wvdthree

Hello all,
My seventeen year old son and I are spending the last two weeks of June in Italy. Likely a full week in Emilia Romagna and another full week in Umbria or Le Marche. He is obsessed with Italian sports cars and this is driving our decision to stay in Emilia Romagna. We will be touring Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati all located around Bologna. Not sure yet if we will piece these tours together on our own or take an all day tour run by companies that provide all guiding/transport,visits all three car manufacturers and stop for a lunch.

My central question for this post is, where in Emilia Romagna would be worth basing ourselves for a week? In Bologna or within an hour or so of Bologna for the car tour day/days. We will have a car as our preference is to have a base and take daytrips to explore villages and smaller towns within 1.5 hours of our base. Our main interests are food, photography, cars, architecture and just hanging out. We are not big museum, church visitors. I am an ex French trained chef and a retired photographer. We are thinking we would like to vary our experience by styaing in a village/smallsih town for one week and one week more rural. For the “in town” expereince we are thinking of possilbly Bologna. Have fresh coffee/pastries in the AM down the street, walk to restaurants some nights etc..

Is Bologna a good choice to base ourselves out of for a week? Will finding lodging with parking be possible even if it’s not right on site? I am aware of ZTL zones. Other possible choices; Modena, Ravenna, Ferrara? Are any of these towns better suited fo having sufficient day tripping opportunities for the week? I’m quite certain we will be wanting to tour some parmesan/balsamic producers and maybe take a cooking class. I’m not entirely opposed to breaking up a week but generally prefer the style of settling in somewhere for a week. I could go on but I I’ll leave it here for now as I think I’ve provided enough background for some informative responses. Thanks in advance for all input!

Best,
wvdthree

TDudette

Welcome wvdthree, DH and I made Bologna a base and used train travel to the towns you described (except Modena-but that's do-able also). You could totally do without a car there.

DH and I loved the looks of Ravenna very much and I thought if we ever returned to that area, we'd base there. Others can weigh in about the ZTL zones there. We saw a sign in Bologna and had to stop and try to figure out who could drive when. Our Italian was very basic.

I'm going to vote Ravenna.

bon_voyage

I’ve spent three nights in Bologna with a day trip to Ravenna and a week in a rental outside Todi in Umbria. Bologna would be an excellent hub for travel to other cities and towns by train. While it’s a big city, its historical center is compact and offers a plethora of food options. Your 17-year old might also enjoy the buzzy vibe, especially at night, of its student population. I would not relish the thought of daytripping by car from the city center of Bologna whereas that would work well from many places in Umbria.

progol

We recently stayed in Bologna and loved it. It’s got a wonderful energy, and a large student population thanks to the University of Bologna. As bon_voyage mentioned, it is an excellent hub. I wouldn’t want to have a car in the city, though.

I liked Ravenna but it didn’t have nearly as much energy and diversity compared to Bologna.

dreamon

Bologna is not really a small town but it does make a great base if wanting to use public transport. I really enjoyed staying there last year. Having a car would be a disadvantage though, I think, although maybe I say that because I stayed so centrally. We also stayed in Ferrara and visited Ravenna for the day. All were great places to visit but if I were to return, I'd choose Bologna (or possibly Parma which I've yet to visit).

wvdthree

Hi all,
Yes , I was saying conflicting things when I said we want to stay in a village/small..ish town in Emilia Romagna. What I meant was that that type of place is where we would like to base ourselves in either Umbria or Le Marche. In Emilia Romagna we would like to stay in either Modena/Ferrara/Bologna/Ravenna. I spent hours last night on Air bnb and VRBO looking at both Modena and Bologna and it can be done with a car however the number of flats available are of course more limited than if we did not have a car. A few have parking on site but most claim to have parking nearby, granted often a paid service.

Are there areas of Bologna or Modena that you would suggest looking in? Thanks again for all responses!!!!

Best,
wvdthree

bilboburgler

If you want a city then Bologna is the place. If you want student life Modena and Bologna are the places. If you like cycles Ferrara is the place.

Btw Modena university is big on car engineering students.

thursdaysd

I have twice stayed in Ferrara and day tripped to Ravenna, definitely preferred Ferrara. Haven't made it to Bologna. Slept here both times: Benvenuti

annhig

<<We will have a car as our preference is to have a base and take daytrips to explore villages and smaller towns within 1.5 hours of our base.>>

I was looking for hints as to why you would have a car and finally found out why, but IMO that would still not justify having one full time. The train system is so comprehensive that there is barely anywhere that you would want to see that you can't get to by train and if there is you could hire a car for a day to go and see it. That would give you a much wider choice of accommodation and make most of your travel much cheaper and easier.

I would agree that Bologna would be a great base and there are an almost infinite number of places that you can visit by train from there, for example Modena where the Enzo Ferrari centre is based which with your interests you are sure to enjoy. And you are sure to be able to organise a trip to the other car manufacturers though the TI. As for food, the chef in you will have some of the best food in Italy to experience.

Hope that helps!

Southam

Dining in Bologna is exciting. But as one of the earliest university centres it has a large student population searching out the pubs and pizza that young people like your son enjoy. Organized day tours hit the Ferrari and other hot motorhead locations but also visit foodstuff producers such as balsamic vinegar and Modena prosciutto.
https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/