Introduction
Where the intelligentsia and the gastronomes strut among the hills. Bologna offers a chance to rest and savour before joining the masses of tourists in Florence and Venice. Surrounded by hills, the city's centre is still much as it was during the Renaissance:
dusky red-coloured buildings, wide piazzas and arched porticoes with floors laid with marble.
Destination Facts
Time zone: GMT +1
Area: 140
Coordinates: 44.5029983521 latitude and 11.3339996338 longitude
Population: 373000
Area codes: 051
Getting there and away
Bologna's Guglielmo Marconi airport, northwest of the city at Borgo Panigale, is serviced mainly by European airlines. You can fly in from Rome, Venice, Pisa, Frankfurt, Paris and London, among others. ATC Aerobus connects the city with the airport and leaves from in front of the train station roughly every 15 or 20 minutes until midnight. Budget carrier Ryanair flies into Forli, 70km southeast of Bologna. The airport is serviced by local buses that coincide with flights.Bologna is a major railway junction for regional centres and northern Italy, with frequent services from Rome and Milan, many of them Eurostar trains. Bus services to regional centres such as Ravenna, Ferrara and Modena leave from the depot opposite Piazza XX Settembre, around the corner from the train station. There are also buses to Ancona and Milan, and international buses to Amsterdam, Paris, London, Brussels, Prague and Warsaw. If travelling by car, you can reach Bologna on the A1 Autostrada del Sole, which also links Milan, Florence and Rome. The A13 heads directly for Ferrara, Padova and Venezia, the A14 for Rimini and Ravenna, and the Via Emilia (S9), goes on to connect Milan with the Adriatic coast. The S64 leads to Ferrara. If you want to hire a car, you'll find all of the major hire companies have offices in the city, most also have outlets at the airport.
Getting around
Bologna has an efficient bus system, run by ATC; you'll find information booths at the train station and on Via Marconi at the junction with Via Ugo Bassi and Via Lame. There are frequent buses from the train station to the city centre. Not all bus routes operate on Sunday. Taxis are also freely available.
Weather
Winter in northern Italy can be can very cold, especially in January, and summers very hot, especially in July and August. By August so many businesses in Bologna are closed it seems the whole city has gone to the beach.
Car: recommended
Perfect for visiting Tuscany or Emilia, the house is in a quiet mountain hamlet on the Emilia/Tuscany border, 1hr or less from Florence, Bologna, Lucca and Pisa. The nearest airports are Florence, Bologna and Pisa, all roughly 1hr away, (Bologna Forli 2hrs). The quiet spa town of Porretta Terme, with restaurants bars and a health complex, is 20 mins away. 1km from the house is a local shop and train station and the Tuscan village of Pracchia (10 mins) has a bank, hotel, restaurant, bar etc. The house is surrounded by woodland and is ideal for adventurous people who want to walk, explore, build log fires in the evening and hear very little other than bird song, woodpeckers, owls and the odd wild boar. The stars at night are brilliantly bright. It is a comfortable family home and not for those looking for hotel-standard luxury. The 1km road to the house from the main road up the mountain is steep.
Where the intelligentsia and the gastronomes strut among the hills. Bologna offers a chance to rest and savour before joining the masses of tourists in Florence and Venice. Surrounded by hills, the city's centre is still much as it was during the Renaissance:
dusky red-coloured buildings, wide piazzas and arched porticoes with floors laid with marble.
Time zone: GMT +1
Area: 140
Coordinates: 44.5029983521 latitude and 11.3339996338 longitude
Population: 373000
Area codes: 051
Bologna's Guglielmo Marconi airport, northwest of the city at Borgo Panigale, is serviced mainly by European airlines. You can fly in from Rome, Venice, Pisa, Frankfurt, Paris and London, among others. ATC Aerobus connects the city with the airport and leaves from in front of the train station roughly every 15 or 20 minutes until midnight. Budget carrier Ryanair flies into Forli, 70km southeast of Bologna. The airport is serviced by local buses that coincide with flights.Bologna is a major railway junction for regional centres and northern Italy, with frequent services from Rome and Milan, many of them Eurostar trains. Bus services to regional centres such as Ravenna, Ferrara and Modena leave from the depot opposite Piazza XX Settembre, around the corner from the train station. There are also buses to Ancona and Milan, and international buses to Amsterdam, Paris, London, Brussels, Prague and Warsaw. If travelling by car, you can reach Bologna on the A1 Autostrada del Sole, which also links Milan, Florence and Rome. The A13 heads directly for Ferrara, Padova and Venezia, the A14 for Rimini and Ravenna, and the Via Emilia (S9), goes on to connect Milan with the Adriatic coast. The S64 leads to Ferrara. If you want to hire a car, you'll find all of the major hire companies have offices in the city, most also have outlets at the airport.
Bologna has an efficient bus system, run by ATC; you'll find information booths at the train station and on Via Marconi at the junction with Via Ugo Bassi and Via Lame. There are frequent buses from the train station to the city centre. Not all bus routes operate on Sunday. Taxis are also freely available.
Winter in northern Italy can be can very cold, especially in January, and summers very hot, especially in July and August. By August so many businesses in Bologna are closed it seems the whole city has gone to the beach.
Perfect for visiting Tuscany or Emilia, the house is in a quiet mountain hamlet on the Emilia/Tuscany border, 1hr or less from Florence, Bologna, Lucca and Pisa. The nearest airports are Florence, Bologna and Pisa, all roughly 1hr away, (Bologna Forli 2hrs). The quiet spa town of Porretta Terme, with restaurants bars and a health complex, is 20 mins away. 1km from the house is a local shop and train station and the Tuscan village of Pracchia (10 mins) has a bank, hotel, restaurant, bar etc. The house is surrounded by woodland and is ideal for adventurous people who want to walk, explore, build log fires in the evening and hear very little other than bird song, woodpeckers, owls and the odd wild boar. The stars at night are brilliantly bright. It is a comfortable family home and not for those looking for hotel-standard luxury. The 1km road to the house from the main road up the mountain is steep.
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