Florence or Bologna
 

I'm flying to Bologna with a friend at the end of June for 4 nights. The question is where shall we stay. <BR>We will be travelling light and by train. We both love Italy, its people and its food. We are not great fans of Rome, although beautiful we felt like London tourists, being herded from one great site to the next. We loved Naples, with its noise, vibrancy and great, great food. <BR>We are 35 year old, single women who want to see some sites, but really take in the atmosphere of where we are. We enjoy hours of walking around a city and as you can gather we enjoy good food and good wine. <BR>We can either base ourselves for 4 nights in one place or move around on a daily basis. <BR>Any suggestions of where to stay in the area of Bologna?

Good morning, Kerry <BR>Have stayed in Bologna twice, it is a <BR>wonderful city with equally wonderful <BR>food. We have stayed at the hotel ROMA <BR>and AL CAPPELLO RUSSO, prefering the Roma, both are about a half block from <BR>the Pza Maggiore. Two recommendations <BR>for excellant reasonable food are LA MELA, via de Fusari,5 with excellant <BR>pizza and fish dishes and TRATTORIA <BR>DA ADOLFO,corte Galluzi, 7 about one <BR>block south of Pza Maggorie. It is <BR>a ma and pa ristorante with about 7 or 8 tables, would suggest making reservations for evening dinner. <BR>another interesting area are the shops <BR>east of the Pza and also north up the via Indipenzia. <BR>An excellant guide on Bologna by Gallimard Guides, 5,rue Sebastien Bottin <BR>75007 Paris would be handy. Here are <BR>a couple of URL's to surf. <BR>www.immagica.it/bologna/ <BR>www.unibol.it/ <BR>www.comune.bologna.it/ <BR>www.tamburini.com/ (store is east of <BR>Pza. Maggiore, go just to look in windows.) <BR>Good surfing, Richard of Hickory Hills, IL&gt;..

I second that. For some reason Bologna is very underrated by tourists. The large and very well preserved historical centre with its red brick palaces and over 20 miles of arcaded streets is a match for any Italian city, if you ask me. Besides the people are friendly and the food is great. I must say I've enjoyed my time there much more than in Florence, which is always terribly crowded with tourists.

Don't miss

Oops--sorry. Don't miss the walk up to the church above the city, San Lucca. The walk begins off of Porta Zambone-- <BR>there's a great view from the top, the church is neat, and its a nice change from museums. <BR>The restaurants are all fabulous-- La Mela is a great choice. Also, don't miss the pizza at "Piedigrotta" on Via Santo Stefano--its amazing. The nightlife in the city pretty much revolves around the Irish pub scene, so buy yourself a Guiness and enjoy!