Mosaics in Ravenna - advance tickets? And food tour in Bologna recommendations
 

Hello,
We are staying in Bologna this May during our Italian adventure, and we plan on taking a daytrip to Ravenna to see the mosaics. Is it necessary to purchase tickets in advance? Would you recommend a guided tour? Are there audioguides available?

Also looking for food tour recommendations for Bologna. We have never done a food tour anywhere, but I think Bologna would be the perfect place.

Thank you so much!

KarenWoo,
We are also planning a day trip to Ravenna from Bologna in September, and there are 2 sites that do require timed tickets: Battistero Neoniano and Galla Placidia

This is the web page where I will purchase our tickets
https://www.ravennamosaici.it/en/entrance-time-and-prices/
For us it will be a 9-hour day (via train) with a leisurely lunch break, but we can't squeeze in an overnight, unfortunately. From my notes, I see that visiting hours to monuments start at 9 am and end at 6:30-6:45 pm (last entrance).I'm considering a Bologna food tour with either Taste Bologna or Italian Days.

I agree completely with Culinary Backstreets for Barcelona, Porto and Lisbon but they don't have an offering yet in Bologna.

Maribel, thank you so much! I guess we will purchase advance tickets for all the mosaics we want to see since 2 of them require timed entry tickets.

And thanks for the food tour recommendations! I really like Taste Bologna. Think we will go with one of their tours. Do you know generally how far in advance we should reserve the food tour?

Hi KarenWoo,
I don´t think too far in advance. May a couple of weeks or just a week?
Since we don't go until early September, I haven't gotten around to booking the food tour yet...still knee deep in research for our trip: Starting in Piedmont---Turin, Alba, La Morra in Le Langhe for wine touring, (thank you maitaitom!!!) Parma, day trip to Modena, Bologna, Ravenna, then home to Madrid from Bologna.

Hi Maribel,
We haven't been to Italy since the 1970's! So I'm very excited about our trip - 5 weeks in northern and central Italy: Milan, Parma, CT, Lucca, Siena, Florence, Bologna with the daytrip to Ravenna, Venice, Verona, Merano, Varenna, and then back to Milan for one night before our flight home to Boston.

That's my favorite amount of time----5 weeks!!! Lucky you! I haven't been back to Italy in far too long. Your itinerary sounds divine!

I would not recommend a food tour in Bologna. It would be better to do a little research on regional specialties and get some restaurant recommendations.

There is a big central market in Bologna where you can buy many specialties, but it's become touristy, and it was always crowded.

Agreed.

We had a great time on the Italian Days food tour a few years ago. Our guide was so enthusiastic and passionate about the tour you couldn't help but have fun. I do, however, see the tour has gotten pretty pricey.

bvlenci and Leely2, can you tell me specifically why you don't recommend a food tour in Bologna? I do have quite a few restaurant recommendations. We've never done a food tour so I thought it would be something fun to do.

In 2019, I was in Parma for a few days and saw a food tour advertised at the tourist info.

Even though it had a silly name—Tasty Bus from Maestro Travel Experience—I decided to chance it. It cost significantly less than the Italian Days tour people take from Bologna all the time, and had option for half day—parmigiano reggiano cheese and prosciutto factories—or full day—add on lunch and balsamic vinegar.
Looks like Tasty Bus full day is now 158 euro/half day 112 euro. (My 2019 tour was 95 euro!)

My tour was pre-pandemic so you might have a different experience than I did since so much time has passed. I was in Parma in early-March and bought tickets for the tour the day before. At the appointed time and meeting place, a woman appeared who introduced herself as one of the owners of the company, Elisa. No one else had signed up for the tour, so instead of taking a van, she and I would go in her car to the factories. I told her I was shocked that she had not cancelled. She said she thought this was good advertising.

She explained all about the processes to make these special cheeses, hams, and vinegars, including climate, geography, and all the influences. At each stop we dressed in protective clothing and then she toured me through the entire facility. We stood right next to cheesemakers as they stirred the vats of cheese and stood among soaring shelves stacked with wheels of parmigiano reggiano. I have hilarious photos of myself in a room surrounded by hams. At each location we had samples of different products to try and an opportunity to make purchases. Our lunch stop was at a countryside place, delicious and simple, and at the end we went into the kitchen to thank the chef.

Because it was just the two of us, we had plenty of time to talk about other things as we drove through the countryside. Her enthusiasm for her work was evident so I learned all about how she started the Tasty Bus a few years previously and business was growing tremendously. (When she approached the cheesemaker with the idea that she bring tourists each day, he could not imagine any tourist wanting to watch him make cheese. At this point he decided it was working well.) Even in 2019, during busier seasons she had a team of guides and vans to handle the tours.

I had a great time, but I pretty much had a private tour with the creator of the concept.

The tours are at 9:30a, so it is great for a person staying over in Parma.

It might be fun, but it won't feature the best of the local cuisine. If you were organising a food tour of your own city, you'd have to find places that can accommodate a group tour, and specialties that appeal to the average tourist. If you had a friend or relative coming to your town, you'd probably have different, more personalized recommendations.

In a city like Bologna, where food is practically a cult, you should seek out the best

bvlenci, do you have some restaurant recommendations? These are the restaurants on my list: Osterio Bottega, Da Cesare, Trattoria Bertozzi, Quadrilatero (an old food market), Trattoria dal Biassanot, and Sette Tavoli.

Karen I'm amazed you haven't been to Italy recently since you seem to have gone everywhere!

Now THAT is a vacation! All should be quite enjoyable, except perhaps the Cinque Terre, only because of it being overrun by hordes of people from April till November. Enjoy your fabulous 5 weeks. At least Boston finally has direct flights to Milano. Our vacations will be at least 15 hours longer because of it.

I know:)
The one and only time we were in Italy was sometime in the 1970's when we spent a week in Rome and did a daytrip to Florence. We always wanted to return but as everyone says, life gets in the way - home ownership, babies, college education, weddings, etc. - all the good things in life. And then so many wonderful places beckon!! So, finally, we are returning. I can't wait!!!

Sfoglia Rina!

Il Quadrilatero is an old traditional food market, but it's become a tourist must-see. The last time we were there was over five years ago, and it was very crowded with tourists. We ate a mediocre lunch at one of the little lunch spots, I don't remember which.

We have close relatives in Bologna. When we go there, we eat with them, and don't usually visit the same place twice. The last time we were there, we went to Trattoria Fantoni. It's an unpretentious little trattoria, where we ate very well.

KarenWoo,

We are planning our return trip to Bologna this June and your post caught my attention immediately.

We spent a week in Bologna and it remains one of our favorite destinations. There are so many great things about the city but I suppose it begins and ends with the food. During our week we took two food tours.

Italian Days was very enjoyable. A full day for sure - beginning at a Parmigiano Reggiano producer. The tour was well organized and the focus on the producers was interesting. We are happy we took this tour and we received our money’s worth.

i endorse your choice of Taste Bologna. Six years later it remains a highlight. We took the Classic Bologna Tour. We met our guide and as it turned out, we were the only participants. Sarah, our guide, was so gracious. She carried on as if we had arranged for a private tour. A stop at Le Sfogline to meet the sisters that are the shop owners and still make tortellini by hand was priceless. Our lunch at Bologna’s oldest osteria was curated by Sarah. It was not at all as I expected. I am tempted to take this tour again!

For restaurants, I highly recommend Vicolo Colombina and Trattoria Battibecco.

Good travels!

JBT