4 best museums in Bologna

Museums in Bologna

Gallery · University Quarter (Via Zamboni)

1.Pinacoteca Nazionale

Bologna's main picture gallery traces painting in the city from Gothic altarpieces and a Giotto polyptych to the Carracci family and Guido Reni, who made Bologna a centre of Baroque art.

Time needed

1.5–2 hours

Cost

Low cost

• Art
• Rainy day
• History

Museum · University Quarter (Via Zamboni)

2.Palazzo Poggi Museum

The university museum in a frescoed 16th-century palace displays the collections of the 18th-century Institute of Sciences: anatomical wax models, obstetric teaching models, ship models, maps and natural-history specimens arranged as they were for students.

Time needed

1–1.5 hours

Cost

Low cost

• History
• Rainy day
• Kids
• Off the beaten path

Museum · Piazza Maggiore and the Quadrilatero

3.Museo Civico Archeologico

Beside San Petronio, the civic archaeology museum displays finds from Etruscan Felsina and the Villanovan settlements that preceded Roman Bononia, and one of Italy's most important Egyptian collections, with stelae, sarcophagi and mummified animals.

Time needed

1.5 hours

Cost

Low cost

• History
• Rainy day
• Kids

Museum · Borgo Panigale

4.Ducati Museum

In the Borgo Panigale suburb, about 7 km west of the centre, Ducati's museum traces the company from its 1920s start making radio components to its racing motorcycles, including MotoGP machines.

Time needed

1.5–2 hours

Cost

Mid-priced

• Kids
• Rainy day
• Off the beaten path

Grouped by area

Booking and timing

Of these 4, 3 low cost, 1 mid-priced. Book ahead for Ducati Museum. The longest visit is Pinacoteca Nazionale; group the rest by area to save travel time.

• Ducati Museum: Factory tours run by reservation and fill up; book online in advance.

How to fit them into 2 half-days

Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.

• Half-day 1 (University Quarter (Via Zamboni) and Piazza Maggiore and the Quadrilatero): Pinacoteca Nazionale → Palazzo Poggi Museum → Museo Civico Archeologico, at least 4 hours.
• Half-day 2 (Borgo Panigale): Ducati Museum, at least 2 hours.

The quietest months for queues

• August: highs of 30°C (86°F), about 5 rainy days, quiet crowds. Many locals leave and some restaurants and shops close around Ferragosto, but hotels are cheaper and the city is calm.
• January: highs of 6°C (43°F), about 6 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cold, damp and often foggy; museums and trattorie are quiet, and the porticoes keep you dry.
• February: highs of 9°C (48°F), about 6 rainy days, quiet crowds. Still chilly but brighter, with Carnival bringing costumed children and parades at weekends.

The neighbourhoods they are in

• Piazza Maggiore and the Quadrilatero — The civic centre and the medieval market lanes of delis, fishmongers and wine bars
• University Quarter (Via Zamboni) — Student life, Piazza Verdi and porticoed Via Zamboni northeast of the Two Towers

More of Bologna

All things to do in Bologna · Where to stay · When to go.

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