• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Ready for a jam-packed tour, full of history, culture, stories, and sights? Checkmark from your travel bucket list all your must-sees of Bologna, because if there’s a Withlocals tour that shows you all the city's ins and outs, it’s this complete and personalized tour of Bologna.

Destination

Bologna, Italy

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

5 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

Dansk, English, Italiano, Español, Français

Included

• Private guide
• 1 Local snack or drink
• Public transport
• All Withlocals tours are carbon neutral

Excluded

• Entrance tickets

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 2 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at In front of Gelateria Gianni - Bologna to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. City Highlights

   See Piazza Maggiore, Basilica di San Domenico, Due Torri, and more must-sees of the city. Your local host will take you to the main spots of the city so you can get the perfect overview to what makes Bologna so special

4. Hidden Gems

   long the way, your local host will show you treasures hidden in plain sight that only the locals know about. Get to know the city through a different perspective, the local way, and discover places and stories that not many tourists get to experience

5. Special Treat

   Follow your host to one of their favorite eateries for a snack or a drink beloved by the locals. Take a break and catch up with your new local friend and get the answers to all your travel questions

6. More Things to See

   With more time, you’ll have the chance to enter some of the landmarks and attractions your host has planned for you. Get in touch with the host of your choice to hear more about their plan

7. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Liam

(About local Frederik)

18 February 2025

The perfect guide. Great insider knowledge of Bologna, flexible and great fun. Highly recommended. Fantastic!

Meaghan

(About local Mauro)

21 January 2025

We had the pleasure of Mauro taking us to Ravenna, The Comacchio's Canals, Po Delta and Ferrara. This was such a fantastic day. Mauro was prompt and drove us to all the sites. It was very interesting and we could not have organised this by ourselves. I will always remember eating eel at Comacchio, which in fact was delicious. The castle at Ferrara - wow. The mosaics at Ravenna are a must see. Mauro was very informative and patient with our family. We learnt a lot about the region from himAround the Mosaics of Ravenna, The Comacchio's Canals and Ferrara's Caviar

Sally

(About local Paolo)

19 January 2025

Paola was wonderful! He was so knowledgeable & very friendly. We enjoyed our tour with him very much! Highly recommend! Paolo was a fantastic tour guide!

Ron🇺🇸 United States

(About local Frederik)

29 December 2024

Fredrick, is a great guide. He is fun, knowledgeable, organized and connected to the city. Our tour was fantastic. Highly recommend Fredrick. RonFood Tour Bologna

Charles🇺🇸 United States

(About local Frederik)

21 December 2024

Frederick was an enthusiastic and expert on Bologna. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with him. Enthusiastic and expertise

Hilary🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

2 December 2024

We had an amazing time with Paolo for a food tour of Bologna. He took us to real gems that highlighted the local products and gave us a great overview both of the culinary history of the region and Bologna in general. We learned a lot and left with full bellies and greater appreciation and understanding of the rich cultural and historical heritage of the area. I am still dreaming of the perfect Tigella treats and that ultimate espresso! Grazie Mille, Paolo!Deep knowledge of culinary delights!

Panos🇬🇷 Greece

(About local Frederik)

24 November 2024

Professional and friendly

Nancy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Frederik)

1 November 2024

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Frederik. He is personable, informed and extremely passionate about Bologna. We learned so much about the history and culture of the city and experienced aspects that we couldn't have done without his guidance. We recommend him highly and will book tours with him when we return! Fantastic tour

Beth🇦🇺 Australia

(About local mauro)

28 October 2024

Mauro took us on a unique journey through Bologna to some of his favorite places. He was so knowledgeable and ensured we were treated to more than just the classic Bologna dishes. He also explained the iconic Bologna 'porticos' and took us to Basilica Santuario Santo Stefano. If you love food and have already done the classics like Tortellini in Brodo and Ragu, look no further than a day out with Mauro. A great way to explore Bologna!

