Trip reports for Bologna Italy
 

Anyone have any trip reports for BOlogna and day trips from Bologna including Parma, Modena, Ferrara, Ravenna, Florence, Padova and Mantova.

Looking for Food, and attractions mainly. (is there bike rentals?)

Ravenna is an easy daytrip by train from Bologna, visited mainly to view its amazing mosaics. Ravenna is in a very flat area and is a huge bicycling town. Young and old, you'll see everyone cycling through the center of town. When I was in Ravenna in 2001, there were even public bikes available on bike racks. Anyone could take one and just return it later to another designated rack.

This might be of interest to you:

Northern Italy Album:
http://www.photoworks.com/share/shar...BBB1&cb=PW

Venice Album:
http://www.photoworks.com/share/shar...BBB1&cb=PW

Trip Report: Venice, Bologna, Ravenna and Lake Como
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34522338

We were in Bologna last month and loved it! We stayed at the Al Capello Rosso - a small 4 star property. Our vacation was centered mainly around food, so I can give you some insight into that..We did day trips around Bologna to Parma, Modena. We stayed in Florence for 4 days after that. The food in Bologna is amazing...and cheap too. We ate at the Montegrappa Da Nello - a small family run restaurant - amazing food and amazing prices. A must visit in Parma would be the local farmers market where we found some of the best cheese (Parma of course!!). Modena was quaint but we prefered Parma over Modena (most people prefer Modena)...In Florence, you must visit La Giostra if you like truffles...their white truffle pasta is to die for. Another standout restaurant was Tratorria Garga, run by a Canadian lady and her Italian husband. Excellent food! Oh yes, outside of Bologna is this great restaurant called San Domenico, a bit pricey but worth the drive...happy eating!

Any of the main cities of Emilia-Romagna are great off-the-beaten-path cities to go to. Getting good food should NOT be a problem -- Emilia-Romagna is considered the gastronomic center of Italy. In Modena, you can visit the Ferrari museum. In Parma, there's parmigiano, prosciutto, and the Accademia Barilla. You can call up the consortiums for parmigiano and prosciutto and arrange for guided tours of the corresponding factories. [Having 2.5-year-old parmigiano-reggiano at 10:00 AM, with a glass of frizzante Colli di Parma wine, is great ;-) ] Have some mortadella in Bologna, some aceto balsamico tradizionale in Modena and Reggio Emilia, some prosciutto and parmigiano in Parma, and stracotto d'asino con polenta in Piacenza. Literally just eat your way up or down the Via Emilia!

The main cities along the Via Emilia, plus Ferrara, all lie in the Po plain, so the land is very flat and very bikeable. I believe that there are bike rentals available.

This recent thread may be helpful . . .
"Padova and Bologna Attractions -- Help Prioritizing"
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34653532