Bologna or Parma 2 nights?
 

Hi,

I will be travelling to Italy at the end of May/start of June with my husband.

Our itinerary is this: Venice (3 Nights, incl daytrip to Burano) - Bologna / Parma (2 nights) - Levanto (3 nights) - rome (6 nights, incl daytrips to Sperlonga, Orvieto, Frascati)

My question is whether to stay one night in Bologna and one in Parma or two nights in Parma? I know this is not much time in each place but I wonder if it would be nice to spend a night in each town/if they take on a different atmosphere at night? I will be travelling with my husband. We are in our early 30s and enjoy good food and drink, wandering around quaint/picturesque towns and seeing a bit of the local life e.g visiting local cafes/markets etc.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

Good food and all the rest in either place. I like Parma more and usually pick a city on a river over one not on a river. The historical center of Parma is smaller than Bologna's center. It's also a UNESCO world heritage site. But I'm sure you'll hear from the Bologna fans.

Both cities have a ZTL. I haven't driven INTO either city. If you don't stay in lodging outside of the zone in either town, pay very careful attention to driving instructions on how to reach your hotel. And note the overnight parking charges. I think in Bologna, it could be easy to get a citation.

Forgot to say.... Unless you never ever intend to return to Italy, I wouldn't split the nights. I'd stay both nights in one or the other.

Thanks Jean, I'll spend the two nights in Parma! We won't be bringing a car, we'll be relying on public transport for this trip.

Food and drink? GREAT food and drink? Bologna!!!

I haven’t been to Parma, and absolutely loved Bologna. BUT, in the short time you are there, I’d recommend staying in the smaller city, which I assume is Parma.

I’m sure you can’t go wrong with either, but in this case, a smaller city might be easier to experience in your brief stay.

I love Jean's notion of staying where there's a river. Me too!

Bologna gets a lot of super food hype that I don't think it necessarily deserves, so I'd go with Parma.

We just returned from a 5-week trip to Italy and we didn't have a bad meal anywhere. Maybe not all great meals, but never bad. But we did eat very well in Bologna! ;)

We're not foodies, but what we ate in Parma almost converted me...

I do love a town with a river :) and it sounds like I'll have to pack some stretchy pants for all the food I'll consume, I cant wait!