Experience Bologna
Beyond the Guidebooks

Claudio was an excellent tour guide. He was able to show us the highlights of bologna and set my wife for further exploration after the tour. To top off an excellent tour Claudio helped us set an unbelievable lunch reservation which is hard to get on a Saturday. Thanks again claudio!

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.

Excellent guide. Very knowledgeable, courteous and friendly.

Our Balogna tour guide was Claudio Natale who was a sensational guide. He gave as a thorough sense of the city and deepened our understanding of the history and culture of Balogna! His English is perfect. It was a busy and rewarding tour. I highly recommend Claudio as a guide.

Nicola was a great guide. Very personable. We enjoyed everything he showed us. It was delightful and I recommend Nicola highly!

Nikola was amazing and it didn’t even feel like a tour. It felt like visiting an old friend and they took us around their city!

Our tour in Bologna with Nicola was absolutely wonderful! He was knowledgeable, friendly, and full of passion for his city. We had an almost 80-year-old in our group, and Nicola was incredibly considerate—setting a comfortable pace and making sure everyone was included. His stories brought Bologna’s history and culture to life, and his warm personality made the experience unforgettable.

Nicola was an amazing guide with a background in the history of this fascinating city! He was clearly enthusiastic about his subject matter and took us to see both highlights and hidden gems of Bologna. He even shared some websites with us so that we could further explore the history of the city. We liked the fact that we could tell him in advance about our interests and he was more than happy to accommodate our requests.

Antonia was personable and very knowledgeable. She was enthusiastic and keen to share her love of Bologna, its food, and history!

Antonia was terrific. She’s so warm and knowledgeable. She respects the spirit of Bologna by being flexible and open minded. We are so lucky she was our guide!!

This was such a great experience! I learned about the origins of the food and the regions that they come from. I loved Antonia, she was a great host. Very flexible with my schedule.

Our walking tour of Bologna was very professionally organised and was both insightful and very enjoyable.

Andrea was an incredible tour guide! He brought the history of Bologna to life with his deep knowledge and passion for the city. He didn’t just show the main sights — he shared every little detail, hidden corner, and story that makes Bologna so special. His enthusiasm and friendly personality made the experience feel personal and engaging. I left the tour with a real appreciation for the city’s history and culture. Highly recommend Andrea to anyone visiting Bologna!

Andrea our guide was very friendly, Extremely knowledgeable and engaging. For 3 hours he showed us the highlights of Bologna and had tailored the tour to my interests. He was so easy to talk to and made our experience really unforgettable. He also gave us great tips on the best gelato and restaurants which we tried ! There is nothing better than a local knowledge to get you the insiders best places to go. Great value for money. And so worth it. Thank you Andrea

We only had one day in Bologna. Andrea made every minute count! He provided an excellent overview, giving us a good feel for the city in just a few hours. Andrea was knowledgeable, personable, and extremely helpful. I highly recommend letting him show you Bologna.

Andrea is a wonderful guide. In addition to his overall knowledge of Bologna, he is a warm and engaging person. It was nice getting to know him a bit. He led us at our pace and skillfully gauged the level of content we wanted or could absorb. All in all, a very good experience.

We took a private tour, so everything was geared to us. Lorenza was amazing. She contacted us before we arrived in Bologna to ask about our tastes and interests and then really personalized the 3-hour tour. We visited the city’s famous towers, learned about the city’s unique architecture, went inside the basilica and the old university buildings, and had wonderful explanations of Bologna’s culture from an insider’s perspective. We tasted balsamic vinegars (a must), visited off-the-beaten path bakeries (including gluten-free options!), and ended the tour with a wonderful lunch off the main plaza. Lorenza makes the city quite magical with her explanations of the porticos, the family vendettas, and the stories that make Bologna come to life. We also left with a list of suggestions of everything from where to eat authentic local cooking to where to get a good haircut. This is a tour I’d recommend anyone looking for insider’s knowledge of the city and/or to get your bearing when you arrive.

