captain) and his eyes lit up with delight. "Bella!" he kept saying. "Beautiful! The old part!" ("Parte vecchia! Bella!")

The anatomical theatre, the schools, the canals, the towers, the piazze, the markets. You won't be able to see it all, so don't try. Linger over what draws you.

dina...

If you don't mind sharing, what company or guide did you book the walking tour with? I'll be arriving in Bologna in about 2 weeks and although I have my general itinerary skecthed out, a walking tour that might orient me sounds like it may be a good idea.

basingstoke...based on your trip report I have already booked my first night's dinner at Trattoria dal Biassonot. And thanks for the heads-up on the prosecco there...one of my favorite beverages! ;-)

jmct...looks like I'm arriving the day you depart.

LCI - yes, we'll just miss each other (though we're actually leaving on Saturday morning). I look forward to reading your trip report and comparing notes. I think our itineraries must be quite similar.

Did you see that the Bologna Turismo offers a walking tour? Most seem to be about 13 euro or so.

http://iat.comune.bologna.it/IAT/IAT...e?OpenDocument

I found one think on my last visit that can be skipped in your tour of Bologna: Museo Morandi.

Apparently (according to a Bolognese friend of mine), this guy Morandi spent 50 years in the same room, painting still-lifes of the same bottles over and over. When he passed away, his sister donated his artwork to the city of Bologna, and paid for the museum.

I visited -- it really is rooms and rooms full of paintings of the same bottles, over and over and over. (To be fair, he did paint a tree or two sometimes.) The visitor's guide does its best to be kind, mentioning the ``remarkable consistency of his paintings, untouched by waves of artistic fashion.'' (It also mentions the possibility of visiting his apartment, which has been preserved so you can see the bottles for yourself.) I was giggling hysterically by the end, and the docents grinned because they knew exactly why.

Admission is free.

I guess capxxx never heard of "this guy" Morandi before visiting Bologna. It's always hard to pick "Most Doofus Tourist Post" on Fodor's, but surely capxxx's qualifies for one of the top prizes.

I don't recommend anyone visit the Morandi museum unless you already know and appreciate Morandi's work. For me, the surprises were not the incontestable masterpieces in the collection (of which are several), but the ink drawings.

But if you are not fundamentally interested in painting, I urge you to enjoy the rich variety of Bolognese art and history that has nothing to do at all with painting. It is everywhere in Bologna, and it's too bad capxxx didn't know enough to budget his or her time better. I think he or she may have misinterpreted what was laughable about his or her visit to the Morandi Museum.

jmct...

Thanks for the info. I did know about the tourists office tours, but now I know the starting time and price. Thanks!

My brother and sister in law did the tourist office tour when they were here the end of September and thought it was great and it did go inside the places mentioned.

Low Country, see you soon and will post about a Bologna GTG later today.

Zeppole, I know what you are saying about guidebooks for Bologna. I went to all or almost all of the bookstores looking for a good, detailed walking map that wasn't a small foldout paper one.

I did get the guidebook they have at the tourist office and it is ok and had bought Mary Taloro Noyes Bologna Reflections book before heading here.

I was going to recommend Cadogan Bologna ER but I then looked at the price for a used copy on Amazon. Never mind.

Dina I will be following your adventures with pleasure. Where else will you be traveling on this trip?

kathy...

I'll keep an eye out for the GTG post. I also read the Mary Taloro Noyes book...some good information, made me feel like I was in Bologna with her.

Ek...I purchased a Cadogan Bologna ER guidebook (new not used) several months ago from Amazon and I recall it costing no more than other guide books I've purchased, less than $20 if I remember correctly. I can't believe the price now...wow!

Zepp, in fact I try to seek out small museums dedicated to solo artists when I travel. It is interesting to see how an artist will re-work the same image or idea in a series of sketches and painting. I was previously aware that Morandi painted still lifes, but not of his ''astonishing consistency'' in 50 years of work. I do not think that qualifies me as a doofus.

C'mon, even Monet walked around his garden a little. Raphael kept painting the same woman, but at least he dressed her in different clothes.

At least we can agree that a visit to the museum is best undertaken by someone who already knows and appreciates his work. Perhaps Fodorites visiting Bologna (dina4?) can stop in and report their impressions.

oh my gosh, I am so grateful for all your posts. i've just been swamped at work day and night, and haven't had time to read them. will hopefully get to this later in the afternoon! i can hardly wait to read through...

thanks so much everyone!!!

Basingstoke,
I will look for your trip report! It's hard to find a lot of info on bologna, so I really appreciate your tips.

Kathryn,
Great ideas. I will look at a map and find all those streets and try to map out a good plan. I LOVE peeking into gates and seeing beautiful courtyards!

jmct -
i added santa maria della vita to my plan. will also find it on the map. one of my favorite things to do in italy is discover beautiful churches!

zeppole -- i will look for that book. maybe the prices will come down. we're not traveling until next June... will make note of your hidden gems.

thanks!