Bologna; Friday, 28 September, 2012

With a stunning and sumptuous breakfast inside me I headed out into town to explore.

First stop of the morning was the Torre degli Asinelli and the hefty 500 odd step climb to its top and the stunning views it offers over the city centre, then down to the Piazza Maggiore to pick up the hop-on-hop-off open-top coach tour of the city.

I did two circuits of the route taking in the views before the service ended for its extended lunch break, which I took as a hint to grab a quick bite to eat myself.

Lunch consumed I headed over to the Cathedral to have a look around that before ticking off the Basilica di San Petronio and then wandering over to the land train up to the massive church of San Luca on one of the hills outside the city centre.

The land train runs alongside the Portico San Luca, the longest continuous portico in the world, as it makes it way up the hill.

Having looked round San Luca I picked up the last land train of the day back down into town, stopping to take in the Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore, before finding a very nice Bolognese restaurant just behind the Piazza Maggiore for a very pleasant dinner before heading back to the hotel