2-hour Walking Tour of Bologna

Our guide, Vanessa, was knowledgeable in the history of Bologna. We were a bit late trying to find parking and she waited for us. She showed us the important places in the city and a few good food places also. Great experience!

The first tour I booked was cancelled. Then the tour operator reached out to me, asking me to rebook because they had TWO other people who wanted to go on the tour. I rebooted. They gave the directions to meet "right past" a hotel, but did not give an address, the name of the business we were meeting at, or even a landmark like "Meet under the big tree." It was obvious. When I couldn't find them, they directed me to ring a bell outside of a locked gate of a bicycle shop. Once inside, the guide asked the woman behind the counter of the bike shop for headsets so we could hear her, as it was a loud and busy day in the city. She said there were none available, although there were 3 on the counter, enough for our group totally 3 people. So the tour guide said we would have to be close to be able to hear here - great practice during Covid. Then the woman behind the counter made us sign a contract or waiver of some kind. In all of my years of tours, I have never had to sign anything, and I've done private tours of the Sistine Chapel. Odd. The group had 4 more people added on. They were Italian-speaking. So when we finally left 20 minutes late, the tour guide spent 70% of the time speaking Italian to them and the rest of the time kind of talking to us. Yes, she said to speak up if we had any questions but I don't buy tours to simply ask questions, I go on tours to learn the presented materials. I'm touring because I'm new to a place and i want to learn what is relevant. The guide did take us to key places and told us about them. However, I didn't hear most of it and most of the time was spent waiting for her to talk to the other group. She had to do everything twice, once for each language, so I can't imagine either group got the experience they were supposed to have. The tour ended 20 minutes late. Afterwards, the tour operator texted me, saying she needed more information from me. Email, address, etc. I told her I signed up and paid through Viator and they should have what they need. Then they wrote me through a different app, asking for the same. Apparently they didn't have me fill out part of the form. They continued to ask me for it until I stopped responding. I sure do hope I didn't cause them any inconvenience. I told them the experience wasn't what I paid for - especially paying for an English tour, when they just doubled up to make more money. Ridiculous. They apparently refunded me. But that's not what reviews are about. I'll say something positive. If you buy this tour and have the same experience as me, maybe they will refund you. By the way, I've used Viator many times and this is the only negative review I have ever left. In fact, I can't remember leaving a negative review anywhere for years.

The tour was fabulous. We really learned to appreciate Balogna. The perfect mix of history, architecture, and local attractions. Wonderful tour guide. The two hours flew by. One of the best tours we have ever had and the best tour guide ever.

Our tour guide Francesco Antonelli was wonderful!! He was not only incredibly knowledgeable, he also made the tour fun! This was not your typical tour where you stand in the main square and hear a speech, Francesco takes you off the beaten path, before you arrive at Bologna’s treasures. We highly recommend this tour!

We had our own personal 2-hour walking tour :) Our Guide was very knowledgable about the history of Bologna and took us to all the main sights in the city centre.

our guide was great. showed us all details of bologna. i believe 1st impressions last forever, that said, may you can suggest to bologna to clean up grafffiti. thank you for everything.

The main square was full of historical and architectural insights. The gastronomical background was very helpful and the specialties of the region make you want to try everything.

The guide was excellent really knowledgeable informative and interesting. I would recommend doing this walking tour.

Adriana was a great guide. Telling us interesting stories and answering all our questions showing great knowledge of history and literature. We particularly enjoyed seeing the canals and the Jewish ghetto. Places we would have missed on our own.

We loved our walking tour and our amazing tour guide. We learned so much about Bologna and had a wonderful time!!!!