Bologna - 'Red Bologna' and environs

The entire city is a treat.

One of the most distinguished university cities in Europe it spreads out from the magnificent Piazza di Maggiore. Its medieval streets are thronged with students, professors and locals who enjoy strolling through the colonnaded streets. This is a city as lovely as Florence or Siena but with a fraction of the tourist traffic where you can see the real Italy and get caught up in the evening passeigetta or take a coffee at a pavement table and watch the world go by.

With the great universities of Europe it is up there with Salamanca, Oxford, Heidelburg, The Sorbonne and Padua. The streets are filled with Italian academics and students and such a young population leads to a rocking nightlife. The place has a radical edge and for a long period was known as 'Red Bologna' on account of its politics. But is also known as 'Bologna the Fat' on account of its hearty Emilia-Romagna cuisine. You have not experienced Italy and tasted Italian food until you have been to Bologna.

The best advice I can give you is to book an accommodation as soon as possible. Despite being an academic city - it has very few cheap deals. This is probably the wealthiest city in Italy and conspicuous consumption is everywhere you look. Good inexpensive hotels are a rarity as the city caters mainly to business visitors. Which is a shame because Bologna has such a lot to offer the tourist - the soaring two towers, the beautiful Piazza di Maggiore and twenty miles of scarlet colonnaded streets where the locals parade every day. 

In fact Bologna is built for aimlessly wandering and you can spend days watching Bolognan life go by - old ladies shopping in the market, students reading under statues and the fashion show which happens every evening when the Italians take their 'passeigetta'.

Bologna has direct flights from both New York and London. British Airways Easyjet now has cheapflights for about £60 return which means the city has recently been discovered by British weekenders.

From Rome it takes about four hours and Stazione Centrale is an easy walk north of the centre. The Stazione contains a taxi rank, accommodation centre (generally the only place to change up money on a Saturday or Sunday) which runs taxis into the centre for a reasonable price. And buses travel between the Stazione and Ugo Bassi and regular intervals. Don't forget to buy and punch your ticket before you board.

But Bologna was designed for walking. That way you mingle with the populace and can explore the narrow alleys and scarlet colonnaded streets. An afternoon's explore might reveal a hidden church, a forgotten courtyard or part of the ancient medieval university. In Bologna you can become immersed in a beautiful city and become part of the show that they call Italy