Discover luxury and boutique hotels in Bologna

When to go

Being a culinary capital is a full-time occupation, and Bologna hosts food festivals year-round. Temperatures soar in July and August, but spring and autumn hit the warm-weather sweet spot.

Getting there

• Planes

  Direct flights from London Heathrow and many other major European hubs touch down at Bologna Airport, seven kilometres from the city centre. The regular Aerobus service connects the airport with Bologna Centrale railway station, and an express monorail service is set to open in 2020.

• Trains

  Bologna Centrale railway station has high-speed direct links with a host of domestic cities, including Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, Turin, Naples, Padua, Verona and Salerno.

• Automobiles

  Bologna is easily explored on foot, and extensive restricted zones – including most of the city centre – make driving a difficulty worth dodging.