Thomas E🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

20 October 2024

A terrific intro to Bolgnese cuisine. Personable, knowledgeable, interesting. Got some great restaurant recommendations, too.Worth doung!

Sandra

(About local Frederik)

16 October 2024

We signed up for a 3 hour tour of regional foods. What we got was a 2 hour tour. Frederick provided us with 5 pieces of meat and cheese each. We asked for some gluten free substitutions. Rather than provide gluten free pasta he served olives and crackers. For "regional" dessert he took us to a gelato shop. This was a cheap alternative to true Bolognese dessert. I requested to purchase some local items. He made excuses that they were not in season inspite of having seen them in stores. The whole experience seemed like a cheap rip off.Con Artist

Margaret🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

15 October 2024

I signed up for a basic food tasting tour with Paolo, but got so much more! Paolo is a wealth of information about bolognese food as well as a historian. He explained the 3000 year history of the city concisely and hit high notes! He was patient with questions and never rushed us. I would spend a day with Paolo even if there was no fabulous food involved! Wonderful Tour

Erin🇮🇹 Italy

(About local Frederik)

13 October 2024

Frederik is amazing. My spouse and I had the pleasure of joining a walking tour of Bologna led by Frederik, and it was an outstanding experience. From the moment we met, Frederik's passion for the city was evident. His knowledge of Bologna’s history, architecture, and culture added depth to every stop on the tour. The pace of the tour was perfect, allowing us to soak in the sights without feeling rushed. Frederik also recommended local eateries and hidden gems, enhancing our overall experience in the city. Overall, I highly recommend this walking tour for anyone wanting to explore Bologna. Frederik is a fantastic guide who truly brings the city to life!Bologna’s Best

Carole

(About local Frederik)

10 October 2024

We signed up for this tour based on the advertised agenda and picked our guide based on reviews. The day of the tour we received a note that the guide and the location of the tour had been changed. That was not an issue. We met Frederick at the new spot and proceeded on the tour. He is very nice and has a lot of historical information to offer. We appreciated that, but since we had signed up for a food tour with 10 tastings and gelato at the end and were bringing our grandson, the itinerary was not what we wished for. We understood that he wanted to provide “quality over quantity”, but the experience was long and hard for us at the beginning because we did not ever stop for tastings. We finally arrived at the shop of Paolo, who was wonderful. We then had a small portion of lasagna and a platter of meats and cheeses along with a glass of wine. That was the tasting. Paolo did provide Nutella for our grandson. That was a hit with him, but again since we had paid the prices we did for the experience, we were disappointed with the reality. All in all an interesting experience, but not as advertised. Informative, but not as advertised

Richard

(About local Frederik)

19 September 2024

Hi - we did a tour with Frederick last week in Bologna; he is very friendly and educated about not just the food in this city, but also the history. He answered all our questions and was very easy to talk to and get along with. However, here are several issues we have with the tour - 1) The tour was scheduled for 1130AM - I was asked to move it to 1230 which was fine, we re-arranged our schedule. But the guide was 15 minutes late and showed up at 1245pm. 2) The tour was scheduled for 3 hours on the booking, but it was barely 2 hours. We learned a lot in the 2 hours, but with the costs of this tour, it really shouldn't be advertised for 3 hours if it's not going to be? 3) Maybe most disappointing, was the lack of food tasting/served. We toured around the old part of the city to different places to learn about Bologna's history and food, which was great but no food in this part of the tour. Then we walked a little bit to one shop, where we sampled a very small piece of lasagna and then was offered a few meats and one cheese on two boards, with a glass of wine. For how this tour is advertised, only one food eating stop and so little food to sample? I've been on many food tours worldwide, and this was by FAR the smallest amount of variety of foods I've been able to sample and taste on a tour. Again, we liked Frederick, but due to the shortened tour, complete lack of food variety to taste.. with what you pay for the tour, I don't think I would do it again. Calling it "10 local food and Drink tasting" is downright false advertising, apologies. Good tour but falsely advertised

