Take a classic walking tour through the streets of the Bologna city center. With this guided tour, discover the history of Bologna and its major cultural attractions. Make stops at the Asinelli tower, Neptune fountain, and the Basilica of San Petronio. Meet your guide and walk through the city streets admiring the architecture and discovering the most-famous cultural attraction. See the towers of Bologna and marvel at their height and significance. Then, stroll through the Quadrilatero Market, and learn important historical facts. Make a wish at the Neptune fountain and see if it comes true. Then, gaze at the Basilica of San Petronio, as your guide shares its story and welcomes you into the city of Bologna.

Take in the incredible views from the tallest leaning medieval tower in the world, built between 1109 and 1119. The panoramic view from the Torre degli Asinelli will take your breath away.  After the tower visit, enjoy a food tasting of Bologna's typical products in the city center.

Discover the secrets of the city’s cuisine with a food tasting tour of Bologna. With a map and a set of vouchers for local food samples, taste your way through the city at your own pace. Enjoy a self-guided food tour, wander the narrow streets of the old town, take breaks for photos, and explore the points of interest suggested by the map. Collect tastings of local and traditional food along the way. Try handmade chocolates, delicious ice cream, and the famous Tigellone with typical ragù sauce, while adults will also receive a glass of wine, a coffee, and a parmesan sample. Each voucher says what it includes and where to use it, and you can scan the QR code to follow the path on google maps.

Experience the vibrant historic center of Bologna on this walking tour. Admire sights like the Basilica of San Petronio and the Loggia of Merchants. Stop to try specialties at three establishments and enjoy a glass of delectable local wine. Start your tour in Piazza del Nettuno, where your guide will share insights into Bolognese culture with you. See an excellent example of Italian Gothic architecture at the Basilica of San Petronio. Admire the two towers that are the symbol of Bologna. View the Loggia of Merchants, where commercial and trading activities have been overseen in Bologna for hundreds of years. Walk to the vibrant Quadrilatero Market. Wander through the sights and smells in this market that has been around since the middle ages.

This unique experience will let you discover Palazzo d'Accursio, one of the most iconic and impressive places in Bologna. The Clock Tower acts as the beating heart of the city, and you'll explore it using a handy audio guide. While listening to facts and stories on your smartphone, you'll make your way through the various parts of the tower until you finally reach the inner mechanism that makes the clock work. You'll also get to admire the Municipal Art Collections, full of artistic treasures that reveal the history of Bologna, and hear anecdotes about how the building has functioned over the centuries. Finish your day with a tasting of typical products in the city center to get the full Bologna experience! 

From art to history to good food, discover Bologna in all its aspects on this private trip with round-trip private transportation from Florence. Enjoy a guided walking tour through the city, a 2-course restaurant lunch, and tickets for the iconic San Luca Express. The private transfer will pick you up directly from your accommodation in Florence and take you to Bologna’s city center, from where you will start your tour in the city. You will be greeted by a staff member upon arrival, who will introduce you to your private guide. With your guide, discover the center of Bologna, admiring some of the most beautiful and important buildings of the city. Visit the Church of San Petronio, patron saint of the city, which was the seat of some important historical events, such as the imperial coronation of Charles V in 1530. From there, move on to admire the courtyard of the Archiginnasio, one of the oldest and most relevant libraries in the city. The guide will then take you to the historic market, also known as Quadrilatero, where the street names still echo the old crafts of the past: Via Caprarie, Via Pescherie, and more. Witness time that has stopped in these history-rich spots. Continue toward the Asinelli Tower, the symbol and bulwark of the city, of which the guide will tell you stories and anecdotes. If walking also makes you hungry, after your journey through the streets of Bologna, you’ll settle in a typical inn where you can relax while enjoying a 2-course lunch in the name of tradition: cold cuts and a typical dish of your choice, accompanied by a glass of wine and water. After lunch, set out to discover the famous hills of Bologna aboard the San Luca Express. Sit back on this classic train as it takes you to the Basilica of San Luca. This imposing complex has dominated the city since 1195 and has become a symbol of home for locals. The train will then take you directly back to the city center, from where you’ll be picked up once again via private transportation to head back to Florence after your full day in Bologna.

Be led on an exciting self-guided tour around Bologna's Old Town while playing a mobile-based quest with your friends and family. Solve clues and discover the fascinating history behind the monuments and attractions. Download the app, go to the starting point, and begin the adventure. Follow clues that will take you back in time to learn about the origins of some of the city's most iconic buildings and tourist sites. Here's a sneak peek at the storyline: “You’re an emerging writer from London, whose debut novel was a success. But now writers’ block has struck. The year is 1815. [...] In your despair, you’ve come to Bologna. You heard the city’s many secrets and artistic flair inspire many artists. You hope to be next...." Unlock the secret stories of the places you visit as you solve the problem and guess the answers. Learn about the seven secrets that cloak Bologna in mystery, the streets of the Quadrilatero, and more. Use the clues to lead you from one site to another. Each clue provides you with exact directions so you won't need a map, GPS, or guide. Complete the tour in about 1.5 hours, however, there’s no time limit, allowing you to go at your own pace. Play as a group or split into smaller groups/teams and compete against the others. Each person can also play on their own, separate from the group, and meet the group at the end of the tour.

