Experience Bologna
Beyond the Guidebooks

We were in Bologna for a few days visiting a university student and booked a tour with Claudio for the last day. It was fantastic and would have been really helpful to do early in our visit. The tour was perfectly crafted based on the interests we expressed. The guide really listened to what we wanted, had excellent knowledge of the area and a strong command of the English language. He was well prepared with recommendations and suggestions and we felt like insiders!

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.

Claudio did a fantastic job listening to us and crafting a fun and informative excursion around Bologna. We loved both the personalized recommendations and the list he provided for us. He also did a fantastic job fielding my nerdy architectural and construction questions about the local architecture and development. We have already booked another tour in Florence because of our experience with Claudio.

Claudio's English was great. He is a wonderful person overall, and was very knowledgeable on all the aspects of Bologna that we asked about. His walking itinerary was perfect...we felt like we knew the city, its people and its history, which really enriched our trip to Bologna. Bravo Claudio!

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!

Great sense of humor and a very likeable guy. Nicola was very flexible, and we were so impressed by his knowledge of Bologna history. We appreciate his willingness to get us to the train station via taxi. We would definitely ask for Nicola for another tour.

Having a private tour with Nicola was very special and he accepted our invitation to lunch with us. This made it more personal and unique. Nicola is a very nice young man.

Nicola was very personable and made the effort to customize our interests. He was able to meet us at closer location, which was very convenient for us. Very interesting facts about Bologna were offered to us and he made us think! Loved the tour.

Antonia gave me a warm welcome to Bologna. She showed me many interesting sights and shared a lot of information about the city’s past and present. She answered my questions and helped me enhance my visit.

Spent a lovely evening with Antonia. She is warm and very knowledgeable. I learned a lot.

Antonia - very informative, genuinly worked to customize the experience as she learned more about our preferences.

Our host, Antonia, was exceptional. She made our afternoon in Bologna a wonderful adventure. We sampled a variety of traditional dishes native to Bologna and received a great orientation to the food culture and an introduction to the history of the region. We highly recommend for a new visitor to the region. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon!!!

Great walking tour of Bologna. We covered most of the city and sights. Loved hearing about the rich history.

We loved our guide, Andrea. He was informative, friendly and professional. Terrific!

The walking tour was great. Learned a lot about the history of Bologna and the present as well. Andrea was informative, funny and introduced us to some cured meats that we had not tried before. A nice way to spend the morning.

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.

On our first day in Bologna, we had the pleasure of taking a 3-hour personalized tour with Lorenza, and it truly set the tone for the rest of our trip. She was incredibly warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable—bringing the city’s rich history to life through engaging stories and fascinating insights. Throughout our stay, we kept recognizing places she had shown us, often recalling the fun facts she shared with a smile. Thanks to Lorenza, we experienced Bologna through a much deeper and more meaningful lens. One of the highlights was learning about the history of the porticos and how they symbolize the city’s spirit of hospitality—something she herself embodied with her magnetic personality and thoughtful approach. An outstanding experience from start to finish. 5 stars—highly recommend!

Lorenza hat uns einen tollen Einblick in die Stadt Bologna ermöglicht. Von oben, von unten und auch hinter den Kulissen konnten wir dank Lorenza die Stadt aus einer ganz anderen Perspektive kennen und lieben lernen. Lorenza ist eine aufgeweckte, aufmerksame, „fühlige„ und pragmatische Stadtführerin. Man spürt die Leidenschaft für ihre Heimatstadt, welche sie uns mit einem hohen Fachwissen, mit tollen Anektoten und einem gewissen Schalk näher gebracht hat. Wir würden Lorenza uneingeschränkt weiter empfehlen schon dank ihrer angenehmen Persönlichkeit. DANKE LORENZA ! Lorenza gave us a great insight into the city of Bologna. Thanks to Lorenza, we were able to get to know and love the city from above, below and also behind the scenes from a completely different perspective. Lorenza is a bright, attentive, sensitive and pragmatic city guide. You can feel the passion for her hometown, which she brought to us with a high level of specialist knowledge, great anecdotes and a certain mischief. We would recommend Lorenza without reservation, thanks to her pleasant personality. THANK YOU LORENZA!

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

Great experience! We had a local with us and our guide showed us things that surprised the local! It was a great way to spend a morning,

Paolina Jacobi was a WONDERFUL guide. She was personal, informative, relatable, and fun. We were so happy that she was our guide as she made the day perfect!

Our tour guide, Poalina, fit all of our favorites in just 2 hours. She was so knowledgeable about the city with all its history. Ken

Paolina, made our tour special by remembering our anniversary. She was able to navigate us to all of the spots we wanted to see and a few others. Paolina also ended with helping us find a great place to have an authentic Italian lunch!

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

My guide Chiara was very well informed and lovely to tour with. She explained the history the monuments and buildings of Piazza Maggiore, the University, the Two Towers and the seven churches. I learned a lot about Bologna’s history and was guided by Chiara towards other activities to enjoy. I thoroughly recommend this tour, very interesting and enjoyable.

Claire was a great guide for my Bologna tour. She took me round Piazza Maggiore, into the church and the city buildings, to the two towers, the University and the Seven Churches. She was knowledgeable and informative and explained the history of the amazing monuments very well. I really recommend this tour

Claire took me to several major Bologna landmarks: Piazza Maggiore, inside the city building and the church on the square, to the University building, the two towers, and the seven Churches. She was very well informed, was able to tell me the history of these amazing monuments, and also what she loved about the city and its citizens. It was a great tour, and has set me up very well for an enjoyable stay here.

Chairs was knowledgeable, attentive, kind and informative. She did a great job and it was a wonderful tour!

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!

Marina gave us a cultural and historical walkabout in old town Bologna that was very interesting. We recommend her highly.

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.

Alex was great! Very knowledgeable and personable.

Alex covered the history and culture of Bologna in a clear and insightful manner. He answered all our questions in as much depth as we required and never rushed us along. He is a good advocate for Bologna and we finished the tour with a much more rounded understanding of city. Would definitely recommend.

Jonathan gave us a great tour, entirely at our own pace, taking in many of the sites and pointing us towards others we could visit later. He gave us tips about shopping, transport, food & dining as well as historical context and stories. We can highly recommend Jonathan as your guide to Bologna! He also took charge of the wheelchair so my husband could walk and I could take photos. A very kind man. P.s. he knows a super gelateria.

Delightful, knowledgable host.

Una guía profesional, preparada, y amable….! Conoce lo que expone y lo hace con gentileza y es amigable. A professional, prepared, and friendly guide….! He knows what he is saying and he does it gently and friendly.

Our visit with Fiore was wonderful! She is an excellent guide! Saluti!

We had a wonderful afternoon with Fiore! She showed us the Secrets of Bologna as well as the major highlights. I had got injured the day before and had to use a wheelchair, she adjusted without hesitation. She was fun, personable and left us with a list of restaurants and other sites!

The history of Bologna we received from our guide. She showed us around the whole plaza and pointed out several secrets from years back. We also were able to taste the best of Bologna.

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!