Free walking tours in Bologna
Best walking tours in Bologna with local guides:
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Other cities after visiting Bologna
- Florence walking tour
- Venice walking tour
- Milan walking tour
- Rome walking tour
- Munich walking tour
- Free walking tour in Split
- Free walking tour in Vienna
- Free Walking Tour Dubrovnik
- Free walking tour in Prague
- Verona walking tour free
- Pula walking tour free
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- Free walking tour in Zürich
- Free walking tour in Salzburg
- Zagreb free tour
- Geneva walking tour
- Free walking tour in Naples
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Mortadella, towers and legends: free walking tours in Bologna
A free walking tour in Bologna is paid for at the end, not at the start. You book your place on GuruWalk without a credit card, and once the walk is over you give the guide what you think it was worth.
Food and stories go together here. Some walks mix the city's legends and secrets with its mortadella and osterias, others keep to history and mysteries, and they pass Piazza Maggiore, the Two Towers and the Fountain of Neptune on a typical route of about 1.8 kilometres. 3 local guides lead them, a walk takes an hour and three quarters on average, and more than 5,203 reviews give Bologna's free tours 4.7 out of 5.
Bologna's food tours and its essential walks
Food and legends around the Quadrilatero
Legends and hidden details come with the food on Bologna's food tours, a mix of eating and storytelling that walkers rate 4.8 out of 5 across 1,008 reviews. One of the routes sets off from Piazza Minghetti, works through Piazza Santo Stefano and the Court of the Islanders to the Two Towers, then crosses Piazza della Mercanzia and the Quadrilatero before finishing at the Fountain of Neptune and Piazza Maggiore.
Essential Bologna, from the market alleys to the canals
History, culture and a few of Bologna's mysteries, told alongside what the city eats, are what the essential walks cover. With 3 free walking tours in this group, there is a choice of guide and time, and walkers have rated them 4.7 out of 5 in 4,545 reviews. One route starts at Piazza Maggiore, eats its way through the old market alleys of Via Clavature and the Osteria del Sole, and goes on past the Two Towers to the Jewish ghetto and the canals.
Piazza Maggiore, the Two Towers and the Neptune fountain on a Bologna food walk
A walking tour of Bologna covers about 1.8 kilometres on a typical route and takes between an hour and a half and two hours. Piazza Maggiore, the Two Towers and the Fountain of Neptune come up on the routes, though not always in the same order. One route, with food stops along the way, runs like this:
- Piazza Maggiore, for its church and architecture.
- Via Clavature, the old market alleys, with mortadella at Salumeria Simoni.
- Osteria del Sole, where the guide explains what an osteria is, and Atti Paolo & Figli, for what to order at a restaurant.
- The Two Towers, and their meaning.
- The Jewish ghetto.
- The canals at Via Oberdan and the Finestrella on the Canale di Reno.
- Via dell'Indipendenza, coming back to the main square.
- Fontana del Nettuno, the Fountain of Neptune, at the end.
Another route starts at Piazza Minghetti and goes by Piazza Santo Stefano, the Court of the Islanders, the Two Towers, Piazza della Mercanzia and the Quadrilatero, reaching the Fountain of Neptune before it ends on Piazza Maggiore.
Galvani's statue or Piazza Minghetti? Bologna tour questions
How is the guide paid at the end of a Bologna food-and-legends walk?
Free tours in Bologna don't have a fixed price. At the end, each person contributes to the guide the amount they consider fair based on their satisfaction. As a guideline, GuruWalk recommends between €15 and €50 per participant.
Is two hours enough for a guided walk past Bologna's Two Towers?
Yes: in Bologna the longest walks take two hours, the shortest an hour and a half, and the average is an hour and three quarters for a typical route of about 1.8 kilometres.
When can you join a walk from Galvani's statue or Piazza Minghetti in Bologna?
In November, free walking tours in Bologna start from 9:30 AM, and the last one of the day leaves at 3:30 PM. The city's free tours run in English (two) and Spanish (one), and the booking page shows each one's times.
Where in central Bologna do the guides wait for their groups?
Galvani's statue and Piazza Minghetti are among the meeting points of Bologna's free walks. Each tour has its own, and your booking says which one applies to your walk.
Do you need a guide for Bologna's old market alleys and canals?
You can walk Via Clavature and the streets by the canals on your own in Bologna. A local guide, free to book, adds what the streets don't tell you: what to order at a restaurant, what the Two Towers meant and the story of the canals. Places in each group are limited, so book ahead.
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