Emilia Romagna
How to Get Around Emilia Romagna
Getting Around
Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport, named for the Bologna-born radio pioneer, is the region's main air gateway and is linked to Bologna Centrale railway station by the Marconi Express monorail in about seven minutes. Bologna Centrale is itself a core hub of Italy's high-speed rail network, sitting on the Milan-Bologna and Bologna-Florence high-speed lines that together form the backbone of the Milan-Rome route, which makes Bologna a practical base for day trips across much of the region and beyond.
Regional trains connect the Via Emilia cities -- Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna -- frequently and inexpensively, and Ravenna and the coastal towns are also rail-connected. A car becomes useful mainly for reaching smaller Apennine towns, individual food producers, and the Po Delta, where rail service thins out and public transport runs on a limited schedule.
Verified against UK Government (GOV.UK; FCDO travel advice abroad), September 2026.
Regional connections
How easily, and at what cost, can you combine the region’s main destinations?
| Route | Best option | One-way time | Travel Smart take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bologna and Modena | Train | ~25 min typical, not a timetable | Excellent day-trip connection. Bologna works well as a base for Modena. |
| Bologna and Parma | Train | ~1 hr typical, not a timetable | Comfortable as a day trip. Bologna works well as a base for Parma. |
| Bologna and Ravenna | Train | ~1 hr 20 min typical, not a timetable | Comfortable as a day trip. Bologna works well as a base for Ravenna. |
| Modena and Parma | Train | ~35 min typical, not a timetable | Excellent day-trip connection. Modena works well as a base for Parma. |
Cost compares the options for each route rather than quoting a fare: inexpensive means the price is not a factor in planning, moderate cost means a real line in the budget, and the expensive option is one worth weighing against the alternative. Fares change from year to year; the ranking between them does not.
Tickets, and the fine most visitors do not see coming
A ticket bought from a kiosk or machine must be validated on public transport before you start your journey. Officials patrol and issue an on-the-spot fine if it is not validated. Some buses and trams accept contactless payment on board, which avoids the problem.
Getting between the cities
Emilia-Romagna is strung along the Via Emilia and the high-speed line that follows it, so Piacenza, Parma, Reggio, Modena, Bologna, Rimini and the coast are all on one axis and the trains do most of the work. Bologna is the junction for the whole country: the Milan–Florence–Rome spine and the Adriatic line meet there, which is what makes it an easy base and a busy station.
Roads, identification and the small print
Italian police can stop you at any time for an identity check, so carry photo ID at all times, and a full passport if you are driving. Theft from parked cars is common nationwide — leave nothing in the vehicle, including in the boot. If your passport is stolen, a police report will not get you out of the country; you need a replacement or an emergency travel document. UK visitors need a GHIC or EHIC for state healthcare. And two rules worth knowing before a hot afternoon: entering or bathing in public fountains is an offence in many Italian towns and cities, and urinating in public can cost up to 10,000 euros.