Explore Bologna with a local host who understands how the city is shaped by its food, its university, and its historic streets. Walk beneath the porticoes that define the city, where food shops, small markets, and academic buildings sit side by side. Before your experience begins, you will receive a short online questionnaire so your host can design a personalized route based on your interests, pace, and travel style. Here are some highlights your host may include during your experience.
Wander through the Quadrilatero, Bologna’s oldest market district, where narrow streets are lined with traditional food shops and long-standing vendors. This compact area reflects the city’s deep connection to its culinary traditions and everyday local life.
Visit the Archiginnasio, once the main building of the University of Bologna, founded in 1088. Its Anatomical Theatre, carved in wood, was used for medical teaching and reflects the city’s long academic and scientific tradition.
Explore the Palazzo Poggi area, closely linked to Bologna’s scientific and academic development. The surrounding streets reflect the influence of one of Europe’s oldest universities and its role in shaping the city’s identity.
Discover Bologna’s lesser-known contribution to medical history through its anatomical wax models. These detailed works were used for teaching and reflect the city’s early role in the advancement of scientific study.
Visit the Orto Botanico, one of Europe’s oldest botanical gardens, established in the 16th century. Tucked away from the busy streets, it offers a quieter setting that reflects Bologna’s long-standing connection to scientific research.
Jonathan provided us an excellent tour, covering the history of the city, especially the university, the major architectural attractions in Piazza Maggiore, and lots of information on the cuisine and culinary scene in Bologna. It was the perfect overview for first-time visitors.
Just the right amount of time for a tour with kids. Our guide Paulina made a special tour for us based on our interest and kept our kids engaged.
Jonathan Mastellari was the perfect Tourguide. We took a red eye from NYC. We got in early and wanted to avoid jet lag on our trip so we booked this walking tour to get us started. Johnathan was amazing. He was full of knowledge and energy. The pace was great and the tour was informative. We definitely got the lay of the land and now, day 2, feel like we have the lay of the land. He made great recommendations for our stay. We ended up in the food area… which was perfect because it was time to eat. This was the perfect start to our trip. We avoided jet lag, walked all day and learned about the history and culture of the region!
We were very fortunate to have Claudio as our guide. He listened to what we wanted and planned the perfect walking tour, blending history, culture and contemporary lifestyle and giving us great recommendations for coffee, gelato and restaurants. Claudio is highly informed and clearly loves Bologna. The hours we spent with him were an ideal introduction to the city and helped us to feel oriented for the rest of our stay. The day after our tour I texted Claudio to say I had lost my scarf at dinner the previous evening and he immediately phoned the restaurant for me. All three of us would highly recommend a walking tour with Claudio.
Paulina was very helpful, conscientious, and professional. Contacted us the day before extended all sorts of personal assistance. More than just a mechanical robot pointing out the sites. One request is to get in some areas a better information to provide answers in a few places.
Jon was extremely knowledgeable and personable. He shared his love of Bologna. Would highly recommend the tour.
Diego was an excellent communicator before the tour. Arrived on time. As we were staying in Bologna for an extended stay he showed us around the important historical locations. We covered a lot of territory. He was friendly. We enjoyed our morning tour. Highly recommend
Our tour was a fantastic intro to our visit to Bologna. Nicola was our tour guide and his passion for history was evident as he shared all the background of our stops along the way. He did a great job curating the tour to our family’s interests to keep it interesting for everyone, as well as giving us so great recommendations for gelato and dinner. We appreciate Nicola’s time and highly recommend him and this tour!
We were visiting our daughter studying in Bologna and decided to book a personalized tour of the city. Claudio was fantastic! He listened well to what we wanted and tailored the time towards our interests. He was super well prepared with recommendations and a wealth of knowledge on all subjects Bologna from history to architecture to local culture and music. We experienced nooks and crannies of the city we never would have come across on our own. Wish we would have done this tour at the start of our stay to glean from all the recommendations Claudio provided. After this experience we immediately booked a similar tour in Florence.
We just arrived in Bologna and our guide met us at our lodging. Our walking tour was the best tour we had during this European vacation. He was so full of enthusiasm and shared so much beautiful history. He also helped us to find the perfect restaurant to end our day. Highly recommend!
We had a great walking tour of Bologna. The weather was nice and our guide was friendly and knowledgable.
Great guide Nicola , really friendly and very knowledgeable, had a great 2 hrs with him , showed us lots of places that you would not know about on your own
Patrick was a good guide probably would have been better if we knew what we wanted to see but Patrick was very informed
Our guide Alberto was amazing. He tailored the trip perfectly to us. The sights we spectacular. The restaurants and food met our expectations.
We had the best tour with Daniele! He is incredibly friendly and inviting. He showed us so many more sights than we would have been able to find on our own or by online searches. We loved that Daniele had so much pride for his home city and was genuinely excited to show us every corner. I would absolutely repeat a tour with Daniele and I recommend others to request him. Host/Experience: Daniele Consoli + Bologna Custom Private Tours by Locals, Off-the-Beaten-Path Experience date: 25/09/2023 Reviewer: Isabel Argento
Our Host, Gabriele, was so knowledgeable, accommodating and kind! We loved every minute of our 4-hour tour with him. Highly recommend!
