Things to do in  Bologna

The guide was the best. She spoke in good English made me aware of some of the history of Bologna. The group was fun an the food samples were delicious.

Great tour. Guide was nice and knowledgeable. Great food. Great way to see Bologna with a little history.

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.

This food tour was a great way to see the city and learn about the culture of Bologna. Eleonora was friendly and knowledgeable. All of the food was delicious!

We had the best time with Mattia as our guide. The food was delicious and we loved getting to see how the tortellini is made. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking to enjoy some local food and history while in Bologna.

We enjoyed ourselves on this tour very much. We booked the English version and instead got plotted in with an Italian tour group, but our guide would translate for us after. It was very cool to be shown the streets of bologna, and our guide was very fun.

This tour although quite expensive was a must do, a small group (limited to 8) was ideal, the education about food and Bologna was amazing. We tried a wide range of stuff, coffee with rice cake, cherries, horse meat! We learnt how to make a tortellini & eat it. We then gathered bread and meats from the market area and sat in the oldest tavern for a picnic washed down with sparkling wine, we also got to taste and learn about balsamic vinegar, takes 12 or 25 years to make! Then off we went to try the famous spaghetti Bolognese in a fast food restaurant owned my a top chef,then our last stop.was for famous gelato 2 scoops of our choice. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and taught us a lot about food and the history of Bologne, he was very friendly and spoke excellent English.

Alessia was a great tour guide for the Parmigiano reggiano factory. She was my main contact point who was very communicative. The driver picked us up at Bologna train station. We came from Florence. Driver used Google translate so it was easy to communicate with him. Very friendly fellow. At the parmigiano factory Alessia gave us a history lesson about how the parmigiano is made and aged. Then we got to try some. We saw the cows in the barn where the cheese comes from. Then the driver took us to the Balsamic factory where we learned how its made and aged. We tried some and then ate lunch there which was delicious! Tortellini with balsamic and ice cream with balsamic! Next was the Lamborghini museum which was small. Then my test drive across the street at the Bull Bar was a white Lamborghini Huracan convertible. It was 10 minutes on a two lane road, but was able to floor it and go over 100 mph. Then it was almost an hour drive to Ferrari museum which had more cars to see and a Store to shop. On the way back to the train station, we asked the driver to stop to buy fresh strawberries at a stand. They were the best strawberries I have ever eaten in my life. Overall wonderful experience day trip in Bologna.

Highly recommended! I had a wonderful time with Giovanna. Walking around Bologna, sitting at her kitchen table, discussing travel plans and cooking together. She speaks some English, so it helps if you speak a little Italian, but it all added to the feeling of authenticity and warmth I felt during our time together. Hope to repeat the experience soon!

Overall excellent experience with delicious food. Our tour guide mattia was knowledgeable, funny and super nice. It was the perfect way of getting to see the highlights of Bologna.

We had an amazing food tour with Paolo, our guide. He was very friendly and knowledgeable, and his English was impeccable. We had so much fun visiting the markets, trying the many types of food, wine, coffee that Poalo had bought for us, as well as walking through the town where he showed us the many historical sights in Bologna.

Gioia is a delightful tour guide, blending interesting food stops and tastings with local history and the top sights in Bologna. A charming storyteller in a beautiful city with great food. What could be better?

There is much to see and taste in Bologna, and Raffaella was knowledgeable and friendly. In between eating I’ve learnt a lot about the history and culture of Bologna. Highly recommended.

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..

Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. He catered the tour to our ability and desires to explore Bologna. A great way to see the outer perimeter of Bologna.

Really worth it - amazing host . He spoke very very good English and was entertaining, funny and extremely knowledgable and passionate about all of the foods we visited. The meal at the end is huge and the wines are delicious. Highly recommended . You need a day away from Bologna if there for a long weekend as it is a bit claustrophobic.

We had a great time traveling around Bologna on the Segways. You get 5 minutes of instruction - not 30 as advertised but it was fine. There are a lot of historical sites that are much easier to see this way rather than walk, especially in the heat. Our guide was knowledgable.

Gioia was a great guide and took care of us throughout the tour, showing us different places to go to and letting us experience Bologna's specialties with bites of food and drinks in each spot. We ended up at a wine bar at the end of our tour, enjoyed each other's company beyond the tour, and got to know Gioia personally. We wish the best of luck to her and her endeavors! Definitely do this tour in the late afternoon/evening or around dinner time. It was great to see the area come alive and be a part of the Bologna night scene.

We really wanted to experience an authentic cooking course in the region around Bologna. At the desired time there were not many offers and "Live an afternoon as a cook" did not have so many reviews. We thought to ourselves "let it be a surprise" and we were surprised in a very positive way indeed. We had a wonderful and interesting afternoon with Flaminia and Elizabetta. The cooking course took place at the family's estate, just outside of Bologna. It is a large and beautiful property. We were warmly welcomed and immediately invited to a welcome-apéro in the garden, with homemade apricot juice, figs from the garden, etc. Soon after, we were ready to start cooking under the guidance of Elizabetta (our professional chef and mother of Flaminia). We were able to make our own tortelloni with ricotta and spinach (dough, filling, shapes) and for dessert we prepared a cake with short pastry and jam. Elizabetta explained in Italian and showed us everything step by step. Flaminia helped us with communication difficulties in English and answered all questions that came to our minds. Cooking was a lot of fun, the instructions were good, the two of them were super friendly and it was a relaxed atmosphere. After the preparations we were invited to enjoy an apéritif in the garden before Elizabetta cooked our self made tortelloni and briefly sweated them in butter and sage. With a fine wine we were invited to enjoy the tortelloni in the garden afterwards, also Elizabetta and Flaminia joined us. Besides there was a special bread (similar to a focaccia), which Elizabetta had also freshly prepared and the dinner was rounded off with homemade cake and coffee. So the official part was over, our conclusion: Absolutely recommendable, this cooking course was one of our highlights on our trip to Italy. The family is super friendly, we had a wonderful time and got an authentic insight into the Italian cuisine. And of course the food was delicious. In addition to the cooking course: we didn't have any accommodation for the night yet, so Flaminia showed their B&B, which is located in the house next door and has been completely rebuilt. Really a nice B&B, so we decided to spend the night there. In the evening Flaminia took the time to make us a personal tour plan for Bologna (we did it almost 1:1, that was great, thanks Flaminia) and in the morning we were served a great breakfast before we left. Thanks a lot for this great and unforgettable experience, we enjoyed every second. Keep up the good work, your passion and joy of life is contagious and does good. Best regards from Switzerland. Sarah & Tim

The factories we visited were very interesting and to see the time and effort that goes into making each of these was good. Lunch was ordinary and our group carried on into the night after the tour which was great. Ariana our guide was excellent and very welcoming. She emailed us photos she had taken of the day and she was more than willing to share information about Bologna and Italy.