Bologna..park and take the train/bus into the center??
Apr 14th, 2009, 05:47 PM
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Bologna..park and take the train/bus into the center??
We do not want to drive into Bologna after the horror tales of multiple traffic tickets and the hassle of parking.
Can one drive part of the way into the city and then park and catch a bus/tram/train to the center?
We are concentrating on the smaller towns/villages of Emilia, but would like to visit Bologna as we will be in the vicinity, and we can always include a longer stay at another time if we like what we see!!
Can one drive part of the way into the city and then park and catch a bus/tram/train to the center?
We are concentrating on the smaller towns/villages of Emilia, but would like to visit Bologna as we will be in the vicinity, and we can always include a longer stay at another time if we like what we see!!
Apr 14th, 2009, 08:18 PM
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I'm still not exactly what your itinerary is. You are picking up a car in Milan but spending that night somewhere other than Bologna? But you would like to visit Bologna en route?
It would make more sense to visit Bologna later in your trip and just head to your first night's destination, and then daytrip back one day from another town.
Ravenna would be a longer trip than Parma. You might want to split the difference and drive to Imola, for instance, and get a train there. Or drive to Modena if you are staying in Parma. You'd parking around the train station there -- although I've not done it, but I'm assuming there is some paid parking around there.
Another thing you could think about doing is driving to the Bologna Airport (Marconi is on the Parma side of Bologna) and taking the airport bus in. Leaves very regularly and you wouldn't have to time your arrival to a train. But trains around Bologna are very frequent.
Bologna is not as scary as you might think in terms of driving. Are you taking a Red Michelin guide with you? They Michelin maps for cities in the Red Guide (and the Green Guide, too, I think) clearly show parking lots in a square marked "P".
One last suggestion: Have you thought of taking a train to Bologna, stowing your bags, touring the town, and picking up a rental car there? The car rental office is right next to the train station, and it's not all that hard to get out of the city. It's a straight shot. In fact, what I hate about driving in Bologna is not the city streets, but the ring road "tangenziale" that's around it. It is often a traffic jam.
If you are picking up a car in Malpensa, there is a bus that goes from Malpensa to Bologna.
Hope I've not confused you!
It would make more sense to visit Bologna later in your trip and just head to your first night's destination, and then daytrip back one day from another town.
Ravenna would be a longer trip than Parma. You might want to split the difference and drive to Imola, for instance, and get a train there. Or drive to Modena if you are staying in Parma. You'd parking around the train station there -- although I've not done it, but I'm assuming there is some paid parking around there.
Another thing you could think about doing is driving to the Bologna Airport (Marconi is on the Parma side of Bologna) and taking the airport bus in. Leaves very regularly and you wouldn't have to time your arrival to a train. But trains around Bologna are very frequent.
Bologna is not as scary as you might think in terms of driving. Are you taking a Red Michelin guide with you? They Michelin maps for cities in the Red Guide (and the Green Guide, too, I think) clearly show parking lots in a square marked "P".
One last suggestion: Have you thought of taking a train to Bologna, stowing your bags, touring the town, and picking up a rental car there? The car rental office is right next to the train station, and it's not all that hard to get out of the city. It's a straight shot. In fact, what I hate about driving in Bologna is not the city streets, but the ring road "tangenziale" that's around it. It is often a traffic jam.
If you are picking up a car in Malpensa, there is a bus that goes from Malpensa to Bologna.
Hope I've not confused you!
Apr 15th, 2009, 08:03 AM
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When we stayed in Bologna we parked on the south side (against the hills) right off the tangenziale--I believe on the Viale Enrico Panzzachi (sp?). We were within walking distance of the center of town.
This might be useful:
http://iat.comune.bologna.it/IAT/IAT...7?OpenDocument
This might be useful:
http://iat.comune.bologna.it/IAT/IAT...7?OpenDocument