We enjoyed the practical stories and the knowledge of the area without the long history lessons.

Lorenza was a delightful lady and showed us the less known paths of Bologna along best sightseeing. We’ve spend 3 hours together in a personalized experience as we’ve asked for. Thanks for that .

This was a great way to get to know the city from a locals perspective. Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful. She answered all of our questions and gave us tips on things to do after our tour.

Fabulous tour that was customized to our interests. Paolina was knowledgeable and fun and we had the best time learning about her wonderful city.

Paolina was amazing! She catered the tour directly to our interests and by the end we felt like family!!!

Paolina, molto simpatica e preparata, ci è venuta a prendere in albergo e ci ha accompagnati in un interessante tour della città raccontandoci un sacco di aneddoti sulla sua storia che hanno reso tutto interessante e leggero al tempo stesso Paolina, very friendly and knowledgeable, picked us up at the hotel and led us on an interesting tour of the city, telling us lots of anecdotes about its history, which made everything interesting and lighthearted at the same time.

The tour leader pointing out the less obvious things of interest.

Gabriel’s was a fantastic tour guide! He showed us so many highlights of Bologna, and he also made sure to take us everywhere we wanted to go. He was extremely knowledgeable and engaging, and he answered all of our questions. We are American, and his English was excellent! He also gave us great recommendations for places to eat, things to do, etc. At the end of our tour, he walked us to a restaurant we had seen earlier that we wanted to go to. I highly recommend this private tour with Gabriele!

We have a great time with Gabriele in the beautiful city of Bologna! He showed us all of the main sights. Highly recommended!

I would highly recommend him for any traveler looking for a good guide to Bologna.

A delightful tour of Bologna given by Gabriele whose pride and passion for his home town shone through . He was friendly and informative and led the tour at a lovely pace giving us opportunity to ask questions on the way . He advised us of a great place for lunch ( Simoni ) and have further suggestions for meals during our stay . It was the perfect start to the city break because it gave us the chance to get to know the City . We would not hesitate in recommending this tour - especially if you get Gabriele as your guide . Thanks Lele

People should try not to book on a Sunday because the markets are not open. Gabriele is great!

Wonderful!!

An absolutely incredible tour given by Gabriele! Walking around the city we got to experience so much of Bologna’s history. Gabriele was very kind and extremely knowledgeable. We had many laughs and amazing food. His recommendation for our dinner later was absolutely perfect and delicious. We couldn’t ask for a better way to be introduced to this lovely city. 10/10

An absolutely incredible tour given by Gabriele! Walking around the city we got to experience so much of Bologna’s history. Gabriele was very kind and extremely knowledgeable. We had many laughs and amazing food. His recommendation for our dinner later was absolutely perfect and delicious. We couldn’t ask for a better way to be introduced to this lovely city. 10/10

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!

Jon was so friendly and it was great to meet another LGBT person, we felt so comfortable and welcome. He shared a few LGBT historical locations as well.

Jon was personable as well as knowledgeable. He came prepared with a specific itinerary in mind and we were able to see the majority of the important sites within the time we planned. We greatly enjoyed the tour and highly recommend Jon.

Discovering Bologna with Jon in this three-hour walking tour was a gift! Jon spoke eloquently about the historical and socio-political evolution of Bologna that has contributed to its present vibrancy as an intellectual center. I heartily recommend this experience and hope to return to this colorful city very soon!

There were so many great vegan places we ate. We had smoothies with pasta straws, tortoloni, mini pizza, stuffed aubergine, lemon drink and more! Plus we visited several vintage shops and I purchased things at 3 different location. We ended in a beautiful garden where there’s a café.. (highly recommend the stuffed aubergine). I was also excited to see the Street Art by the university too

Claudia was awesome! She was so knowledgeable About the city. We got to experience a version of the city that would have been impossible without a local’s perspective. We also got to try many wonderful Bolognese dishes. Highly recommend.

Claudia was amazing. She has so much knowledge of Bologna. Not only did she show us the main points of interest, but she also took us around the not so known places that were fantastic. I highly recommend this tour and especially Claudia.