What a lovely discovery! Claudio was fantastic and showed and informed us about parts of Bologna that we would have never known about on our own including the beautiful university and the important part that it plays in everyday life in Bologna, walking along and learning about the Roman era main street of Bologna, the glorious food market where stalls are actually incorporated into buildings, visiting the Jewish quarter, and much much more. Thank you, Claudio!
We were going to be in town for a month and asked for an introduction to the city center. Enjoyed the walking the history and some of the surprises Mirko showed us. Be sure to ask him about Galvani’s statue
He was an excellent knowledgeable guide who provided many facts about the city I did not know before. He also directed to several restaurants to try after the tour was completed.
Elisa was an amazing tour guide who showed us the highlights of Bologna but also many hidden treasures we would not have found on our own. She is kind and very knowledgeable from growing up here. I would highly recommend asking for her for a tour!!
Gabriella was a great guide! Very knowledgeable about the city and gave us a fun tour including some of the cities hidden secrets. Would highly recommend her for a tour around the city
My wife and I had an excellent time with Manuel. He was very punctual and took us to some wonderful places in Bologna. He was also a wealth of knowledge and helpful in us discovering other things to do during our trip to Italy. We highly recommend "Private Tours by Locals" and make sure to ask for Manuel - he was a delight.
Our guide, Erika, took us on a walking tour of Bologna. Although we had previously visited Bologna, she showed us places we wouldn’t have discovered on our own. Walking through the city with a local resident is much more enjoyable than trying to navigate on your own. Erika was very knowledgeable and an excellent guide!!
Our host showed us churches, arcades, and his University, the oldest in Europe, where we went into the library and the old anatomy theater where Medieval Drs. studied the human body. He introduced us to a small wine bistro, and recommended several restaurants for dinner. The one we chose was our favorite meal in Bologne. Thanks for the memories, Gabriele
Elizabeth gave us a great tour of Bologna, giving us a view of Bologna that we would not have otherwise had. Plus she was a very interesting person herself and fun to be with. We have already taken advantage of things to eat and places to visit that Elisabeth told us about. Thanks so much Elisabeth!
A group of us arrived bleary from overnight travel to the city so it was especially nice that Sophia met us at our hotel so we didn't have to navigate anywhere. She tailored our tour to our interests as well as adding information about the city, some history and things we wouldn't have noticed on our own. She shared her favorite gelato place and gave us a comprehensive list of places for touring, eating and exploring later on our own. Thanks, Sophia, for a great welcome to your amazing city. We really enjoyed our stay.
Had a wonderful 3 hours exploring Bologna with a born native! He was eager, informative and pleasant throughout the tour! Would definitely recommend this tour.. we are foodies so much was spent on good places to eat and or buy foods native to Bologna and region.
My wife and I were very fortunate to stay in Bologna recently and our guide for our 3 hour walking tour was Elizabeth. She really gave us a good walk around the city and most importantly showed us the last remaining canal that still flows!! Lot's of fun. Thank you Elizabeth!! Mark and Sheri USA
What an excellent guide Gabriele was for our Bologna walking tour. Passionate about his city, knowledge and interesting. From history to places to visit & eat - this was a fabulous tour & recommended it as a must..
We had only a day in Bologna and wanted to see more than the sites written up in tour books. We spent 3 hours with our tour guide, Elisabeth. She told us about the current life styles in Bologna as well as, the new discovery of a Roman town under the public library. A great way to see the city in a personal way.
Irreverent locals call it the first Disneyland. Apart from the famous Asinelli and Garisenda towers, the wooden porticos that provided shelter for the down-and-out pilgrims, the above ground level entrances to the tower residences that denied potential attackers easy access, the underground river, which one can gaze at from a few unusual vantage points and the famous architectural–acoustic wonder called Voltone del Podestà where a person’s whispers in one corner of the four-sided, vaulted arcade can be heard by another person in the opposite corner, it’s the Abbey of Santo Stefano referred to as Sancta Jerusalem Bononiensis that is the city’s trump card. Built on the site of an ancient temple of Isis with a natural spring, it was reconstructed into a baptistery and the pure spring water was once again put to good use. At the Abbey one can touch the sarcophagi of Vitale and Agricola, the first martyrs of Bologna, circumvent at one’s leisure a replica of the Holy Sepulchre, and in the Roman Crypt to measure one’s stature against a column brought from Jerusalem by, according to legend, St Petronius. The column instead of a capital has a protruding rectangular stone. The base of the column is worn by scores of the faithful eager to compare their height to none other than Christ Himself.
This was a fun and informative tour. We learned some interesting facts about Bologna. The guide was informative.
Gabriele paced the tour perfectly and combined architecture, history and classical art really well. It was great to wander slightly off the tourist track and to view places not typically mentioned in the guide books. Being a local, he was also a font of knowledge for all the questions I had to ask. Highly recommend this tour - 3 hours at your pace!
Giacomo var en fantastisk guide med stor viden om Bologna og byens historie. Vi havde en skøn tur som vi bestemt vil anbefale
Gabriel、最高でした。 ツアー前からメールでやりとりしていて当日は3時間街をくまなく案内してくれた。 カフェにもよってくれてトイレも心配なかった。私の拙い英語に合わせてくれて楽しい時間が持てた。写メも後日送ってくれた。 最高のガイド。
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