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Weekend in Bologna

Bologna is a charming city in Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, but sort of shadowed by much more famous cities in north of the country, Florence or Venice. Nevertheless, it's a lovely city where you can spent a nice weekend or city break.

We started our exploration with Piazza Maggiore, in the heart of Bologna. The central square is surrounded by fantastic medieval buildings.

One of the medieval buildings in Piazza Maggiore is Palazzo d'Accursio, which is the city hall complex. Charming exterior, but the interiors are even more impressive.

Also in Piazza Maggiore, Biblioteca Salaborsa is a modern library built in the former stock exchange. While visiting, you can actually see the ancient ruins beneath the floor.

And, of course, Basilica di San Petronio with its impressive size and unfinished facade.

Il Quadrilatero is the historic neighborhood of Bologna that can be easily reached walking from Piazza Maggiore through the nice narrow streets. It's a beautiful neighbourhood with marketplace where you can find traditional food and ingredients.

Two medieval structures that became symbols of Bologna. Built in 12th century as status symbols, they’ve served many roles over the years. They are leaning, but the towers are quite safe, you can climb the 496 steps to reach the top of Asinelli Tower for a nice view over the city.

Basilica di Santo Stefano was a complex of seven churches, of which only four survived today.

Probably the most famous site of Bologna, Archiginnasio of Bologna is Archiginnasio Palace, home to the oldest university in Europe.

We started the second day with Montagnola Park sitting on the ruins of Castello di Galliera. The park was built by Napoleon in 1805. The beautiful staircase Scalinata Del Pincio attract many tourists.

We visited Bologna Cathedral, impressive interior of marble and frescoes. You can climb to the bell tower there for a great view over the city.

We also checked Medieval Museum, set inside Palazzo Ghisilardi. Extraordinary frescoes inside.

As Bologna is known for its delicious food dishes like spaghetti ragu, the famous we booked a guided food tour