We scheduled a three hour tour with Claudia the first morning of our stay in Bologna, and it was such a fantastic experience! Claudia was very communicative with us prior to the tour, asking about what we would like to see, and she delivered perfectly on this! She took us to various corners of the city to see World War II partisan memorials (an interest of ours), independent bookshops, street art, and more - all things we never would have seen without her guidance. She pointed out so many sights, shops, and restaurants that we were able to return to and experience over our next four days in Bologna. We learned so much about the city from her, and felt that we were truly given an insider's look at this amazing place. We fell head over heals with Bologna and cannot wait to return - the most favourite city we have been to! Thank you Claudia for such a great day, and we hope to see you again in Bologna. ~ Sarah and Ben

it was great! we really got to see a lot of things we wouldn’t have otherwise and our guide was extremely nice! highly recommend.

What an incredible experience. Alex was very knowledgeable and knew historical facts that were very specific to each site. We went off the beaten path to several local spots included an awesome beer garden at the end of the day. I would highly recommend getting a tour guide like Alex to lead you through Bologna. It was truly memorable.

Alex did a great job showing us Old Town Bologna. The tour was a mix of historical sites and present-day life. It was exactly what we were looking for.

Our guide Marina was exceptional. Cool, fashionable, intellectually curious and eager to share her experience. She easily connected with us I a warm authentic way. Her range is much greater than local guide; she’s a journalist up to date with regional and local politics. Up on her history too.

Marina is a delightful and knowledgeable local. We wanted a slower pace with opportunities to sit, enjoy coffee, observe and talk. Very accommodating and we ended up walking further than we thought we could since she was so engaging. Highly recommend!

I had a fabulous experience with Marina. It was great to see both the typical tour spots (but maybe from a different angle) as well as the off-the-beaten path sites- that were customized to my interests. Experiencing a city is always more memorable when accompanied by an insider's perspective. Marina also gave me ideas for what I could explore more in depth on my own- and gave us spectacular dining recommendations.

Like walking around town with an old friend. Nothing more needs to be said!

Diego was well informed and flexible with the tour - his passion for the city was inspiring

Diego is one of a kind! We had such a great experience strolling around Bologna, eating good food! He knows every little detail about the city and the whole day was a lot of fun! Highly recommend!

Diego was great. We loved our tour. The balsamic tasting was so fun.

We had a great time with the charming and knowledgeable Diego. What a fun way to see Bologna and we visited so many great spots!

Entire experience was memorable, including a selection of shoppes and experiences only known to locals.

What a fabulous way to spend an afternoon! A great introduction to the city, Marco was knowledgeable and engaging with exactly the right combination of history and local culture. Thank you for introducing us to your beautiful city!

Marco brought the city’s culture to life for us through fun and interesting stories about the Bologna‘s past and what life is like today!

Marco was informative from a historical perspective but he also brought the city culture to life for us which made it a fascinating walking tour. Thanks Marco! we would highly recommend your tour!

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history and made everything extremely interesting. He made sure we had a great time to see all the highlights in Bologna. He also helped us with food recommendations.

Christiano was an amazing guide. He curated a tour for us that was super interesting filled with stories and endless history. His English was perfect. It was a lot of walking but we stopped twice at a cafe for a drink and snack. It was nice to get the lay of the land so that we could easily navigate Bologna on our own in the following days we were there.

Cristiano, our certified/licensed tour guide, was wonderful. He met us at our hotel, and we set out on our three-hour walking tour. He provided lots of insights into the city's history and landmarks, while also explaining what it's like to live in Bologna today. Cristiano's English skills are also terrific, so it was very easy to communicate with him during the tour and ask him lots of questions. Since we had limited time in Bologna, this was a great way to see the main sites in the historic city center.

Our host, Cristiano, was very knowledgeable, interesting and definitely an experienced tourism professional. Our 2 hr walking tour was the just the right amount of time for our interests and we appreciated some of his personal insights that made the tour that much more enjoyable.