Bologna, Rimini, Ravenna...Anyone been there recently?
 

Message: We are thinking of spending 10 days or so in this area and wonder if we could get some feedback on what to see and do in the area. We are going in mid-August with twin 12 year olds and an 18 month old. Hoping that there is also enough for them to see and do.

I will leave Bologna and Ravenna for others with recent experience to answer specifics. Both are beautiful, safe and interesting and the Marche area just south of there is fascinating to explore. Make reservations well in advance as the coastal towns are also attractive to Italians vacationing in Italy and everybody does!

But personally I would think long and hard before taking kids to Rimini. I teach at a school for North American teens here in Italy and Rimini is the one place where they are not permitted to go on weekends off EVEN with parental permission. It is like a permanent version of those tacky March break beach scenes in the US only with far more drugs and overt sleaze. Italy's great cycling champ of the 90's just died there in a motel room(purportedly of a drug overdose) so there has been a lot in the news about cleaning it up but I doubt that will happen before mid-Augst when it will be at its worst/best depending on your tastes.

Have a wonderful vacation in the other areas!

Hi p,

We spenta day in Bologna last Sept, and are planning to spend more time there. You might find the Bologna part of my trip report helpful.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

That's funny about Rimini, especially since finding drugs in Bologna is ridiculously easy as well. Just head down to Piazza Verde, or walk around the University zone in general. I studied in Bologna for a year, and daily I would get asked "fumo?" by a dealer.

That being said, I would spend 5 days in Bologna (daytrip to Modena and Ferrara), and maybe 2 days in Parma and Ravenna each. Or all 5 days in a smaller place up in the hills like Porretta. You could do some walking up there and get out of the hot plain. The beaches in Emilia Romagna are pretty bad (ie Rimini). If you want nicer beaches head to south Marche, Sirolo is pretty famous for being a very nice beach town.