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

joannyc, I put Sfoglia Rina on my list! Thanks!

ellenem, your tour sounds like a lot of fun!

bvlenci, I put Trattoria Fantoni on my list, too! Thanks!

JBT, I appreciate your endorsement of Taste Bologna! We definitely want to take a food tour while in Bologna. And I have put Vicolo Colombina and Trattoria Battibecco on my list.

I think with the food tour and all of the restaurant endorsements, we should be all set. I only wish we had more days in Bologna so we could eat more!:)

Karen,
I've continued to do research via the Plotkin book (and the newer collaboration with Rick Steves), recommendations on Hungry Onion and here, and still haven't narrowed my list down, thanks to recent contributions on your thread.

But I've subscribed to the blog newsletter of Taste Bologna, which I do find informative.

Here are my Bologna finalists, to be paired way down!!! (we only have 5 nights!)

Trattoria Da Me (Michelin)
Da Cesari (seems like everyone praises it)
Trattoria di Via Sera (Michelin Bib Gourmand)
All’ Osteria Bottega (Michelin)
Sale Grosso (Michelin & Marija)
Caminetto d’Oro (Marija)
Sfoglia Rina (joannyc)

Maribel, thank you so much for your updated list of restaurant recommendations! And thanks for the tip about subscribing to Taste Bologna's newsletter. I will do that right now. How I wish we had more than 3 nights in Bologna!

I'd like to chime in here. My niece and I visited Italy last October. We're both foodies and I wanted to show her some of the best from each region. We started in Venice, moved on to Bologna, stayed down on Lake Trasimeno for a week and ended in Rome. I booked food tours in Venice (Venice Street Food Tour with Local Guide), Bologna (Bologna Private Food Tour with 10 Tastings) and Rome (Rome Trastevere Food Tour @ Twilight) for the first day of each stop so that we would have ideas on what to focus on while in each. Those tours highlighted just how diverse the cuisine really is. Foods in each region were not seen again in another, (not all of course). I would highly recommend food tours, otherwise you're left to your own devices and may miss something spectacular. My two cents.

Have a wonderful trip.

BlueRidgeboots, thank you for your recommendations. We definitely want to do at least one food tour on our trip. We will also visit Venice so I will check out the tours you recommend for Bologna and Venice. Thanks!

KarenWoo, to answer your earlier question--I do think Bologna offers generally high-quality traditional cuisine (and much more), and agree with bvlenci that it is fairly easy with some minimal research--to enjoy and understand without taking a group food tour, which will likely limit your options to taste the top tier. Though I suppose it could be fun. I think it depends on the kind of tourist you are.

Have a wonderful trip!

I am in a car now and its tricky for me to write bit I remember excellent meals in Bologna at:

DA CESARE
DA GIANNI
CAMINETTO D’ORO

We also dined at the classic DIANA on a recommendation from Mario Batali’s now defunct Italy good site. Very good as well, but this trip was 15 years ago, so…

The NYTIMES ran a pretty scathing opinion piece on Bologna food tourists in the past year or so. I will try to gift it here later.

We did not take a food tour but I think we got a great overview walking around and speaking with vendors at food stores and markets and also with waiters. Fred P is a wonderful resource amd there is a newer book on the food of ER that I might buy. Will link it later.

This is The NY Times article, gifted
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/09/o...smid=url-share

I do have the Plotkin book and the collaboration of Plotkin and Rick Steves, Italy for Food Lovers.
In preparation for our trip we've also watched the Stanley Tucci Bologna episode.
And some recommendations from Gambero Rosso for dining, such as this one.

Thank you to Leely2, ekscrunchy, and Maribel. Leely2, you mention what kind of tourists we are. We are independent travelers who sometimes take an occasional tour or two, either private or a small group tour. For example, we have taken a few "free guided tours", a private tour with one of Rick Steves guides in Split, hired a private driver to drive us around the Bay of Kotor. But we generally visit places and do things on our own. I've read a lot about food tours and thought it would be a fun thing to do especially in Bologna. But after reading the article Maribel gifted, I don't think we will. I do have a good list of restaurants in Bologna, including Da Cesare, Trattoria da Me, Osterio Bottega, Sfoglia Rina, Trattoria Bertozzi, and more.

Just curious. Do you dislike food tours in Bologna in particular or do you dislike them anywhere? If we wanted to take one while in Italy for fun, is there any city/guide you would recommend? We will be in Milan, Tuscany (Siena & Lucca), Florence, and Venice. I'm not saying this is something we have to do, but just curious about what you think of food tours in other cities.

Maribel, I saved the 5 best trattorias article you included. Thanks so much! I already have a few of them on my list. Is Rick Steves book helpful? I can order it from Thriftbooks for $15.00.

I'll give you my opinion before Maribel chimes in: No, the RS book does not have anything you cannot find elsewhere.

I don't. have this but it looks promising:

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO EMILIA ROMAGA FOR FOOD LOVERS

Two English-language authors who write about food in Italy are Carla Capalbo and David Downie. I own several books by each of them (Liguria, Campania, and other places) but have not checked to see if either of them cover ER, specifically Bologna. I think not.

