What Bologna costs
Bologna is cheap to look at — the porticoes, the square and the Quadrilatero cost nothing, and the biggest item stays a bed.
- Hotel 3*
- €45–80 per person, a double room
- Archiginnasio
- €10
- Torre dell'Orologio
- €10
A day in Bologna doesn't have to cost much, since the porticoes, Piazza Maggiore, the Quadrilatero and the canal window are all free. What costs money are the Archiginnasio, €10, and the Torre dell'Orologio, €10. The biggest item stays a bed, €45–80 per person.
Prices line by line
Everything per person, in euros. The day is the same basket across the site: a bed, two meals, city transport and admissions.
The bill climbs the most on the bed, since the cheapest option is a hostel at €22–40, and a three-star hotel runs €45–80 per person, with the tourist tax added on top, €3–5 (by room rate). Sights add little: the Archiginnasio and the Torre dell'Orologio are the only two real tickets on this loop, and the porticoes, the square and the Quadrilatero are free.
Where it's easiest to save
On food: street food runs €5–10, while a plate of tagliatelle al ragù at an osteria runs €14. On sightseeing: since nobody climbs the Asinelli, the only real ticket for the view from above is the Torre dell'Orologio — the second day, with the San Luca portico, adds no ticket at all, only time.
The same comparison for 143 places: hostel, hotel, getting into town and a day pass. Travel costs →
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
What's free in Bologna?
The porticoes, Piazza Maggiore, the Quadrilatero and the canal window on Via Piella.
What's the biggest item in a day?
A bed, €45–80 per person for a three-star hotel, or €22–40 for a hostel.
Ready for Bologna?
Where to next
The Bologna you miss: a canal window and seven churches in one
→A little window onto a canal, seven churches in one and a wooden anatomical theatre — places the main axis…
Ravenna · 69 km
→Eight early Christian and Byzantine monuments with mosaics of gold and glass, spread across a city that was once the capital of the Western Roman Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom.
How well does Bologna suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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