Bologna is famous all over Emilia-Romagna for its dynamic nightlife, thanks to its many in bars, taverns, and clubs. There are various forms of entertainment in town, among which theatres and live music concerts. Thanks to the presence of the famous University, Bologna is a very young and active city, and there are always plenty of options when it comes to having fun!
Here you can find a cultural “agenda” where they post different events taking place in Bologna:
Bologna Cultural Agenda (Italian)
Bologna Cultural Agenda (english)
Best restaurants in Bologna
What is an osteria?
An osteria is a typical Italian “restaurant”. It was originally a place that served wine and simple food. Nowadays it gives greater importance to the food; however, menus tend to be short and the food served here mainly consists in local specialities such as pasta and grilled meat or fish. Meals are often served at shared tables and osterias usually tend to be cheap. Some restaurants can provide music and other types of entertainment. The menu’s offers change daily according to the market, and normally two or three courses are offered at a fixed price.
Here you can find some of the best osterias in Bologna, along with other types of restaurants:
Osteria dell’Orsa
This is how to dine in Emilia-Romagna: casual waiters, shared tables, and generous jugs of house wine. Start off with a bowl of al dente (properly cooked) tortellini in a simple broth or with rich and meaty tagliatelle al ragù, and then move on to a classic cotoletta all bolognese (veal with Parma ham and a hefty serving of cheese) or milanese (a type of Italian schnitzel). Anyhow, most people decide to go for the dish of the day, but there are plenty of cured meats, crostini, and salads, too.
Location on Google Maps
Osteria della Fondazza
No Friday night is ever complete without a visit to this wood-panelled gem in via Fondazza. Osteria della Fondazza is an authentic Bolognese experience. Friday is the day for crescentini, small parcels of fried bread that can be stuffed with mortadella, prosciutto and other cured meats. Here you can feast on stracchino (a soft cheese), tomato chutney, and pickled onions, too. If you have some room left, the Fiorentina steak is about as good as it gets for a second course dish!
Location on Google Maps
All’osteria Bottega
This address is no secret to dining lists, but earns mixed approval from locals, based mostly on cost. Ultimately, though, the food is respectable, the service good, and there’s an agreeable wine list. This restaurant offers low-food presidia products, like a 36-month naturally cured culatello di Zibello sourced from local heritage varieties of swine. Osteria Bottega manages to procure a wide range of Bolognese traditions executed with consistency from start to finish. Perhaps the strongest offering is the cured meat selection from fine producers and the main courses, such as pigeon in a wine reduction sauce.
Location on Google Maps
Osteria Santa Caterina
If you are of those old dreamers who still believe in the legendary “Bologna delle Osterie”, a tour which whisks you from one portico to another, to drink, eat, and chat, you are in for some bad news: that mystical place no longer exists.
One of the places that most resembles the concept of a tavern (with arcades, cramped entrance, affordable prices, courtly service, well-attended settings, where you can drink very well and eat without feeling pretentious) is the Osteria di Santa Caterina. Recommended for its wines, cheeses, cold cuts, and soups.
Location on Google Maps
I Portici Hotel Restaurant
As the proud holder of the only Michelin star in Bologna, the restaurant is definitely amongst the best in the city. The Portici Restaurant is definitely one of the most elegant and most delicious restaurants in Bologna. Its image is rather distant from the classic and traditional ideal of trattoria in Bologna which attracts many visitors. However, from reading the menu you can definitely perceive the Bologna-ness of the restaurant. Many dishes are similar to classic Bolognese specialities – but they come with a modern twist. We highly recommend this restaurant, as the quality of the food and the service ranks among the best in Bologna.
Location on Google Maps
Mercato delle erbe
Mercato delle Erbe is the largest covered market in the historical city centre; here it is possible to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, cheese, wine, and much more. In 2014 a few areas of the market were turned into a food court.
