Bologna Travel Forum

Hi there

Does anyone have any tips on whether or not Bologna would be a good base to use (we are travelling by motorhome) in late July for approx 5-6 days as a base to see Florence, Venice, Parma etc., how far is Venice from Bologna if we drove in, or would it be better to catch a train or Bus? Is there anything else we should plan to see while in this area?

Thanks

Maybe Bologna is a good place to visit all those places but bear in mind that Florence, from my point of view, deserver more than one day, so, if yo go from Bologna, maybe you have to come back unless you decide that one day is enough; many laces to visit. Or maybe it's better to stay in Florence for two-three days.

Train: www.trenitalia.it: Chech the tmetable and prices, then, deide if it's cheaper the train or your motorhome regarding the fuel, you get lost one in the cities, car park... Florence station is in the city centre.

Other places from Florence: Lucca, Pisa, Siena.

Bus vs train: Just a few meters from the railway station in Florence, there is the bus station which serves Florence-Siena (better than trian). heck my pges because I went to oscana just a few months ago, so, I have much info. Happy visit!

Just a quick line: For road www.viamichelin.com (distances, driving times, best routes...)

Thank you very much, I will consider what we want to see in Florence and maybe take your advice and stay a couple of days.

Suzanne

We were in Bologna last May. You can get to Venice and back in a day but we worked out that even taking the earliest train and returning on the latest, this would allow very little time in Venice - not worth it. Near to Bologna and worth a visit are Ferrara, Faenza, Modena, Parma. Do not forget about Bologna itself, which has some extremely interesting places to visit. The traffic is manic and the centre is best avoided in a vehicle. That said, you could park outside of the old city and take the excellent bus service to visit places.

I apologize for the spelling, the faster I try to type, the more mistakes I make :(

Thanks for your info, I have just heard back from one of the campsites I have been trying to book and habe been told that their minimum stay for that time of the year is 10 nights, do you know if this is the general rule for all campsites in Italy? We have 22 days with our Motorhome and we had initially thought we could just roam about and stop when and wherever we like, it looks like this won't be possible. If we have to choose 2 bases where would you suggest?

Thanks for all your help so far!

Sure Bologna IS NOT a good base to see Florence, at least Parma, if you think to drive the motorhome. From Bologna there are a lot of trains each hour to Florence and Parma and it doesn't take a lot (faster then motorhome which take time to go inside the city), Venice from Bologna is doable, but, as mentioned, you've have to leave early in the morning and come back late at night.