Discover Bologna with kids: 13 exciting adventures for the whole family
Bologna is a great and somewhat underestimated city in Italy and is fantastic for children. And it’s not just the fantastic food that makes it so appealing.
Learned, fat, red. Bologna’s three monikers.
Bologna the Learned for its university, the oldest in the world (reminds me of my former life: hello my learned friends). Bologna the Fat for its (legendary) food. Bologna the Red for its communist politics, though we could pretend it was for the red stone that makes up so many of the buildings in the city centre.
These three elements (assuming we use the red alternative) make Bologna great for families.
The university has a great library and various collections that can inspire. Bologna is the birthplace of many favourite foods – spaghetti bolognese, mortadella (AKA Bologna in the US), and parmesan cheese. And the city looks red when you look at it from above (AKA from the top of a tower).
Why not visit Bologna with kids and see what the city has to offer? We’ve got 13 things to see and do to help you plan your visit.
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Getting there and accommodation
Accommodation
During our week in Italy, we stayed on a farm about 25km from Bologna to be more central for the things we wanted to see in the north. We don’t have any accommodation to recommend in Bologna. If you are planning to see more of Bologna and the surrounding area, we would recommend staying in the city.
If you are looking for accommodation, we recommend booking.com and have found some great farm stays in Italy on the site, including our accommodation this summer. Find your accommodation here:
Insurance
If Bologna is just one stop on your European odyssey, we recommend that you get travel insurance, especially if you are travelling with kids.
Getting there
Driving is frustrating in Bologna, with numerous one
Bologna, like many other cities in Emilia Romagna and Tuscany, has a Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL – Zona Traffico Limitato) that is open only to residents and emergency vehicles. Fines of up to EUR 300 can apply. Ouch!
If you can, take a train to the city. Tickets are relatively cheap, and will save you a lot of headaches.
Tip: Numerous private tours include the Ferrari Museum or traditional food manufacturers in the area. You don’t necessarily need a car if you are looking to take your child to see one of these sites.
Getting around
The best way to get around Bologna is to walk. Almost all the main sites are in the historic centre of the city. The main exception is the Madonna di San Luca, where the views while walking up the hill under the porticoes are the main drawcard. Buses and a tourist railway go to the church (and the start of the porticoes).
What to do in Bologna with kids
Take a cooking class or foodie’s tour
During our first visit to Bologna, we spent a wonderful day doing a culinary tour and a cooking class with Marcello and Raffaella of Bluone.
We learned about Parmesan cheese and Aceto Balsamic di Modena, tried various types of cold meat, watched tortellini being made, and selected the menu and ingredients for our meal.
Later in our hosts’ home, we learned to cook traditional lasagna bolognese, including the spinach lasagna sheets, and made panna cotta. We enjoyed our home-cooked meal as well as grissini with traditional cold meats, parmesan cheese with syrupy-thick balsamic vinegar, and veal scaloppine with greens. It was all scrumptious. We shared our meal with the family and discussed a broad range of topics, while the men and boys watched football (AKA soccer).
It was a very memorable day – even now.
Tip: Take a cooking class or go on a foodies tour in Bologna. This visit was very last-minute, so we did not have an opportunity to take a tour. However, there are even cooking classes for children of all ages – let your child learn how to make their favourite pasta!
Eat
Bologna is known as ‘Bologna the Fat’ for good reason. It’s a foodie mecca. There are so many delicious things to try and, thankfully, so many foods that kids love too. When you are visiting Bologna with kids, go shopping, have a picnic, stop for drinks and a snack, and take a long lunch.
Watch pasta being made. Buy some real ‘Bologna’, better known as mortadella. Try some syrupy balsamic vinegar (caution: it’s like whisky – the older it is, the more expensive and delicious it is). Find some fresh fruit for a picnic. Eat gelato in Summer or roasted chestnuts in Winter. Try the Tagliatelle al ragù alla Bolognese – English speakers call it spaghetti bolognese – or cook some at home using this local recipe.
Tip: Try the Quadrilatero, Via
Stroll under the porticoes
You can’t visit Bologna with kids without taking time to stroll under its famous and extensive porticos. There are 38 kilometres of porticoes in the historic city centre, and over 45 km in the city proper. Take a stroll under the porticos of the historic town centre.
Perhaps the longest portico in the world, the Portico di San Luca connects the Porta Saragozza with the church of Madonna di San Luca. It has 666 vaulted arcades that span 3.8 kilometres and shelter the annual procession of Luke the Evangelist’s
Tip: The return trip walking up to Madonna di San Luca takes around 2 hours. However, little legs (or those that just climbed a tower) might prefer to take the train up the hill. See below for more information.
Visit Neptune
Say hello to the rather large statue of the god Neptune on Piazza Nettuno. Cardinal Carlo Borromeo commissioned the statue for his uncle, who had just been elected Pope Pio IV. Locals consider Neptune’s trident lucky, and it is used as the logo of Maserati, the car manufacturer founded in Bologna in 1914.
