The Castello Estense, the Cathedral and Palazzo dei Diamanti in the morning, a boat trip through the Valleys and Comacchio in the afternoon.
Two faces of the Ferrara area in one day. In the morning, Ferrara, the Renaissance city of the Este family, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its water-surrounded castle and the medieval Via delle Volte. After lunch you head towards the sea, to the Comacchio Valleys, by boat among flamingos and fishermen's huts, finishing in Comacchio, the little Venice of canals and the Trepponti.
Times are a guide: driving times are worked out without traffic, then come the visits and ten minutes at every stop to park. In summer towards the coast and at rush hour allow extra time.
Built in 1385 by Niccolò II d'Este after a popular uprising, as a fortress to defend against the city itself: four towers, a water-filled moat and drawbridges. It later became the ducal residence, with kitchens, frescoed apartments and the terrible dungeons where Ugo and Parisina were imprisoned, their story of love and betrayal sung by poets. From the Torre dei Leoni you can see the whole city.
Separate ticket required.
Consecrated in 1135, it has a white and pink marble façade, Romanesque below and Gothic above, with a portal supported by lions. Along the side runs the Loggia dei Merciai, with shops under the arches since the Middle Ages. After the 2012 earthquake it has been undergoing lengthy restoration: the interior may be closed.
Check whether the interior is open to visitors.
One of the best-preserved medieval streets in Europe, almost two kilometres long and crossed by arches and elevated passageways that connected merchants' houses to warehouses on the river. Cobblestones, silence and light filtering through the vaults.
The corso is the axis of Biagio Rossetti's Addizione Erculea, the Renaissance quarter that made Ferrara the first modern city. At the Quattro Angoli crossroads stands the Palazzo dei Diamanti, its façade covered with thousands of marble blocks cut in diamond points that change colour with the light. Today it hosts major exhibitions.
The exterior is always visible; exhibitions inside require tickets.
On a guided boat you cross the Comacchio Valleys, brackish lagoons where the water is shallow and the landscape seems suspended. You stop at the casoni, the old houses of the vallanti where they slept and cooked during fishing season, and see the lavorieri, reed traps for eels. Thousands of pink flamingos, herons and egrets live in the valleys.
Seasonal boat service, booking required; may be cancelled on very windy days.
The symbol of Comacchio, commissioned in 1638 by Cardinal Pallotta and designed by the Ravenna architect Luca Danese: five brick stairways rising to an Istrian stone platform, above the point where the Pallotta canal divides into the town centre canals. More than a bridge, it was a fortified gate for those arriving from the sea; the two guard towers were added later.
The old factory where eels were marinated, reopened as a working museum. In the Sala dei Fuochi, eels are roasted on spits in front of large fireplaces, then placed in jars with vinegar and salt, just as they were a hundred years ago. You understand why in Comacchio eel is a religion.
Processing can be seen at certain times of year; shop on site.
In the old 18th-century Ospedale degli Infermi, it tells the story of the Delta territory from the Etruscans of the city of Spina to the Romans. The most famous piece is the cargo of the Roman ship of Comacchio, found in 1981: ingots, amphorae, tools and personal belongings of the crew, intact for two thousand years.
Separate ticket, check opening days.
A 17th-century portico with more than 140 arches leading to the sanctuary of Santa Maria in Aula Regia; along the way you cross the Ponte degli Sbirri, near the old prisons. It's the most photogenic walk along the canals.
How long it takes from each town, the drive back included. Tap a town to see the plan from there.
Almost every old town has a limited traffic zone (ZTL) with cameras: park outside and walk in. The fine reaches your home, abroad too. ZTL and car parks town by town
Romagna Transfer picks you up at your hotel, drops you in front of every stop and brings you back: no parking, no ZTL, and the wine is yours to enjoy.
By vaporetto along the Grand Canal, St Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace and the Rialto Bridge.
9 h 35 from Bologna Full day
The plan
By vaporetto across the lagoon: Murano glass, the colourful houses and lace of Burano, the mosaics of Torcello cathedral
11 h 00 from Bologna Full day
The plan
Pomposa Abbey and the castle of Mesola, then by boat to the mouth of the Po and the Island of Love.
11 h 00 from Bologna Full day
The plan
The Scrovegni Chapel, Caffè Pedrocchi and Palazzo della Ragione in the morning, the Basilica of Saint Anthony, Prato della Valle and the Botanical Garden in the afternoon.
9 h 05 from Bologna Full day
The planTrips written by our editors from the facts of our monument pages and the official sites. Opening days and hours change: the note under every place tells you what to check before you leave. No prices: you find them on the museums' sites.
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