Wine in Bologna: an osteria where you bring the food, a wine shop with 2,000 labels and a bed two streets away.

Bologna is not a city of wineries, but it drinks with a tradition few cities have kept. In the Quadrilatero, the market district behind Piazza Maggiore, an osteria documented since 1465 is still open where only wine is served and everyone brings their own food; ten minutes away, a wine shop dating from 1972 serves any of its 2,000 labels by the glass with mortadella sliced on the spot. This plan links them on foot, under the porticoes, with a climb up the Clock Tower to start, an osteria dinner to finish and the hotel two streets from the first glass.

From the tower to the osteria

16:40 · The Clock Tower. In the Palazzo d'Accursio, on Piazza Maggiore. You climb on foot, with no lift, to the mechanism and two terraces over the square; the tower visit lasts about forty minutes and the ticket, with the municipal art collections, costs €10. There are tickets on the hour, at twenty past and at twenty to; in winter, the last is at 18:20. Children under 8 do not go up to the highest terrace.

17:45 · Osteria del Sole. Four minutes' walk away, in Vicolo dei Ranocchi. Before going in, buy whatever you fancy in the shops of Via Pescherie Vecchie or Via Drapperie: mortadella, parmigiano, bread. Inside there is only wine and beer, no soft drinks or dishes, and long wooden tables that are shared. You order at the bar and sit wherever there is room. From Monday to Saturday it is open until 21:30.

19:15 · Enoteca Italiana. Ten minutes across Via Indipendenza to Via Marsala. It opened in 1972 and added the wine bar in 1994: any of its more than 2,000 labels can be tried by the glass, with cured meats and cheeses sliced on the spot, salmon and a seasonal hot dish. Ask for advice. It closes at 21:30 and on Sundays.

20:30 · Dinner at Osteria dell'Orsa. Four minutes away, on Via Mentana, in the university district. Since 1979, with the kitchen open non-stop until 23:00 and no reservations: tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini and cured meats at student prices.

22:15 · Albergo delle Drapperie. Twelve minutes back to the Quadrilatero. Three stars and 21 different rooms, some with painted ceilings, in an old inn on Via Drapperie, with breakfast included. Pets are accepted.

If you change the dinner

For a dinner with a tablecloth, Da Cesari, in the same family's hands since 1955, is beside Piazza Maggiore and serves tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini in broth and scaloppina petroniana; it is closed on Sundays and you book by phone.