Yvonne 🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Paolo)

18 September 2024

We enjoyed a personalized 3 hour food tour with Paulo which was fantastic. His local knowledge of all the foods and the history of Bologna was first class and delivered in an interesting and relatable way. Paulos English is excellent so we felt lucky to have spent the time with him and now feel we have a rich understanding of Bologna. Strongly recommend 10

Tessa🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Frederik)

12 September 2024

We had a fabulous tour with Frederik. He was very knowledgeable and gave us some excellent dining suggestions.Bologna Tour

George

(About local Paolo)

12 September 2024

Paolo was a wonderful guide for our private tour. He is passionate about his city of Bologna, and very knowledgeable about its history and culture. Would highly recommend.Bologna Tour with Paolo

Heidi🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

27 August 2024

I am a travel agent and I sent me clients on a walking tour of Bologna with Paolo. They had a wonderful time. They loved his historical knowledge and he took them down logs of cool alleyways and showed cool architecture. Paolo is very open to doing what the client wants. My clients were unsure what they wanted to see so Paolo took them to the canals first and that was perfect. His communication with me was excellent. I would definitely recommend Paolo as a guide.My Clients Had a wonderful time with Paolo

Irwin

(About local Paolo)

24 July 2024

We had a v we y nice tour with Paolo. He was very informative about Bologna and it's history. We learned a geat deal about the foods of the area. Good experience.

Jennifer🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

15 July 2024

We took this private tour on our first evening in Bologna so that we could take a deep dive into the local cuisine. Paolo was the perfect guide. He has curated an extremely well-rounded experience that truly showcases what this region offers - meats, cheeses, balsamic vinegar, pasta, pastry, and wines. Paolo is extremely knowledgable and incredibly passionate about his city and its amazing food. I highly recommend this experience. A Fun & Informative Culinary Experience

Natalie🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

6 July 2024

Paolo was a great tour guide. He took us to try some amazing authentic cuisine and provided us with background on the dishes and their importance to Bologna and the region. Added bonus was the historical information he shared as we passed by significant landmarks on our walk. Would highly recommend!Great Food Tour

Nishit🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

2 July 2024

Paolo was a fantastic guide , providing historical context and a deep understanding of the town. He was also able to provide what turned out to be wonderful recommendations for restaurants and bars. Hire Paolo! Highly knowledgeable and friendly guide

Cherita🇺🇸 United States

(About local Frederik)

24 June 2024

Frederik was so knowledgeable and excited to share his city with us. He gave us some history and took us to a great little local shop for wine and several dishes. He kept us away from the tourist traps and the owner of the shop, Paulo, was very welcoming. I definitely recommend this tour. Fantastic tour!

Sean🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

24 June 2024

Paolo was wonderful and fun. He knows EVERYTHING about Bologna. He gave great restaurant recommendations too.Fantastic experience

Sue

(About local Paolo)

17 June 2024

We booked a last minute food tour with Paolo to learn more about the food in Bologna. It was well worth our time. Paolo was knowledgeable about the food and the city of Bologna. We learned a lot about the city and food that we may not have learned had we not done this tour. Paolo was delightful and we enjoyed our time with him. Great food tour with Paolo

Marco

(About local Paolo)

1 June 2024

Paolo war sehr nett und fachkundig. Er konnte viel zum Essen und der Stadt erzählen. Leider hat er die Tour bereits nach zwei statt nach drei Stunden Stunden beendet. Auch die Essensauswahl war sehr überschaubar. Dafür war die Tour deutlich zu teuer. Schöne Tour, leider viel zu kurz

Keith

(About local Paolo)

23 May 2024

We had a fabulous tour of Bologna with Paolo. He was the perfect host for our 10 tastings tour. 10 tastings of Bologna

Ingrid🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

14 May 2024

I enjoyed every minute of my tour with Paolo. He is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Bologna!! I highly recommend this tour for a customized exploration of the city!Excellent local guide!!

