Solo Era Download Solo Era on the App Store

City guide ยท Solo living

Things to Do Alone in Bologna

Written by the Solo Era team · Solo living · Last updated

Download Solo Era on the App Store More like this

Bologna is a good city for a grey November day on your own, because so much of it is under a roof or a portico. A city library stays open until midnight on Wednesdays, a historic osteria lets you bring your own lunch, and the Cineteca shows films in a restored old cinema. This page is built on official sources checked on 2026-11-01.

Start under the portico

Bologna Welcome, the city's tourist board, describes a UNESCO portico that runs 4 kilometres out of the centre and up the hill to the Sanctuary of San Luca. You do not have to walk all of it. A short stretch of covered street is enough to see why the city is easy in the rain, and nobody looks twice at a person walking alone with an umbrella folded.

If you would rather ride, the San Luca Express tourist train leaves Piazza Maggiore, takes about an hour and costs EUR 15 per person (San Luca Express). Walking back down is the easy half.

A library that stays up late

The Biblioteca Salaborsa, on Piazza del Nettuno, is a city library with free Wi-Fi. Its published hours are Monday 14:00 to 20:00, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9:00 to 20:00, Saturday 9:00 to 19:00, closed Sunday. On Wednesdays from 21 October 2026 to 26 May 2027 it stays open until midnight, with study rooms, reading areas and the vinyl listening rooms still running (Salaborsa hours).

Three things inside suit a solo visit:

Bring your own lunch

The Osteria del Sole, in Vicolo dei Ranocchi, dates from 1465. It serves only wine, and food may be brought from outside. Bologna Welcome suggests filling a paper cone, a "scartoz", with local cured meats and cheeses and eating at the long wooden tables. The venue lists Monday to Saturday 11:00 to 21:30 and Sunday 12:00 to 16:00 (Osteria del Sole; Bologna Welcome).

For a one-person meal there is nothing to order and no table for two to apologise for. Buy your food first at a shop in the Quadrilatero, the medieval market quarter beside Piazza Maggiore with cafes and gourmet shops (Bologna Welcome).

Cinema in the old Arcobaleno

The Cinema Modernissimo, in Piazza Re Enzo, is the Cineteca di Bologna's cinema in a building that was the Cinema Arcobaleno until 2007. It reopened on 21 November 2023. The Cineteca says its screens show classics and first runs in the original language. The November programme includes the political cinema of Haile Gerima, a retrospective of Korean director Na Hong-jin and the 32nd Visioni Italiane festival (Cineteca di Bologna, Italian).

There is no ticket office at the cinema itself. Buy at the Cineteca Bookshop in Piazza Maggiore, at Bologna Welcome in Piazza Maggiore 1/e, or online (Bologna Welcome). See cinema alone if a film by yourself is new to you.

Windows on the hidden water

Most of Bologna's canals were covered over. The Canale delle Moline can still be seen through a small window at Via Piella 16/a-18/a, known as "little Venice", and through windows in Via Oberdan and Via Malcontenti (Finestrella di Via Piella). It is a two-minute stop, so it costs nothing to fit in.

For a longer walk, the Canale Navile was the main route to the Adriatic ports for about 700 years. Bologna Welcome says you can walk along almost all of its 35 kilometres (Canale Navile). The Giardini Margherita, 26 hectares laid out in 1879, even keeps a short open-air stretch of the old Savena canal (Giardini Margherita).

University rooms and high views

The Asinelli Tower is closed for maintenance, so do not build a day around it.

Getting around

Buses are run by TPER. Its tickets now carry a QR code: hold it close to the validator and wait for the light and sound (TPER). Hello Bus gives live arrival times for urban buses by SMS or phone (TPER Hello Bus).

Your first solo outings in Bologna

  1. Easy. An hour in the Salaborsa reading rooms and the free poster show, then a look at the excavations.
  2. Medium. Buy food in the Quadrilatero and eat at the Osteria del Sole, then a window stop at Via Piella.
  3. Bold. A Cineteca evening at the Modernissimo on your own, or a morning on the portico towards San Luca followed by a late Wednesday at Salaborsa.

Solo Era (an iPhone app) has a culture mission at level 1: "Read in a public library for an hour." Salaborsa fits it, especially on a Wednesday evening. Free to download. A subscription is required to start missions. Prices and any free trial are shown in the app and depend on the offer and eligibility.

Details change. Check the venue before you go.

Solo Era for iPhone

Try it with Solo Era

Solo Era gives you one realistic mission a week, records how nervous you felt before and after, and keeps a photo journal of what you did. An iPhone app. A subscription is required to start missions; any free trial depends on the offer and eligibility shown in the app.

Download Solo Era on the App Store

See the full list of things to do alone in cities and the guide to eating alone. Nearby in Italy: Florence, Milan and Venice.

More cities in Italy and Europe

All city guides

FAQ

Is Biblioteca Salaborsa open late?

Yes, on Wednesdays. From 21 October 2026 to 26 May 2027 it is open until midnight. Other weekdays it closes at 20:00, Saturday at 19:00, and it is closed on Sunday.

Can I bring my own food to the Osteria del Sole?

Yes. Bologna Welcome and the osteria's own site say it serves only wine and you may bring food from outside.

Do I need a booking for the Archiginnasio?

Online booking is compulsory for the Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio and the Anatomical Theatre, for individual visitors as well.

Is there anything free to see?

The Pittori di Cinema poster exhibition in Salaborsa is free until 19 December 2026, and the Collezione di Zoologia at Via Selmi 3 is free. The Roman excavations under Salaborsa are by donation.

Where do I buy tickets for the Cinema Modernissimo?

There is no ticket office at the cinema. Use the Cineteca Bookshop or Bologna Welcome, both in Piazza Maggiore, or buy online.

Sources (checked 2026-11-01)

Solo Era for iPhone

Try it with Solo Era

Solo Era gives you one realistic mission a week, records how nervous you felt before and after, and keeps a photo journal of what you did. An iPhone app. A subscription is required to start missions; any free trial depends on the offer and eligibility shown in the app.

Download Solo Era on the App Store
Solo Era mission library with difficulty levels