The park sits on a noticeable rise (mountain, montagne), and it is easy to get lost in it>

Can't see any mountain in the photos - why?

It's OK to be wrong once in a while - you give such great information - really superb but if you get something wrong once chill and admit it! I mean such awesomely impressive info - I admit to being a bit ticked off when I said there was a park there and you retorted there was no park when there is a big rather pleasant park (again see photos).

Cheers

What I said was not wrong in response to the question posed by the original poster, which is:

"We plan a day trip to Bologna to wander through the porticoes and food markets. What's the walk like from Bologna Centrale to Piazza Maggiore?"

To suggest that the OP takes his family on a detour away from the porticoes to walk through a park that is not on the route to the piazza Maggiore is to steer the OP wrong. The OP will be traveling with family on a day trip. The most direct and pleasant walking option is the porticoes of the via dell'Indipendenza, and it will take them swiftly to the areas of interest to them, before the markets close for the pausa.

I shop frequently in the pizza 8 Agosto in Bologna, which sits right at the southern entrance to the Parco della Montagnola. The unsavory nature of the denizens of the park, who hang out on the steps, and the unkempt, overgrown shrubbery is its own deterrent from venturing further. When I am in Bologna, I am usually carrying valuables, not all of which I can hide. On the advice of locals and my own common sense, I would not walk though the park, even during the day. There is no reason to and plenty of reason not to do so.

Photos do not show what I am talking about and if you have not been in Bologna in recent years you may not fully grasp how much affect austerity has had on public services.

I am giving the OP excellent first hand advice to stick to the major thoroughfare for the day trip. The Parco della Montagnola is not a "treat". It is a dodgy detour and should be avoided (as natives of Bologna have posted on TripAdvisorr).

You and I were posting at the same time.

I don't know what pictures you are looking at. Do you not see all the steps at the city-side entrance to the park? Again, the name itself refers to the elevation of the area.

If you read Italian, or know how to use Google translate, this will broaden your picture

http://www.bolognatoday.it/cronaca/m...a-bologna.html

In doing a simple google search to get that story about the park being a known hangout for drug dealers, google also kicked up the story of another drug arrest in the park just this morning

http://www.adnkronos.com/fatti/crona...cD9PbX7uO.html

There is really no reason for a family getting off the train in Bologna to walk out of their way, climb stairs in July, and walk through a park overgrown with shrubbery and filled with drug dealers and drug busts to get to the piazza Maggiore and the food markets. It is not an area for pleasant wandering. It is to be avoided.

Finally, since pictures are worth 1,000 words, here is a photo essay done by an Italian newspaper of people shooting up drugs at the entrance to the parco della Montagnola in broad daylight and leaving their drug paraphernalia tossed in the park

http://multimedia.quotidiano.net/?ti...o&media=9419#1

WOW! This really got off topic. My family is not going to walk through any parks - we will walk along the porticoes. We will get hot and sweaty but we will enjoy our day in Bologna. Now, you two need to chill! I would appreciate any additional tips anyone can provide, but let's drop the debate.

jeep - lots of folks read these threads who may be planning trips there too - so info is given at times not for an OP but for an in general crowd. Plus it's hard when I say you could walk thru a park and someone shouts back 'there is no park there' when there is - yes it at times escalates and in retropsect should not have.

But keep in mind that if me and sandra had not topped your thread several times it would be in Fodor's black hole, never to have surfaced again.

OK this is your private thread - next time mark that at the top. Good-bye.

So to reroute from the silly one-upmanship...
OP I'm not sure about the ages of the kids in your group-but I wouldn't take anyone too young up the tower. Here's a pic of the interior tower asinelli pictures
I climbed it and it was worth the experience/view, but I have heights, so the flight after flight of steep wooden "going to the attic" steps rendered me unable to focus on anyone else. I also found the railing somewhat low. That being said as we came out a euro family was going in with their young one-they said he had done many towers, so different strokes I guess.

Sorry pic didn't post I guess you have to google it!

jeep61,

Go "chill" yourself and save the lecture. You didn't come back until now to reveal anything more about your plans. My posts were not "off topic" and I wasn't engaging in a debate. I kept posting in this thread so your family would be sure to know not to take the "tip" to walk your family through the park as a "treat" because I was concerned about your safety in Bologna.

Read up on Bologna and figure out what you want to do.

(Not to leave it on a totally irritable note, since I would really like your kids get something out a trip to Bologna other than just a celebration of consumerism: What is likely to make the most impression is the Anatomical Thetare in the Archiginnasio. It's right near the piazza Maggiore, and the historic markets.