Susan🇺🇸 United States

(About local mauro)

11 May 2024

We were so fortunate to taste Bologna with Mauro. His knowledge of the city is near-encyclopedic, and his appreciation for the city and its culinary traditions is unbounded. Our tour was comprised almost entirely of the beyond-the-obvious places that locals prefer. Each stop offered delicious, unique specialties that pleased the palate and gave us a better appreciation of how Bolognese foods have evolved. In the following days we found ourselves returning to some of them, and were never disappointed. We also learned about the contrarian culture that created and continues to shape Bologna, giving us an appreciation for the qualities that make Bologna unique, and most definitely worth a return visit. Highest recommendation.Visit Bologna, and let Mauro be your guide

Anja

(About local Paolo)

31 March 2024

It was a wonderful and special day with Paolo. He had to handle a family with 3 Teenager and he made it perfect ☺️ He showed us delicious street food and had a lot of knowledge about history things. Thanks for the day, Paolo! Tasty Bologna

Mark🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local mauro)

22 February 2024

We booked a food tour with Mauro in Bologna as we were only here for 2 nights so we wanted to make sure we made the most of our time. We are both massive foodies and love Italy and Mauro & Bologna did not disappoint. Mauro was funny, very informative and our time with him flew by. He was friendly and relaxed, it was like having an afternoon out with an old friend. We have been to Italy a few times but love to try the regional dishes and Mauro introduced us to some wonderful food and wine. He also spent time answering our questions about Bologna, Tuscany and general life here. We would definitely recommended booking a tour with him and we hope to catch up with him again on our next visit. Grazie Mauro Mauro è stato fantastico

Jodi🇺🇸 United States

(About local Frederik)

7 November 2023

We had a wonderful tour with Frederik. He was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the city and it’s history. We were only there for the day, and he was able to cover a great deal of information about the city, and showed us many of the highlights, as well. He also gave us a recommendation for an authentic food and wine tasting which completed our visit to Bologna. I would highly recommend taking a tour with Frederik.Best of Bologna

jm.connolly🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Frederik)

29 October 2023

Very interesting to learn about the long history of Bologna with a local. Interesting History

Christina🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Frederik)

7 October 2023

Frederik hat uns bereits am Tag davor kontaktiert und uns Tipps gegeben, was wir anschauen könnten. Er war ausgesprochen nett und freundlich und hat uns einen tollen Einblick in die Stadt und deren Geschichte vermittelt! Danke Frederik!Perfekter Einblick

Peter🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Paolo)

3 October 2023

Paolo was very friendly and a real fun character. He was very knowledgeable about Bologna and local foods. I would highly recommend. Great guide and a Fun day out

Nancy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Frederik)

2 October 2023

Frederick was very pleasant and friendly but just a bit too talkative for us. He obviously loves his city and knows all about the art and history of Bologna, but having been a few tours prior to this one, a lot of the info was repeated. For us there was too much standing around and listening and not walking. Very heavy on history and not more general “ get to know Bologna” which we would have preferred. He did love conversing tho and answered questions happily. For history buffs

brentkaiserman19

(About local Frederik)

1 October 2023

We paid for the 10 tastings of Bologna and got 1 tasting. Our guide complained about how he only got paid a small percentage from the website and how he had to pay for the food. If i had known we wouldn’t be eating on the tour, I wouldn’t have booked it. It was great to meet the restaurant owner, Paolo, but other than that we just learned about the city and really didn’t get to experience the food. Really disappointing. At the end, the guide made a comment about how my tip was too low as well. Just weird. Really underwhelming

mallen

(About local Frederik)

27 September 2023

This was not your typical local tour… Frederic, is extremely knowledgeable with great depth of detail on local history, bring you to non touristy spots and introducing you to other locals who add great color to the overall tour. We highly recommend a day with Frederic…Fantastic Fréderic…

Rachael🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Frederik)

