Bologna: a city made for walking and eating
Four times over the past four years, I’ve passed through the Italian city of Bologna on my way to Tuscany. Each time I discover a new layer of experience and a new reason to love this city.
Bologna is an easy city to get around. It’s not too big. The airport shuttle takes 15 minutes to Bologna Centrale. And the iconic covered walkways, or portice, protect pedestrians from torrid sunshine and torrential rain.
This year, for the first time, I ventured north, across the rail tracks, to eat at Trattoria di Via Serra. Booking is a must. This is a simple place with comfort food; more Italian than Italian. I started with a rabbit salad followed by an excellent cut of beef with potato purée.
For a more creative style of cuisine, sister restaurants Uno di Questi Giorni (visited 2025) and Ahimè (2024) are at the top of my list. They both base their creations on local, seasonal produce, and offer a friendly atmosphere, and a modern design reflecting the earthiness of the region.
The random words I scribbled down during my five-course, €65 dinner at Uno di Questi Giorni – it’s only open for dinner, and it’s the smarter place of the two – included lamb tartare with caramelised fig jam, asparagus with thinly sliced loquat, artichoke with cuttlefish, chard oil & goat’s milk, fennel with saffron.
The side dish on Bologna
Bologna has three nicknames:
- La Rossa, the red one: referring to the local red clay used on the facades of the buildings, and to the colour of the politics.
- La Dotta, the learned one: home to Europe’s first university, the city still resonate to the sounds and laughter of the 85,000 or so students studying in Bologna.
- La Grassa, the fat one: given the fame of its cuisine.
Bologna is also capital of Emilia-Romagna, a region famous for fast cars (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati) and slow food (it’s the birthplace of the Slow Food movement).
On the culinary front, regional specialities include:
- Lasagne
- Modena balsamic vinegar
- Mortadella (a bright pink cold pork sausage with white chunks of fat in it)
- Parma ham
- Parmegiano-Reggiano (Parmesan cheese)
- Tagliatelle al ragu (the origin of spaghetti bolognese)
For walking, my geographical reference points are the main square of Piazza Maggiore, the twin medieval towers of Asinelli and Garisenda, and the main thoroughfare axis formed vertically by Via dell’Indipendenza (leading to the station) and horizontally by the Via Ugo Bassi/Via Rizzoli.
Gelato is not ice cream
Before arriving in Bologna, I’d met two young Australian sisters – the father had helped me with my luggage (full of olive oil, lentils and honey) onto the train. I’d asked them what they liked about Italy. Both replied, with no hesitation: gelato.
So what makes gelato better than ice cream? Gelato uses more milk, less cream, and fewer or no egg yolks. It’s also made with fresh milk or cream; churned at a slower speed; and served at -10oC to -12oC, rather than -18oC.
I recommend two places for gelato in Bologna: Cremeria Santo Stefano, in the district of Santo Stefano, and where I had a double scoop of rose water with strawberries and ‘Lebanese cream’ (orange flower water, almonds & pistachio), and Delizie Bologna, in a less touristic district of Bologna.
Coffee & pastries
Forno Brisa (an ‘independent and rebel bakery’) is my stop-off point for coffee (they roast their own), light meals (focaccia and pizza portions with toppings such as pesto, potato & green beans as well as classic tomato) and artisanal chocolate, in the district of San Felipe. I go to their conveniently located branch between the Central train station and the main Via Rizzoli.
Pasticceria Regina di Quadri is tucked away in the south-east corner of the old town, I stopped here for a breakfast coffee and cornetto (the Italian for croissant and often filled with cream or jam), as well as buying some artisanal chocolate.
Also nearby is Bar Pasticceria Santo Stefano – a bar like many others, with a terrace, but on the quiet Santo Stefano street, in the part which leads down to the Basilica Santuario Santo Stephano, a cluster of 7 churches overlooking a square.
Restaurants in Bologna
Buca Manzoni – a basic trattoria serving tasty tortellini… and then I ordered a side plate of steamed vegetables. A casual place. Full of locals (2023).