Location on Google Maps
Via del Pratello
The spirit of Via del Pratello represents sound evidence of the city’s nightlife tradition, where students and locals gather, giving life to a dynamic and vibrant street. Its historical pubs – cheap and not demanding – give shelter to visitors in search of endless conversations over a beer or a glass of wine.
Strolling along this street might be the best chance to experience the real nightlife movida of Bologna; in any case, the street also presents forms of life during the day, with its many restaurants, pizzerie, and bars.
In the historical centre of Bologna, this street fills up with people and comes to life every evening: its premises feed the already lively nightlife of the city. Via del Pratello, however, has a long history behind it, that saw it first sink into decadence, and then rise up culturally in the period of student revolts – to finally become the hipster neighbourhood we know it as today.
Location on Google Maps
Live music in Bologna
Oratorio di Santa Cecilia
The annual San Giacomo Festival brings regular free chamber-music recitals to this lovely location. Visit the website or read the board outside to learn about the upcoming events.
Location on Google Maps
Offering the most varied mix of live music in the University area, Bravo begins nightly operations as a risto-bar with homemade Bolognese culinary specialities and a 300-label wine cellar; later it enters club mode, with an eclectic mix of rock, blues, funk, jazz, and much more.
Location on Google Maps
Cantina Bentivoglio
Cantina Bentivoglio is the place to go to for those who love jazz music. It is considered an institution in Bologna and is always crowded. It is best to call and make reservations.
Location on Google Maps
Estragon Club
A multi-purpose room and renowned venue for rock events located in a 1200 square metre warehouse; the facilities include a stage, dressing rooms, offices, two bars, and other services. The Estragon Club offers a 360-degree music experience: from jazz to punk, pop to new trends, following a traditional policy of low prices, which means even offering free entry to many concerts. The club is well known all over Italy and in Europe for its work and for its constant output of events in the music sector. It has been active for over 20 years and has become a popular local destination where people can rock out to indie beats, recharge with the energy of electro-clash, dance to the reggae sounds and the best grooves of rock.
Last but not least, the Estragon Club is perhaps the most welcoming place in the city – a haven for both hordes of metalheads in leather uniforms and groups of boys with tight neck-ties and indie nerd glasses, or even just for someone who is simply looking for concerts, events or a rock-based or world music evening.
Location on Google Maps
Theatres in Bologna
Teatro Comunale
This respected theatre, where Wagner’s works were heard for the first time in Italy, is still Bologna’s leading opera and classical music venue.
Location on Google Maps
Arena del Sole
The Arena del Sole is one of the historical theatres of Bologna. Its origins date back to 1810. It was reopened in 1995 after eight years of reconstruction works.
It encloses two theatre halls: Sala Leo de Berardinis – Sala Grande and Sala Thierry Salmon – Sala Piccola.
The theatre prevalently offers drama performances, but it is also stage to music concerts and dance shows.
Location on Google Maps
As a theatre, the Teatro Auditorium Manzoni is used mainly for classical music concerts. The venue is located in the centre of Bologna. It is the location of choice for the Philarmonic Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna’s concert season – but it also hosts light music concerts.
Creating a theatre and theatrical showroom in a most central areas of the city was the purpose that propelled the construction of the Cinema Theater in the early Thirties. It was a daring work at the time. A load-bearing masonry, in solid bricks, supported the metal structures of the gallery and of the stalls, while the proscenium consisted mainly of spiked girders, as was customary at the time. Many have called it “the best one could ever ask for”, to the point that Bologna’s Teatro Manzoni became comparable to some of the best theatres in Italy.
Location on Google Maps
Cinemas in Bologna
Cinema Chaplin screens films in original language from September to May. Tickets are reduced to €5 on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Location on Google Maps
Cineteca di Bologna
2012 was an important year; almost fifty years after the opening of the Cinema Commission (where the Cineteca di Bologna finds it origin), the Film Library was acknowledged as a Foundation, as of the 1st January. A new statutory form that the Cineteca chose to give itself in order to put its energies to better use, to open up to more dynamic perspectives of work and research, to affirm an increasingly proactive and meaningful presence in the field of film culture.
The Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna is a place of archival conservation and restoration, of promotion and diffusion of cinema and audiovisual arts, of training, of research, and of publishing production. Characterised by a prismatic vocation, Cineteca is now more prepared to face all the challenges that film as an art, in an era of such profound changes (technological, aesthetic, social), places to those who strive for its protection, its enhancement, and its full comprehension.
Location on Google Maps
Cinema Lumiere
The Cineteca movie theatre is a unique venue in our country. It plays an important cultural role, as it spreads the compendium of knowledge relating to every aspect of the history of cinema. In particular, it revives works which are no longer present in the distribution scene or that are ignored by the market.
Active since 1984, Cinema Lumière, after moving to its current location in via Azzo Gardino 65, has two rooms: Sala Scorsese and Sala Mastroianni / Officinema. Equipped with modern projection systems for films and videos, the Lumière cinema offers a daily schedule without a weekly closing. Moreover, its entry price policy is aimed at attracting the widest possible audience. Besides the screenings, among the activities of Cinema Lumière we list seminars and meetings with authors: moments of in-depth study on topics related to the making of films and opportunities to investigate specific aspects of the history of cinema.
Location on Google Maps
Drinks
In Bologna there are plenty of places where you can go for drinks! Bologna has wonderful taverns and pubs full of history; Osteria del Sole wins first place. The Osteria da Mario and Osteria della Fondazza are listed among the oldest and less pretentious taverns.
You can also give happy hour at the Cluricaune Irish Pub a try if you want to have a couple of drinks while you sit and chat. The Lord Lister’s English pub at the opposite end of the square is another great place to go. Both places are student favourites and are normally very busy – therefore you may prefer to visit the Contavalli (an Italian-style pub) instead, or go over to the Master’s Pub and Downtown café, where you can also enjoy live music and a cabaret, keeping things lively.
Camera a Sud
Camera a Sud is a wine bar; the kitchen is open everyday from midday to midnight. It is located in the Jewish ghetto, near one of the secrets canals of Bologna. With calm music in the background and a retro look, it will make you feel relaxed and forget about your problems for a while.
Be it for a meeting with an old friend or even for an important meeting – this is the 5-star place. Although the prices are cheap, the owners show great care for their bar. It is practically necessary to book, as the place is very small.
In summer, though, they open the terrace so you can enjoy a nice glass of wine outside with a good atmosphere; sometimes they throw parties. If you love wine, this is the place for you. They have a great selection featuring only the best products. But don’t worry if you are more of a beer-person or a cocktail fan – they have these, too.
And what about food? You can find different types of food here – hot and cold dishes, “tapas” and snacks, unusual combinations, tasty salads, a wide selection of cold cuts, cheeses, and more. There are some dishes that are always available from the menu and others that change daily. They carefully choose fresh, in season products.
Location on Google Maps
Il modo Infoshop
In via Mascarella you can find an awesome independent library with an adjacent bar. The library is full of books with alternative print texts, comics and illustrated books, photography, art, old books, books on politics… everything you could ever imagine! It is open until late evening. The bathroom is rather peculiar: there are two prints by Alessandro Baronciani and the inside walls are covered in writing, some of which are beautiful. A wonderful place to be surrounded by books!
Location on Google Maps
Ruggine is hidden in a narrow street in the heart of the city. Here you can pamper yourself with a drink prepared by one of the bartenders and some of the chef’s delicacies. Cockatils (majestically presented and costing only €6!), wine, beer… anything you want! Enjoy all of this immersed in a nice atmosphere where you can listen to some music.
The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and a metropolitan decoration – it comes across as a very intimate place. It has wooden tables: very trendy and welcoming. A pleasant addition: free water for everybody, natural or sparkling! The team is made up of 4 guys from different regions of Italy who love Bologna.
