The Best Places to Stay in Bologna

For a City Centre Stay

• Well-located in Bologna’s pedestrian centre, Hotel Corona d'Oro combines affordable luxury with elegant decor. Its 40 classically styled rooms include family suites, parquet floors, stucco, and exposed beams. Extras include a stylish bar, hotel bikes, and beautifully decorated communal areas.
• Charming and central, Hotel Commercianti offers 35 historic-style rooms with tiled floors, frescoes, and oak beams. Family suites are available. While there's no restaurant, guests enjoy hearty breakfasts, hotel bikes, and cooking classes in this atmospheric, boutique-size hotel in pedestrianised Bologna.

For Romantics

• Set in Bologna’s pedestrian centre, Hotel Orologio is a traditional, romantic Italian-style stay with marble finishes, luxurious fabrics, mood lighting, and grand sash windows. It lacks a restaurant but offers breakfast and complimentary hotel bikes for exploring the city.

For Luxury

• Housed in an 18th-century palazzo, Grand Hotel Majestic exudes opulence with chandeliers, marble, damask, velvet, and four-poster beds. A regal experience in Bologna’s arcaded centre, it includes a prosecco breakfast, fine dining, and lavish interiors inspired by aristocratic grandeur.

For Great Value

• With a grand porticoed facade, I Portici offers 89 elegant rooms in minimalist tones, some with balconies over Via dell’Indipendenza. Spacious public areas match the exterior, and there are two restaurants — one Michelin-starred — making this a refined, affordable and well-rounded Bologna stay.
• Tucked on a quiet street near historic sights, Hotel Touring has 38 compact, cleverly designed rooms, some with balconies and double beds. The stylish yet simple decor pairs well with standout features like a rooftop terrace with city views and a hot tub. Great value for money.
• Hotel Porta San Mamolo offers traditional charm with 28 spacious rooms featuring wallpaper, beams, and soft lighting. Guests enjoy a generous buffet breakfast, a leafy courtyard garden, and free-to-borrow bikes — perfect for exploring Bologna from this peaceful, well-positioned, low cost base.

Prefer a Private Apartment or Villa?

• If you'd prefer the privacy of a self-catering option then browse through the wide variety available online with our partner, Booking.com.

Travel Information

• Bologna has its own airport, Bologna Airport, which is only 11 minutes from the centre of town by Aerobus. Alternatively, Florence’s Amerigo Vespucci international airport is only about an hour away from central Bologna by car or taxi, or just over an hour away by train.
• If you want to hire a car we recommend you visit our online partner, Rentalcars.
• There’s not really a bad time to plan a city break to Bologna, but, sitting between Venice and Florence, Bologna gets the same heat as Florence, and humidity as Venice, so it’s hot and damp in the summer, and chilly in winter. If you’re hoping to visit with pleasant weather, then from mid-April onwards Bologna’s spring gets more predictable, with plenty of sunshine to combat the cool breezes — plus spring blooms! Bologna’s hot, humid summers are the most popular time to visit, but largely because this is when Italy gets most of its visitors. Come July and August temperatures get up to 35°C, with 100% humidity. Autumn is Bologna’s rainiest season, but the first few months are still mild and pleasant, and this is plum time for food festivals, both in Bologna and in the hill towns that surround it. Christmas is Italy is always quite special, and Bologna is known for its Christmas markets and beautiful lights, and evenings in December and January are lively, despite the low temperatures.

Still not sure where to stay?

• Expand your search to include all our recommendations for the best places to stay in Emilia Romagna
• Or consider staying in one of Bologna’s near neighbours: try the best places to stay in Parma or Modena
• Alternatively, you could contact one of our friendly Gurus for personalised advice.