Bologna is home to some of the best food, the most sublime beauty, and the richest history in all of Italy. Yet it’s rarely on the tourist radar. On this walking tour, award-winning author Frank Bures will give you a taste of authentic Italian culture, show you the city’s many historical sites, and tell you the stories most travelers don’t hear. Throughout the walk, he’ll share anecdotes from the time he spent in Bologna as an exchange student in the 1990s, where he came of age as a global citizen. Starting at the Neptune Fountain, you’ll walk through Piazza Maggiore to San Petronio Basilica where you’ll see the world’s largest sundial. You’ll then make your way to the Two Towers, one of which garnered a mention in Dante’s Inferno, and stroll beneath the famous porticos that became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2021. En route to the city’s culinary epicenter, the Quadrilatero, he’ll show you where the 1902 murder that dominated world headlines for three years took place. He’ll also tell you about the case of a 1980 train station bombing by right-wing terrorists that killed 85 people, before you walk back to San Petronio to learn about Michelangelo’s lost statue of Pope Julius II. Finally, you’ll loop past Piazza Galvani to hear about scientific experiments that electrified frogs before heading back where you started. Along the way, you’ll also have the chance to: • Hear about the different Italian dialects Frank encountered while studying here, including Bolognese • See the Roxy Bar, which was featured in the Italian superstar Vasco Rossi’s song Vita Spericolata (The Reckless Life) • Discover how the world’s oldest university got its start • Take in the “Seven Churches” of Santo Stefano • Find out how an ancient painting once saved the city • Learn the secret to cooking good Italian food • Be transported back to the time Aerosmith visited the city • Relive the glory of Bologna’s canals which once rivaled Venice’s • Understand why the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio called Niccolò dell’Arca’s Lamentation for the Dead Christ sculpture a “scream in stone” Join Frank Bures for this lighthearted 60-minute stroll through the ancient – and more recent – past of Bologna, a place that art critic John Berger once called “an improbable city.” PHOTO CREDITS: Photos of San Luca, Piazza Maggiore, Piazza Maggiore at night, Neptune at night, Santo Stefano and “Speaking Bolognese" courtesy of Bologna Welcome. All other photos by the author.

Explore the reasons behind the many names of Bologna. Admire the red roofs of the city that are the reason for it being called "the red city." Feast on the delectable cuisine that gives Bologna the name "the fat city." Marvel at the forest of over 100 towers that once dotted the landscape of the city, also known as "the towered." Walk the ground of the world's oldest university, the reason that Bologna is sometimes referred to as "the cultured". Learn about each facet of the city on this walking tour, as well as its history and stories, like how the rebellious Bolognese stopped the city from becoming the Vatican. Discover how the Fountain of Neptune's sculptor got away with making Neptune seem particularly well-endowed despite prohibition from the church while at the Piazza del Nettuno. Gaze up at the Whispering Gallery under the Torre dell Arengo while being told about how star-crossed lovers were able to murmur sweet nothings to each other without their other romantic partners knowing. Hear about the legends of Le Tre Frecce and catch a glimpse of how Bologna once resembled Venice with its network of canals and rivers while passing Canale delle Moline. Then, walk down Via Indipendenza and see what it would have been like in the post-Risorgimento period. Have the opportunity to see San Petronio, the largest and most important church of the city before strolling down Via Rizzoli, named after a 19th-century physician. Hear about Giuseppe Garibaldi, the hero of two countries. Pass by Il Pincio, the entrance to Parco della Montagnola, a French style garden commissioned by Napoleon. Take in Garisenda and Asinelli, Bologna’s Two Towers. Stand beside Porta Galliera, where a retreating Austrian army left the city following a rebellion by the Bolognese in 1848. Learn about the city’s history from the Etruscans and the Lombards, including the chaotic factional fighting between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Discover the Quadrilatero neighbourhood with its cafes and restaurants, and find out about the seven churches of Santo Stefano. Finally, explore the culinary wonders of the city responsible for iconic dishes like lasagna, ragu, and tagliatelle. These recipes were born and fiercely guarded in the chamber of commerce. Then see the cafés, restaurants and shops where you can allow your tummy and taste buds to be tempted by these culinary marvels.

Start the tour at Archiginnasio Palace, which serves as the main office building for the oldest university in the world – the University of Bologna. After, walk to Piazza Maggiore, where the Basilica of San Petronio is located, known for its imposing facade. Continue to Piazza del Nettuno, which is surrounded by three important administrative buildings: Palazzo d'Accursio, Palazzo del Podestà, and Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo. Afterward, continue to the base of Bologna's iconic towers, the Asinelli Tower and the Garisenda Tower. Learn about the history and features of these imposing structures. Next, continue to the wooden arch of Corte Isolani and see the Oratory of Santa Cecilia. Admire the exterior of the church of San Giacomo Maggiore, before concluding the tour in the area of Quadrilatero, which is home to many markets and shops.