This is a very meaninful room in Bologna, which is Europe's oldest university and center of higher learning. The Anatomical Theater was blown to splinters during WW2 and paintstakingly reconstructed. You enter it through the great library complex, right at the piazza Galvani. The statue of Galvani in the middle of the piazza is worth noting, because Galvani is the man who gave us Galvanized metal and early theories of electricity. Bologna is a place that erects statues to heroes of patient, determined learning. That is the heart of the city, and I hope your family is impressed by its long and illustrious history.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomi..._Archiginnasio

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/a...-archiginnasio

http://www.archiginnasio.it/english/palace/visita6.htm

Can you buy boloney in Bologna - serious question - maybe in the neat covered market in the town center - to which culinary lovers make special pilgrims.

the university area dominates the old town - I walked thru several of the halls - kind of neat in their old-style architecture, etc.

jeep 61 - bus tickets like all over Italy may have to be bought before boarding the bus - caffes and tobacconists sell them or there may be machines at main stops - but sandralist may have covered this above and may well know more - you probably have to cancel the tickets yourself upon boarding by sticking them in a cancelling machine - check on special senior and youth/child fares too. again Sandra may have more recent info - but don't automatically hop on the bus assuming the driver or someone will sell you a ticket.

There are spot checks with fines for folks not having valid tickets, like all over Europe - be sure you have a cnacelled ticket (some friends recently in another city said they thought the buses were free because everyone was just hopping on without having a ticket - so they hopped on too and came home telling me the buses were free - well most frequent riders have some kind of long bus pass they only show when the spot checks by controllers happen.

Everyone usually needs a ticket though under certain ages may not. Again Sandra is an expert of Bologna - I'm just giving the general deal on buses in Italy and they may have changed but keep in mind if not walking - the walk is not that far and as always to me it's what you see in between the main sights when going by foot that may be some of the most cherished memories - like those gelatos for the kiddos.

Have fun and be careful in Italian train stations where folks may target obvious foreing tourists with distraction techniques - 3 may come up and ask you about a map they have - how to get to wherever but the other two may be lifting a bad or pickpocketing you and in crowded areas in stations.

Not sure Bologna is as bad as say Rome in this regards but if their parks are that bad the criminals have better targets than those walking their dogs thru parks - unfortunately anyone coming up to you is probably up to no good. Be sure to carry all your valuables in a secure money belt and leave the family jewels at home.

I have to agree -- jeep many threads go sideways and people of good will can disagree; just take what you want and leave the rest. Many of us are onlookers soaking up info relevant to our travels.

Sandralist and PalenQ are we talking about the park to the left as your back is to the station? It seems pleasant from the deck of hotel I Portici and I am sorry to hear about its seedy elements.

A friend and I are meeting up in Bologna for a day/night (arrival from CA) before our course in Ravenna; any thoughts on walkabiliy of route from train station to Hotel Metropolitan?

The best baloney I've found so far in Bologna is Pasquini. I looked around and there were more out-of-the-way shops in the center that had it for close to 50% less than big-name places. The Pasquini (by the way, there it's 'mortadella', not'baloney') is great for just the right amount of oily richness, perfect texture, and nice garlic.

annw,

Yes, that is the park that PalenQ suggested. And just to be clear, the OP's original inquiry self-described a family with kids with a plan to wander in Bologna, and explicitly solicited a range of opinions about the salbriousness of the walk from the train station to piazza Maggiore, implying being interested in alternate ways of getting there if people had bad feelings about the route. It is not taking the thread sideways to discuss in detail what the OP asked about!

As for Ravenna, where exactly is your hotel? The only Hotel Metropolitan I'm coming up with on Google is on one of the beaches in Ravenna, which is quite far from the train station.

annw,

If you are staying at the Metropolitan hotel in Bologna, it is very easy to walk there from the station.

You just need to get to Via dell'Indipendenza: exit the station, cross the street, go left a few metres, then turn right at the traffic junction and you're there. You'll see the Porta Galliera immediately in front, pass it and continue walking. After 10 minutes, maybe less, you have the tiny via dell'Orso on your right. The hotel is right there on your left once your enter the street. Walking instructions should be posted on its website.

I stayed at this hotel in 2010 and took a few daytrips by train, always walking to and from the train station. My 5-day stay was excellent.

Sorry, annw, I misread your post, thinking you were asking about Ravenna, and Keren is correct about how easy it is to walk from the station in Bologna if you are not carrying heavy luggage. That said, I would probably take a taxi if it was rotten weather or after dark.

http://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/pla...a%20Montagnola

anyway appreciating snadra's warnings the park is a veritable historic landmark - dating back to the 1660s Napleon later ordred it laid out in a French motif - anyway for the few folks into historic parks check this one out - take sandra's stark warnings to heart.

It seems to be a worthwhile historic site in its own right.

Thanks Keren and yes, Karen and Sandralis,t that's where we are staying first night after flight from western US. I guess we will see how fatigued we are, but we are both good walkers and will only have carry-on compliant roller bags.

Ravenna is next day. We are trying a new place, B&B al Teatro, in Ravenna, this time.

Sandralist the sideways comment was general, that threads often take on a life of their own, and in doing so often turn up interesting info (like Keren's advice above).