Personally, I do not think you need a food tour in any of those places. Spend your money on restaurants that you find and ask a lot of questions there and at food markets and shops.....I'd rather take a food tour in a less-touristed city, but I might be incorrect there.... You sound savvy enough to feel things out for yourself.. Or, if you can mange a private food tour with a guide with excellent reviews from people you trust..maybe. But not a big group who will get to taste mortadella..... Again, that's just my own thinking..


And sign up for the e-mails sent by Gambero Rosso, one of the respected Italian-language food sites..you can et the names, and the gist even if you do not speak the language.

That will lead you to links like this one, which gives names...

https://www.ilrestodelcarlino.it/bologna/cosa-fare/sch-ristoranti-pizzerie-prodotti-tipici-guida-2025-yjmm7akw



I'll also take this chance to mention two authors whose books about life in italy would make excellent reading before a trip:

BEPPE SEVERGNINI
TIM PARKS

Thanks for the Amazon link! I'm going to purchase it. And I did sign up for the Gambero Rosso newsletters, as I very much like food-centered newsletters like the ones we read for Spain.
I just discovered Dissapore.
https://www.dissapore.com/trattorie/le-migliori-trattorie-di-bologna/

As usual, I agree with ekcrunchy. I probably wouldn't take a food tour in any of the places you are stopping. But that's me; I've been taking Italian language classes for over 10 years so while I wouldn't call myself fluent, there may be less "barrier to entry" for me in terms of chit chat with proprietors and workers in shops, restaurants, etc. The last time I was in Bologna was 2022. Prior to that was 2018 or 2019 (I often use Bologna as an arrival or departure airport for longer stays in Italy so visit the city for a few days). Do you have the Osterie d'Italia app? I understand it's now in English. In addition to Gambero Rosso, it can be helpful for zeroing in on places to dine.

I've enjoyed a number of the restaurants listed above (especially like Twinside for a casual lunch or even casual dinner--it is the bistrot side of Caminetto d'Oro, can read about it here: https://lacuisineus.com/italy-inside...doro-twinside/ ).

I've been to a few of these and enjoyed them but it was a while ago:
https://www.gamberorossointernationa...gambero-rosso/

Still haven't made it to Serghei!

Also, I read a fairly recent favorable report about Ahimè on HO and it sounds great: https://www.ahime.it/.

Nice to see that Da Gianni is still good.

Leely,
Thanks for reminding me of the Osterie d'Italia app. I've downloaded it.

What is the Osterie d'Italia app? I think everyone here is more knowledgeable than me regarding cuisine, food blogs, food apps, etc.

KarenWoo,
I downloaded it from the Apple Store, the App Store on your smart phone, just search "Osterie d'Italia 2025. It costs 6.99 if memory serves. I downloaded it months ago. It covers all of Italy. We'll use it as this is our food focused tour of Piemonte & Emilia Romagna--Torino, Alba, Le Langhe, Alba,, Ferrara, Modena, Bologna and Ravenna.

Maribel, I wrote this a long time ago but maybe there is something helpful within:

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...icerin-781768/

Hi eks,
As is usual, yours was the very, very, very first TR on which I took extremely copious notes, including all your dining recommendations! We had planned to stay at your Villa Favorita outside of Alba, but sadly, the hostess that you loved, Roberta, died, and it's now in different hands, but still highly recommended. We booked too late, so will be staying at another villa nearby, Casa Pavesi, in Grinzane Cavour, about a 15-minute drive south, not in the center of Alba (but we'll have a car) and in Le Langhe, La Morra, we're staying at Rocche Costamagna Art Suites, where Maitaitom stayed.

We'll have only 2 nights in the Alba vicinity and 5 nights in La Morral But I have all of your Piemonte dining and touring notes in my trip file! So many thanks!

I was just going to write that!

eks, I think I posted (somewhere) that I was in Turin in November, but my food plans were largely scrapped because my mom became quite ill while we were there together. I had arranged to spend several days there solo after she was to leave so I could enjoy some relaxing me-time. However, my much anticipated me-time coincided with the U.S. presidential election and its outcome. I suddenly didn't feel so good myself and I barely remember where and what I ate.

Nonetheless, I can't say enough good things about the staff at the NH Collection Piazza Carlina, where I had stayed in the past. They arranged for the doctor to come and help my mother on the Sunday night before her trip home to the U.S. early the next morning. The doctor himself was hilarious.

Karen
Greetings from your cousin, Harry. Glad to see that you are still traveling. Our paths may have crossed in Australia. We were there for the month of Feb. I happened to be doing some research on Tuscany and found your post. We came to Sicily at the end of April and are now in Lipari, Aoelian Islands. Tomorrow, we are taking a ferry and train, making our way north. Next extended stop will be Arezzo or Lucca, have you already been to Lucca? After that, we will pass through Bologna to go hiking in the Dolomites. Then Poland and either Sweden or Estonia. I will post some info on Hungary