Famously underrated, this gourmet’s haven is Italy’s seventh largest city, full of jaw-dropping medieval architecture and sweeping piazzas. The city shimmers with vibrant activity, its world-class cultural institutions hosting year-round events for a buzzy populus of students and intellectuals.
There’s a distinct lack of mass tourism, too – you won’t see coachloads of day-trippers or gallery queues – so you can simply fall into the flow of locals (especially if you add some Italian to your repertoire). Beloved by its country folk, Bologna has not one but three nicknames; La Dotta (‘The Learned’) in honour of its 11th-century university, hailed as the oldest in Europe; La Rossa (‘The Red’) for the city’s leftist politics; and, most importantly, La Grassa (‘The Fat’), a nod to its notoriety as Italy’s foodie capital.
