After the Ravenna Marathon: Bologna

The Route: Ravenna → Bologna (2 nights) → home Logistics: Regional trains connect Ravenna and Bologna, often with a change at an intermediate station. Allow roughly one and a half hours and check the actual Sunday and Monday timetable before you book. Marathon Month: November Duration: 2 nights

Ravenna ──(regional train, change likely)──> Bologna Centrale
                                                  │
                            Via dell'Indipendenza ── Piazza Maggiore
                                                  │
                   Two Towers ── university quarter ── Via Zamboni

Bologna has about 40 kilometres of porticoes, covered arcades that line streets so that you can walk the whole centre without meeting rain. That is the main fact for a runner on the day after the race. In November the weather is damp, and the stone arcades keep you dry and flat-footed from the station to the main square.

The city is also, by a margin, the best place in Italy to eat a long lunch, and eating is what most of the two nights should be about.

November in Bologna: the days are cool and often foggy, the arcades are busy with students and office workers, and the markets are in full autumn mode. Museums close on certain days, often Monday, so check.

Getting there

From Ravenna, a regional train goes via an intermediate town such as Faenza or Castel Bolognese, and a change is often needed. Buy a ticket in advance and check the platform. Bologna Centrale is a short walk or bus ride from the old centre.

Where to stay

Choose a hotel within the ring road, near Via dell'Indipendenza or Piazza Maggiore, so that you can walk everywhere. Ask for a lift and check breakfast times. Trade fairs fill the city's hotels, and prices rise sharply when they are on, so check dates.

Day one: Piazza Maggiore and the Two Towers

Piazza Maggiore is the big, flat main square, with the Basilica di San Petronio on one side. Inside the basilica, a brass line runs across the floor, laid in the seventeenth century as a sundial. Climb nothing. The Two Towers, Asinelli and Garisenda, stand at the east end of Via Rizzoli; the taller one can be climbed on a ticket by 498 steps, and tired quads will not enjoy it, so look from the ground.

Day two: the university quarter and the porticoes

Via Zamboni runs through the old university quarter, and the Archiginnasio, with its wooden anatomical theatre, is on the way. A more ambitious option is the long portico of San Luca, which climbs for kilometres to a church on a hill and is on the UNESCO list. It is steady, uphill and not for the day after a marathon, but you can ride a bus to the top or admire the arcades at the bottom. Check the bus and opening hours.

What to eat

Tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini in brodo, lasagne verdi and mortadella are the regional answer to most questions. Look for a trattoria near the Quadrilatero market streets, and book for dinner. Many close on Sundays or Mondays, so check the day.

Getting back

Bologna Centrale is a major rail hub, with high-speed trains to Milan, Florence and Rome, and an airport with a shuttle bus. Check your onward timetable and leave a margin.