Look down on history
Unfortunately, we managed to pick one of the few days of the year when the library was closed, so we didn’t get to see this for ourselves.
The former financial exchange in the Palazzo d’Accursio (next to Neptune) now houses the Biblioteca Salaborsa. The central hall with its Corinthian columns is gorgeous. View the ruins of the ancient city of Bononia from 189 BC through the glass floor.
Tip: This is also a good place to rest and have a coffee (and catch up with your social media).
Marvel at Piazza Maggiore
Right next to Piazza Nettuno is Piazza Maggiore. Take a moment to admire the different buildings that surround the square.
We bought Miss M a gelato and then sat on the steps of the Basilica di San Petronio to eat it. Originally, the church was supposed to be the largest in the world. However, the Pope refused to let the church be bigger than St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Basilica di San Petronio now sits unfinished.
Tip: Don’t be afraid to visit the internal courtyards or go into the Basilica, the tenth-largest church in the world.
Whisper
Under the arcade in the centre of
Tip: Give older children the challenge of working out why it works.
Be learned
Established in 1088, the University of Bologna is the oldest university in the world. Two of the highlights of the university are the Library and the Anatomical Theatre.
If your children are bibliophiles and are likely to be quiet (which Miss M was not), check out the gorgeous old university library at Via Zamboni 35. Older kids will appreciate the anatomical theatre at Piazza Galvani 1.
Tip: The anatomical theatre at the University in Padua, where Galileo Galilei taught, is better. Make sure you check the opening times!
Visit the dinosaurs
If you have a little dinosaur aficionado and are in Bologna early enough in the day, visit the Carnegie Diplodocus and other fossils at the Museo Geologico Giovanni Capellini. The museum is small and focuses research, but kids still love it. Entry is free to kids 18 and under!
Look through a window
In the past, Bologna was a water town with five harbours. Much of this maritime past is long hidden, but at 2 Via Piella, you can glimpse the Moline Canal through a little window. This canal powered 15 mills located throughout the city.
This is a site we missed. We looked for it, but could not find it. See if you can find it when you are in Bologna with your kids!
Climb a tower
At the end of the twelfth century
Instead of climbing the 498 steps to the top of the leaning Asinelli Tower, we chose to visit the temporary panoramic terrace of the Basilica di San Petronio, which has a lift and just two flights of stairs.
Word to the wise: Although it has a lift, don’t visit the viewing platform if you don’t like heights. It is a temporary structure: the ‘stairs’ and terrace are scaffolding, and the lift is a freight lift. It is a very bumpy ride, and you have to sign an insurance waiver before you are allowed to ascend.
Miss M loved it, but I am not sure whether she liked the views or the picture of Mummy standing back next to the church after the terrifying ride up more.
Take a train
If you are like us and don’t feel like motivating your child to walk the 3.8 kilometres up to the Madonna di San Luca, catch the little ‘San Luca Express’. The audio guide (in ten languages) provides information about some of the more unusual sites of the city on the way. The views are worth it!
The train leaves from Piazza Maggiore near the start of Via degli Orefici.
Tip: If you are in Bologna with older kids, they will probably find the train a little babyish. Challenge them to walk up to the top under the 3.8km of porticoes instead!
Visit a church
There are several churches worth visiting in Bologna. Pick one depending on your (and your children’s) interests.
- Madonna di San Luca on the hill for the views
- Basilica di San Domenico for the artwork (including by Michelangelo) and the marble ark holding St Domenico of Guzman, founder of the Dominican order.
- For sheer size, Basilica di San Petronio
- Basilica di Santo Stefano, also known as the Seven Churches, to be different. Did the patron saint of Bologna (when he was still bishop) order the building to be divided into seven to represent the places where the Passion of Christ occurred? Or did Saint Petronio commission the erection of the church on top of a pagan temple?
For older kids
There are several tours and activities which are particularly interesting for older kids. Take a bike tour through the city or an
What to do in Bologna with kids
Bologna is a great place to visit with kids. It makes a great day trip, and if you take a cooking course, or have automotive lovers who wish to tour the museums, it can be an enjoyable and delicious long weekend.
What do you want to see in Bologna with your kids?
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The food and architecture look great! Adding that to my bucket list 🙂
I could lose myself there for weeks, just trying the local delicacies!
Looks interesting….liked how you gave us a little history about the place. I hope I get to visit there one day!
If you do make it to Italy, I would try and add it if you have time as it is not one of the typical tourist haunts like Rome, Venice or Florence, but it is definitely worth seeing (and eating!)
Thanks for the great tips! I haven’t heard about the 38 kilometres of porticoes. That’s insane! The whispering wall seems so cool! There is something like this in Budapest, too but that is definitely not an architectural gem. 🙂 We should visit Bologna for sure.
The best thing about the porticoes – you can shop to your heart’s content, even if it rains!