On foot
Bologna is a great place around which to travel on foot, as getting around the city is very simple with clear street signs. It is also a great way to find hidden gems such as Pizzerias packed with Italians so you KNOW you reached the right place. Be a bit careful when crossing roads, the city centre swarms with scooters and small motorcycles cars banned during the day and they ride them everywhere.
By bike
Bikes are most popular amongst the people of Bologna. They are available for hire on various location around the city one near the train station. You can ride on the many bike trails and on the side of the road. Be sure to lock them safely with a good lock, as they get stolen all around town, especially around the University.
Plan Your Travel
A great place to start planning how to get around Emilia-Romagna region and Bologna city using buses and trains is on: (http://212.131.171.232/re...)?.
Layout Of The City
Looking at the map of the city it is possible to get a free one at the Tourist Information Center in Piazza Maggiore, the first thing to do to orient yourself is to find the Due Torri landmark in the center of the free map. The center of the city is surrounded by the Viali, a circular road easily recognizable. The northeast quadrant of the map is the university district which unlike US campus is an integral part of the city and not a separate compound. The two southern quadrants of your city map are residential sections of the city, and not common tourist areas. However, walking outside the city center, further to the south, you will come upon hills and the Giardini Margherita, the largest park of the city.
By bus
The ATC company is in charge of the buses in Bologna. Useful information can be found on their website: (http://www.atc.bo.it/engl...). Tickets may be purchased prior to boarding the bus, or on the bus where there are ticket machines. If you see 2 machines on a bus usually Red and Yellow the Red one will sell you a ticket 1,5 EUR, valid for 1 hour and the Yellow one will validate a 'season' or multi trip ticket. Information and ticket centers are available in central locations railway station, coach station, city center. Useful bus maps are available there. These main ticket centres often sell multi trip tickets at a discount eg â¬10 worth of travel for â¬8.50. You can also purchase tickets in many shops newspaper sellers, tobacconists, cafes.