Caminetto d’Oro – a trattoria off Via dell’Indipendenza, where I had an excellent tagliatelle al ragu at lunchtime. You might like to order a side dish of steamed vegetables (2022).
Diana – a Bolognese institution, off the Via dell’Indipendenza, with starched white tablecloths, waiters in white jackets, historic black-and-white photos on the walls, and the sound of clinking glasses (2022). I went for two Bolognese classics: mortadella, in the form of a foam served with parmesan and pistachios wafers, and lasagna with a side dish of steamed vegetables. In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunter, and it was at Ristorante Diana that I discovered the local sparkling wine, Pignoletto frizzante dei Colli Bolognesi.
Enoteca Storica Faccioli – for a glass of natural wine. I especially liked the local, red Sangiovese wine by Noelia Ricci. A friendly place that serves lunch on some days of the week (2022).
Il Rovescio – a ‘0 km’ restaurant, good for vegetarians. I went for the tartare of buffalo meat with asparagus, the vegetarian lasagne and a local red wine made from the Barbera grape (visited in 2024).
Via Con Me – a small, colourful restaurant near the Mercato delle Erba, and directly opposite Animè. It’s named after a 1980s song by the grainy voiced Paolo Conte. As well as gazpacho, I had a glass of white wine made using the Albana grape, said to have been grown in the region for over 2,500 years (2022).
You can find Pizzeria Berberè in London as well as Bologna. Named after a mix of spices from the Horn of Africa, Berberè has been using the same mother yeast since 2010, when brothers Matteo and Salvatore Aloe opened their first restaurant in Bologna. T
Don’t forget the art!
Head to the Pinacoteca Nazionale Bologna to catch up on the 16th century Mannerist movement for which Bologna is famous.
The name, Mannerism, comes from the Italian word maniera, which meant ‘style’ in the sense of elegance, as well as “rarefied complexity and artificiality”. Leading the movement in Bologna, which came in the wake of the High Renaissance (think Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael), was Prospero Fontana. His students included his daughter Lavinia Fontana, who went on to became a favoured portraitist among the great families of Bologna.
Shopping for medicinal herbs
The Italians have a strong tradition of herbal medicine, dating back to the Roman times and the monasteries of the Middle Ages. By chance I found a erborista, as they are called in Italian, at the Farmacia SS Trinità in Santo Stefano Street, near the Cremeria Santo Stefano. A little use of the DeepL translation app got my the remedies I was looking for – a liver cleanse and something to get the circulation going in my legs.
Where to stay in Bologna
Hotel Accademia – a three-star hotel at a 20-minute walk from the central train station, on the edge of the university district. High ceilings, friendly staff and well-insulated windows. My favourite single room: No 250.
Places for next time
- Allegra – a breakfast, lunch & a natural wine bistro.
- Drogheria Delle Api – a bus ride away, but then buses are easy to take in Bologna… just tap in once on board with a contactless card for €2.50 for travel within an hour.
- Grassilli – a discrete, traditional trattoria in the centre of town. I turned up with my suitcase and was told that the restaurant was full. I won’t make that mistake again. A favourite with chefs.
- All’Oteria Bottega – relaxed atmosphere, Bolognese dishes served with local wines. Outside the main tourist area.
- Quanto Basta – a casual Roman restaurant in the western part of the city centre.
- Scaccomatto agli Orti – for eating outside, in the ‘vegetable’ garden. Near Cremeria Santo Stefano, for an ice cream.
- Trattoria Da Me – a recommendation by a visiting English chef who I met on the plane into Bologna. The original trattoria is in San Felice street. Then there is Trattoria Da Me nella torre, on the ground floor of the historic Torre Dei Galluzzi. Is it worth the prices? I’ll have to find out.
A 40-minute train journey from Bologna, in Reggio Emilia, is Fotografia Europea, the international contemporary photography festival, held each spring. Outside the opening week in April, visit the festival at the weekend, otherwise you might find the venues closed.
Find these and other places on my map of Bologna.
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