We previously visited Bologna in October 2021. At that time, it was our first trip abroad since the pandemic had started, and our first time returning to Italy since our honeymoon in 2017. Masks were still in full effect, as were vaccination cards!

Because it was our first time visiting the region of Emilia-Romagna, we had a full itinerary: 2 nights in Parma, 2 nights in Modena, and 2 nights in Bologna. We were flying in/out of Milan so we required a few nights there as well. With a packed schedule, that meant that we only had a couple of nights to see (and eat!) everything on our first trip to Bologna.

We arrived in Bologna on a Saturday afternoon and made our way through the packed streets to our Airbnb near Piazza Maggiore. To this day, we still don’t know what was going on in town that weekend, but there were so many people in town! Too many, we thought! While it didn’t stop us from enjoying our time in Bologna, our scheduling did! Because we had arrived on a Saturday and were leaving on Monday, we had limited time to pack in some good eats. Little did we know, nearly all the restaurants, markets, and many shops are closed on Sundays in Bologna (or at least all the ones that we wanted to go to!).

We knew we would have to return to Bologna one day to try again. So here we are!

This time in Bologna was different. We were able to spend 3 weeks there, which afforded us the opportunity to eat our way through Bologna’s extensive network of restaurants and enjoy our time wandering the streets. Speaking of streets, they were lively but not overwhelmed with people like last time. We stayed in an apartment outside of the main city center, a short walk to a beautiful city park (Giardini Margherita), that was constantly buzzing with families, runners, bicyclists, and others just enjoying their time outside.

We ate some incredible meals, and some ‘meh’ meals, but that’s always par for the course. We tried some new types of pasta and wines of the region, and attempted to speak in Italian as much as we could! We enjoyed every bit of our 3 weeks in this beautiful city. I can, without hesitation, say that Bologna has won me over this trip and I can’t wait to return.

Thinking of visiting Bologna? Check out our Bologna City Guide for a few recommendations.