Location on Google Maps
Festivals
Cinema Ritrovato
The “Cinema Ritrovato” is a film festival dedicated to the discovery of strange and alternative cinema and, most of all, the origins of cinematography. It has been running since 1986, when it first took place at Mostra del Cinema Libero di Porretta. The exposition shows a range of weird films, sent in by the archives of libraries in different countries. It takes place between June and July in some places of the historical centre, including Piazza Maggiore and Manifattura delle Arti. The artistic director of this festival was the Finnish cinema critic and historian, Peter von Bagh, who passed away in 2015.
So, what will you find at Cinema Ritrovato, exactly? You will discover old movies that you have probably never seen before or just rediscover the ones that everybody loves and everybody has to see at least once in their lifetime. It will bring you back in time, across many different eras. You will find a beautiful city that commits to the cinema and to those who love cinema for one long week. Selection of films, differing in beauty, rarity, meaning; a fantastic team of musicians and composers who accompany silent films; a passionate and competent audience from all over the world.
An open-air cinema museum for 8 days a year, with evening screenings in Piazza Maggiore.
Cinema Ritrovato video trailer
Artefiera
The Bologna Exhibition Centre hosts the most important trade show of Italian contemporary and modern art. After 42 editions, Arte Fiera is a must for Italian and international collectors. Arte Fiera aims to place a special focus on the Italian art scene. It represents Bologna’s intention to reclaim its title as Italy’s “learned” city, going beyond the globalised art circuit also in terms of the approach to the art market. The centre hosts art galleries and exhibitions dealing with publishing, graphics, and creativity. Visual art has acquired an unprecedented freedom in its diverse languages, production process, and employed expressive forms. That’s why the mix of diverse works produced at different times create a dialogue between the present and the past, opening new possibilities for discussion.
Bologna Jazz Festival
Bologna Jazz Festival is the oldest jazz music festival in Italy. It takes place in Bologna, but also in some other places around the city, like Ferrara or Modena. What can you find at this annual event? Good music, of course – from jazz and contemporary, from hip-hop to electronic music. If you are a jazz-lover, this is the festival for you. The history of great jazz corresponds to some of the most innovate trends.
Other than music, you will also find meetings and masterclasses with professional artists.
The first edition of this festival took place in 1958 and was originally the idea of Alberto Alberti, a big fan of jazz music, and the Disclub foundation (the first Italian shop dedicated only to jazz) and Antonio “Cicci” Foresti, who organised several concerts for “Doctor Dixie Jazz Band”.
Future Film Festival
Future Film Festival is one of the main Italian film festivals and is known internationally. It is dedicated to traditional animation and digital special effects (animation, cinema, video-games, and new media). The festival, attended by Italian and international experts, was inaugurated in 1999 in Bologna and has taken place every year ever since. Future Film Festival has two different parts. The first one is “the round table” which is sees the participation of directors, artistic, and creative professionals; here they analyse their works, talk about different techniques, discuss topics from the sector… Sometimes you can also see the creation process of numerous projects. The second part gives the public the opportunity to preview animated films of world-famous authors and directors. People can see famous films belonging to the history of animation and science fiction. As of 2005, the festival organises a Cosplay competition.
Bilbolbul
Bilbolbul Festival is a comics festival that has been taking place in Bologna since 2007. It is organised by Hamelin Cultural Association. The name, “Bilbolbul”, is a tribute to the first cartoon character ever created in Italy. The event hosts a number of meetings with authors presented in different places around the city, such as museums, libraries, bars, galleries… Bilbolbul’s main focus is comics: both new Italian and new foreign proposals, a mixture of comics and other visual languages. There are different sub-events: screenings, meetings, workshops, performances, activities for children. Bilbolbul Festival lasts 4 days, welcoming over 30,000 spectators and more than 100 authors.
