Having powered through months of early starts, dark mornings and long hours hunched over desks up and down the UK, we couldn’t wait for the early May Bank Holiday weekend to finally come round. It meant our first proper trip of 2018!
With a wedding to attend on Wednesday, we needed a destination easily accessible from the North of England. We were looking for decent flight connections – we wanted to travel Saturday-Tuesday and make the most of 3 nights away.
We went into battle armed with Skyscanner, coming up with some bizarre routes before eventually deciding to return to Italy. It is a real favourite for both of us individually, but somewhere we hadn’t travelled together as a couple.
We sorted the route. We would spend one night in Bologna on Saturday before heading north on the train to Padova for two nights. Padova is wonderfully situated for a day trip to Venice and pretty handy for our return flight from Treviso airport. So it was a classic Matt & Lucy long-weekend itinerary. The aim – as ever – was to maximise the short time available to us.
This post will focus on our time in Bologna – which probably amounted to just under 24 hours in total! Unfortunately, visitors to Italy often overlook this beautiful University city. Most travellers typically flock to Florence or Venice – a short train journey away.
However, Bologna is well-deserving of a visit in its own right. It is widely regarded as one of the culinary capitals of Italy. It is an absolute paradise for foodies on any budget. There are hundreds of excellent bars and restaurants waiting to be discovered among the maze of medieval alleyways and ancient piazzas.
Day One: Beginning our weekend in Bologna
Saturday morning began with a traditional early wake-up. We put the finishing touches to our packing. We also made sure that Lucy had enough time to triple-check that we had turned off every single plug, and that the iron wasn’t about to leap out of the cupboard and burn the flat down whilst we were away.
With the iron successfully secured, we caught the train to Manchester Airport for our 10:40 flight.
We were, once again, using Ryanair for both legs of the trip. The infamous Irish airline still has by far the best choice of routes from Leeds and Manchester. Ryanair is usually fine once you’ve boarded the plane – and this flight was no exception. Flying to Italy is always a treat if you get a window seat – it guarantees amazing views of the Alps.
Arriving in Bologna
After a slightly bumpy landing, we were finally through Bologna airport mid-afternoon. As airports go, it’s a pretty decent one to arrive at. It has a few good shops and eateries just in case you’re starving once you’re off the plane. More importantly, there is prominent signage to help guide you straight to the airport bus!
The Bologna airport bus provides a shuttle service between the airport and the central railway station. It takes around 30 minutes – an excellent alternative to splashing out on a taxi. We quickly bought tickets from the machines inside the terminal, and we were finally on our way.
The flaw in our plan was that our accommodation was a 30-minute walk from the station, and Bologna was humid! This made for a sweaty trek across town, followed by a freshen up once we’d got to our room. We stayed at the lovely Ramo Rosso di Paolo Natalini, a small B&B just outside Bologna’s main old town. Run by brilliantly friendly hosts (who made a lovely breakfast!), it was a real shame we only had one night. It would have been a wonderful place to relax for a few days.
By the time we’d sorted ourselves out, time was marching on. It was heading towards late afternoon, and we’d barely got any time in Bologna as it was. Oops. Full steam ahead towards the bustling centre.
Wandering the streets of Bologna
Thankfully, for anyone on a flying visit to Bologna, it’s the sort of city where just wandering the streets and taking in the atmosphere is probably the best activity of all. In Bologna, all (Roman) roads lead to Piazza Maggiore – the main city square at the heart of everything. Using Piazza Maggiore as a base, you have easy access to wander and take in some of the best areas Bologna has to offer.
We loved the Quadrilatero district – a tightly packed mass of alleyways into which dozens of market stalls, delis, cafes and restaurants are crammed (often alongside massive slabs of ham and cheese). We could seriously have spent a whole week just going from door to door trying out all the food.
Almost next door to the Quadrilatero district are two of Bologna’s most famous towers – the climbable Asinelli tower and the ‘off limits’ (due to a dramatic 3m+ lean) Garisenda tower. Climbing the Asinelli tower is not for the faint-hearted – with over 90 meters to be climbed on somewhat precarious looking wooden staircases clinging to the inside of the walls. Visits have to be booked in advance, and we opted to stay earthbound on this occasion (although here is a shot from Matt’s previous visit to Bologna!).
We continued to stroll through Bologna’s streets, stumbling across the splendidly gritty student district and enjoying a gelato as we took in the atmosphere. Eventually, our thoughts turned to food. We opted for an 8pm reservation at the excellent Ristorante San Pietro, which quickly filled up and gave an ideal combination of atmosphere and quality food. Definitely recommended and a real high on which to end the first night of our Italy trip.
Day 2: From Bologna to Padova
After a much-needed sleep, we were treated to a lovely breakfast by our B&B hosts. Some gorgeous Italian hams and cheeses, alongside delicious bread and homemade cakes – washed down, of course, with excellent coffee! A brilliant way to set ourselves up for the day.
We had another 3 hours or so before we wanted to be getting the train towards Padova, so (armed with a trusty town map and some good advice from our hosts) we headed back in to do another quick tour of the town centre.
As well as revisiting our favourite “Quadrilatero” district, we managed to squeeze in a terrifying elevator ride to the “Terrazza Panoramica”. This viewpoint is essentially just some scaffolding at the top of the cathedral, but it does provide great views of the city if you’re willing to sign a waiver before venturing up!
The final explorations of Bologna
From there, it was a quick hop down the street to the beautiful complex of churches at Santo Stefano – a very peaceful break from the bustling city surrounding it. Well worth having a calm wander around.
The final bit on our whistlestop morning tour of Bologna was the “Finistrella di Via Piella” – a cute window on the street which opens up to reveal a view of one of Bologna’s hidden canals. With a trip to Venice only a couple of days away, this wasn’t a source of great excitement and didn’t necessarily seem to warrant the crowds of people fighting their way to take a look. However, it’s a nice little novelty and worth a slight detour if you do find yourself wandering down the main “Via dell’Indipendenza” from the train station to Piazza Maggiore.
A quick march back to our B&B to collect our rucksacks, and it was time to say goodbye to Bologna. As ever, we wished we could have spent more time here – it’s full of great places to eat, relax and explore, and we only touched on the tip of the iceberg. However, we were very excited for our next stop – Padova, our home for 2 nights and our base for a day trip across to Venice! Stay tuned!
Yay!!!!! A treat in store.Thankyou :)xx