17 September 2023

Frederik was a great tour guide for our family. He kept the tour fast paced and was able to tell the history of the buildings and city in a way that kept the kids engaged. Frederik was able to recommend a walk for us to do, which showed us a little more of Bologna, and gave us a view over the city. We love kick start tours as they give us a chance to get an idea of a city’s layout, cover where major sites are, and get all the low down on alternative places to visit, eat etcFast Paced Intro

Jason🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Paolo)

31 August 2023

We had a great time with Paolo - the tour was equal parts history, learning about Bologna, and delicious. Paolo's sense of humour turned a tour with a guide into a walk around Bologna with a friend. Highly recommended! Fantastic experience in Bologna!

MaryBeth🇺🇸 United States

(About local Frederik)

26 August 2023

We did a kickstart city tour with Frederik and he was great! It was sweltering hot so he was very thoughtful to keep us in the shade as much as possible and let us take our time since we had two kids with us. He knows a lot about Bologna and this was a nice way to start our trip! Great tour!

Gill🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Paolo)

13 August 2023

Was a pleasure meeting Paolo and exploring Bologna with him; seeing his city, tasting the foods and learning about both the city and food history. Very informative, presented with humour and passion.Passionate Paolo

Mark🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

29 July 2023

Overall, it was a pretty good experience. Things started off a little shaky, when I went to the wrong door and after a little bit of confusion he met up with this but he seemed a bit miffed at the snafu. Not a great beginning. He had put together a good tour and we really did enjoy it. However, there were times when he seemed either distracted and or a disinterested, and he was on his phone quite a bit. He also didn't give us any introductory overview of what to expect, and my tour partner had to ask him what do we expect. He actually seemed surprised by the question. Probably the highlight of the tour was where we ended up; a cute little bar area where you can bring in your own food that dated back to the 1400s. It truly seemed like a little hole in the wall, and we felt like the locals who knew about a private little spot. Great food, but could have been better

Bradie🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Paolo)

11 July 2023

We had a great time on our Tour with Paolo. We tasted local dishes and wines and received some great recommendations for restaurants and places to explore in Bologna. Overall a brilliant day and would recommend to others. Great tour with Paolo

Melanie🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Paolo)

6 July 2023

Paolo was a great guide - we tasted many different flavours of Bologna. Everything we ate was delicious and felt very authentic Bolognese. Paolo explained lots of the local customs and ways of eating. The Osteria was a revelation - who knew we’d like Lambrusco. All ghosts of teenage parties were laid to rest! Thanks to Paolo for a great intro. As I write this we are sitting in one of the bars he has recommended, it has not disappointed. We recommend Paolo 100%. Find the hidden food dpots of Bologna

Geoff🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Frederik)

18 June 2023

Absolutely first-class tour of Bologna. Frederik did exactly what we asked him to do and gave us an amazing tour of the city, showing us things we would never have found on our own. He really knows the city inside out and gave us some useful tips for the rest of our stay. Fascinating

Ian🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local mauro)

2 June 2023

We had a fantastic afternoon with Mauro. He was an excellent host and we can not recommend him high enough. His knowledge of all things was encyclopaedic - but better than that, Mauro is such good company and fun. He could not help us enough. Grazie Grazie. Fantastico

Amy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Paolo)

27 May 2023

Did a tour with Paolo and I highly recommend! He was so knowledgeable about the history of Bologna and his passion for the city and Italy can’t be missed! He went above and beyond sharing more about Italian culture and lifestyle. We found his approach refreshing making sure this wasn’t just your basic tour but something customized to our interests. Must Do Tour!

Mathijs🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Paolo)

25 April 2023

Paolo is een goede en integere gids, die uitstekend Engels spreekt en echt veel weet over Bologna. Tip is om je goed in te lezen want hierdoor worden de gesprekken alleen maar interessanter. Wij boekten een privé tour, waarbij eten en de hoogtepunten van de stad centraal stonden. Een prima introductie van de stad.Aardige en kundige gids