Bologna vs. Ferrara

[SOShrink]

For the precious few of you who have river cruised in Italy, on one of our days when we dock at Polesella (Venice and the Gems of Northern Italy trip), we have to make a decision. The Cruise Companion says "do you spend a full day in Bologna, the culinary capital of Northern Italy, or visit Ferrara, a beautiful preserved Renaissance city?". By the way, isn't this the sort of thing Cruise Critic is meant for rather than arguing about "snobby old tourists with cameras"?!! Would appreciate any feedback that would help us decide where to spend the day.

[caviargal]

How long is the bus ride to these two options from Venice? That would influence my decision personally.

 

We have been to Bologna a few times on day trips from Florence and loved our four days there a few years ago. We would definitely return for a few days.

 

It is far larger than Ferrara. We enjoy food, wine and architecture as well as shopping in public markets and wandering interesting areas off the beaten path. Bologna had a lot to keep happy.

[aquilegia]

I was in Bologna for a few days a couple of weeks ago and really liked it. it. I've visited Italy a lot and it's definitely the least 'touristy' large Italian city I've ever been to. All the meals i had there were very good as well.

 

I don't know how far it is from Venice by bus, but I believe it's 2 hours on the train.

Edited March 1, 2015 by aquilegia

[SOShrink]

Both excursions leave from the dock in Polesella which is an hour from Bologna and 30 min. from Ferrara so the travel time is really not an issue. I will say that the Bologna tour is a full day that includes pasta making and lunch whereas the Ferrara excursion is a half day and you are back on board by lunch.

[Babcia7]

We loved our excursion to Bologna! Not only did we get a tour of the city, but we had time on our own to explore the market area. We went into a wonderful little shop which specialized in Balsamic vinegars, and the shop owner treated us to a tasting of 12, 25, and even 100 year old traditional vinegars! To top off the excursion, we went to a great restaurant for a pasta making demonstration (in which they encourage you to participate), then had a delicious lunch including free flowing wine. We enjoyed the wine so much we purchased a couple of bottles. One of the things I enjoyed about this trip with Uniworld was the opportunity to eat off of the ship (although meals on the Countess were all wonderful, it was fun to "go local")!

I always consider the bus ride part of the tour.

[SOShrink]

Thank you for those encouraging words, Babcia! I'm like you. A 2 hour bus trip doesn't scare me and it IS part of the trip (scenery, talking to others or the tour guide, or glancing at your guide book to prepare for the destination, etc.) as long as they take a bathroom break!

[roaming_kiwi58]

When we had this choice on our Uniworld cruise last year we chose Ferrara. Enjoyed it very much. A great walled town with lots of history. There is a lot to see and we did lots of walking. We had a tour first, then time on our own. There was a choice of several shuttles to return to the "River Countess" on, so you could return at the end of the tour, or stay on and make it a whole day trip if you wanted.

[SOShrink]

Hope things are well in NZ! Thanks for the feedback. I like the choice of staying in town with a choice of shuttles. They do that in a lot of destinations and that is a nice feature.

[roaming_kiwi58]

Hi SOShrink

 

I just dug out my diary from this trip, to provide more detail on the day we went to Ferrara.

 

We left the River Countess at 10am, for the half hour drive to Ferrara. Firstly those that were interested had a walking tour of the castle, Jewish District and cathedral. This took about 90 minutes. Then there were three shuttles you could choose from to return to the boat - at 12.30pm, 3pm or 5pm.

In the centre of the city there is a moated castle, and a cathedral. Around the edge of the city are the remains of the old city walls. In between we found lots of old palazzo, churches and cobbled streets. There is also an amazing cemetery - Certosa, full of splendid memorials. If you go walking make sure you get here. We were given some excellent maps each - I believe they came from the tourist info centre. The map had several suggested walking routes marked on it.

 

The day we went to Verona was another day they gave us a choice of return shuttles - at 2pm or 3pm. The walking tour we had on arrival in Verona finished at 1pm. It was a 90 minute drive back to the boat. It took two hours to get to Verona, because of a stop at a motorway service centre, which took longer than expected because of the long queues!

 

If you want any more detail on any days let me know. We did this trip just last year - August 2014. We only did the cruise part, not the extension to Florence and Rome. The standout highlight was the evening visit to St Mark's Basilica. No other tourists to compete with! And a brilliant talk from a guide, Susan, who is actually English, but so knowledgeable about all things Italian.

[SOShrink]

Thanks! I'll take you up on that as questions arise. It's very cool that you kept a diary to refer to. Good job! Steve