Experience Bologna
Beyond the Guidebooks

Great trip around Bologna with Claudio - would recommend to gain an insight to the history in a relaxed way. Also got recommendations of places to eat, shop etc.

Claudio was very engaging, very patient and very knowledgeable. He answered all our questions - no matter how obscure - and helped to make our short stay in Bologna a memorable one.

If you are looking for an experienced, engaging, knowledgeable, well-versed guide for a unique view and visit of Bologna- you must ask for Claudio! We truly covered all of the highlights of Bologna and he shared hidden gems and provided great recommendations for the remainder of our trip. Thank you thank you!!!

Claudio was the perfect guide for our first day in Bologna. The tour was low key and leisurely, helped orient us to the city, included some important history with some unique facts I don't think you'd find in the guide books. Claudio also shared some favorite spots for food - we ate at them all over the next few days and they did not disappoint! He was kind, on time, and flexible to our needs. All in all - a great experience.

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.

This was a fantastic tour of Bologna. Antonia, our tour guide, led us around Bologna unveiling many secret locations and revealed to us the history of Bologna in shaping how it looks. We enjoyed all parts of the tour.

Did this 3-hour walking tour as soon as we arrived in Bologna. Nicola, our excellent guide, took us round the historical city , providing us with local knowledge and an interesting account of the place, the landmarks , the streets so that we know where to walk, where to go, which restaurants. A very good introduction to the historical city and thus made our stay in Bologna enjoyable.

Nicola was a great guide! We discovered so many things that we would have never known had he not been with us. He also took time to give us further recommendations for the rest of our trip!

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.

Enjoyed my tour with Andrea

Andrea was a wealth of information of "the history of Bologna old city" (specifically what I was interested in). We talked about many other topics as well. His presentation welcoming and informative. The development of the city throughout the ages including transportation of goods and materials, building styles and modernisation. I very much enjoyed his tour.

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!

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.

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

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.

We learned so many interesting things about the city in such a short time. Guide made it super engaging for our 8 year old- playing games to find different decorations, towers, etc. We had a great time.

Great tour, enjoyed our time. Family friendly and our guide was accommodating with the heat making sure we mostly stayed in the shade:) She was also great with communication.

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

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

Jon was extremely knowledgeable and personable. He shared his love of Bologna. Would highly recommend the tour.

Jon was an incredible guide and shared his passion of the city with us.

Jonathan was an incredible host, so knowledgeable of the area

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.

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!

We booked the tour for 4h as a group of 4 people. Diego - our guide - did a great job in showing us some of the hidden places combined with historical and cultural highlights, background and several insights to the local food and cuisine. He answered our questions, recommended great places for drinks and dinner and was very flexibel with respects to our whishes and requests. In general, we had a wonderful time in a relaxed atmosphere with Diego and will look forward to another tour when we come back to Bologna.

Our guide Diego was very informative and knowledgeable of Bologna history which we appreciated. We truly enjoyed having him show us around

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!

Just a wonderful afternoon exploring Bologna with our guide Guilia.

Giulia was our guide for a walking tour of Bologna. She was very personable and friendly. She explained what we would see and then described each area of the city to us as we walked. She was aware of our preferences (fewer stairs) and guided us around them. At the end of the tour, she showed us to a very nice restaurant.

Giulia was a friendly, knowledgeable guide. She contacted us before the tour to ask us about our interests and what we would like to do in Bologna. She then sent us a brief itinerary and arranged to meet us at our hotel. This personal tour gave us a real insight into the city, we learnt so much about its history and also gained great information on local places to eat! We thoroughly enjoyed our 3 hour tour with Giulia and would recommend booking either a city or food tour with her.

More than worth the money. A very enjoyable experience.

Great adventure with Paolo knowing Bologna. Very knowledgeable and friendly, walking tours are the best way to know a city.

Our guide Paolo was outstanding. His knowledge of the history of Bologna and Italy were very impressive! He also had a great sense of humor that made our time with him very enjoyable.

Great!!