In five days based in Bologna you can see Florence, Venice, Rome and Verona by train, with one day set aside for the city itself. You always sleep in the same place, 20 metres from the platforms, and head out each morning without packing a suitcase.
At a Glance
| Day | Destination | Train time (each way) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florence | ~37 min |
| 2 | Venice | ~1h15 |
| 3 | Bologna (a day in the city) | — |
| 4 | Rome | ~2h |
| 5 | Verona | ~52 min |
Times shown are for the fastest services; many trains take a few minutes longer. Check the current timetable before you travel: schedules change from season to season, and in summer there are often engineering works on the high-speed lines.
Why 5 Days with Bologna as a Base
Five days is the point where a “single stop” trip turns into a small tour of north-central Italy. The classic problem is that every city means a new hotel: pack the suitcase, check out, train, check in, start again. Four transfers in five days swallow half the holiday.
With Bologna as a base, that doesn’t happen. Bologna Centrale is the main hub of Italy’s high-speed network, the point where the Milan–Naples line crosses the Turin–Venice line. From here Florence is around forty minutes away, Venice and Verona just over an hour, Rome about two. Four different destinations, and every evening you come back to the same bed.
From Bologna Station Suites to the platform is 20 metres. That is not a figure of speech: step out of the room, cross over, and you are under the canopy. The train stops being “something you have to catch” and becomes an extension of the room. You decide in the morning where to go by looking at the weather, and if you wake up at 07:30 you still take the 08:00 train, because there is no transfer to factor in, no taxi, no safety buffer to keep.
Check-in is self check-in with a code, at any hour. So the day you get back from Rome late at night you don’t find a closed reception: you just walk in. For anything you need, there is support over WhatsApp.
One practical note for the whole week: high-speed trains leave from the underground platforms of the AV station, one floor below the concourse, well signed. Allow a few extra minutes to get down there compared with the surface platforms used by regional trains.
Day 1: Florence in ~37 Minutes
You begin with the easiest trip. The fastest service covers the route in about 37 minutes, less time than many commuters spend on city transport. The trains arrive at Florence Santa Maria Novella, the central station, a short walk from the Duomo.
A single day is enough for the historic centre: Duomo and Baptistery, Piazza della Signoria, the Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio and the Oltrarno. Leave on an early train and come back in the evening, so you get the full hours without waste.
The hour-by-hour detail, with the timetable and what to see in each slot, is in the dedicated guide: Florence in a day from Bologna by train. It is worth reading the night before so you arrive with a plan.
Put it first in the five days: it is the shortest to reach and it eases you into a rhythm without the strain of a long journey on day one.
Day 2: Venice in ~1h15
On the second day you raise the bar a little: Venice is farther but stays comfortably doable in a day, around an hour and a quarter on the fastest train. Plenty of direct trains run on this route, so a change is rarely needed.
There is only one thing not to get wrong when you book: get off at Venice Santa Lucia, the station inside the city, on the Grand Canal. Venice Mestre is on the mainland and forces you into another transfer to reach the calli. A few extra minutes of train to Santa Lucia saves you a change and a bit of stress.
From Santa Lucia you can reach St Mark’s and Rialto on foot or by vaporetto along the Grand Canal. The advice is to leave early, because Venice is best enjoyed before the big crowds arrive, and to head back in the late afternoon to avoid the evening crush.
The full itinerary, with the timings and the order of the stops, is here: Venice in a day from Bologna by train.
Day 3: Bologna, the Middle Day
On the third day you don’t catch any train. After two trips in a row you need a day to give your legs a rest, and it happens that the “base” is also one of the most beautiful Italian cities to explore on foot.
It is not filler. Bologna under its porticoes (45 kilometres in the centre alone, a UNESCO World Heritage site) can be explored without rushing and without an umbrella: Piazza Maggiore, the Two Towers, the Quadrilatero with its food stalls, the San Luca portico if you fancy a walk. It is also the day to sit down and eat at your own pace instead of grabbing something at the station: tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini in broth, a stop at a central osteria.
With your room a couple of steps away, you can break the day up: a wander in the morning, a long pause, then back out in the afternoon. To build the route there are two guides: Bologna in a day: a walking itinerary for the full tour of the centre, and What to see in Bologna near the station on foot if you prefer to stay nearby without straying too far.
Keep it mid-week on purpose: it breaks the rhythm between the two most demanding routes, Venice yesterday and Rome tomorrow.
Day 4: Rome in ~2h
The fourth day is the long one. Rome is reachable in about two hours on the fastest service, which makes it doable in a day on one condition: leave at dawn and plan for a late return.
The mistake to avoid is trying to see all of Rome in one day. You can’t, and you end up rushing without enjoying anything. Far better to pick a single area and do it well: the Colosseum with the Forums and the ancient centre, or St Peter’s and the Vatican Museums. Two different focuses, each worth a whole day.
With nearly two hours each way the minutes count, so the right morning train makes the difference between six real hours in the city or four. The guide explains how to set up the day realistically, area by area, and what time it pays to head back: Rome in a day from Bologna by train.
Here self check-in works in your favour: you get back in the dead of night, type the code and walk in, with no reception hours to respect.
Day 5: Verona
You close with a short run, around 52 minutes of train to Verona Porta Nuova. After the Roman day, a small, compact city is the right way to finish without wearing yourself out: Verona is almost entirely walkable.
The centrepiece is the Arena, the first-century Roman amphitheatre in the middle of Piazza Bra, still used today for shows and for the summer opera season. A few minutes away is Juliet’s House, with its famous balcony and the courtyard tied to Shakespeare’s tragedy. Then Piazza delle Erbe, the old Roman forum turned market square, ringed with frescoed palaces and towers.
If you have time to spare, climb the Lamberti Tower for the view from above, cross Ponte Pietra over the Adige, or take a short walk to Castelvecchio. It is a city that lets you visit at your own pace, perfect for a final day without the pressure of a long list.
From Porta Nuova to the centre is about twenty minutes on foot, or a short bus ride. And with a little under an hour of train you are back in Bologna in the evening.
The host’s tip: always alternate a near city and a far one, never two long ones in a row. After Rome, your legs know it. And when you book the trains for the long days (Rome above all), buy the ticket as soon as you have a firm date: the lowest fares vanish quickly as departure nears, while regional trains to the nearby destinations can be bought even at the last minute without big price differences.
FAQ
Can you really do 4 different cities in 5 days? Yes, because Bologna is central: none of the destinations is more than two hours of train each way. The secret is not moving the suitcase. You always sleep in Bologna and use the days for the trips, with one day in the city as a pause.
Why a day in Bologna instead of a fifth city? Because five trips in a row are tiring and take the pleasure out of it. The third day in the city recharges your legs and lets you discover one of the most beautiful cities in Italy, which you would otherwise see only from the train window. It is a break, not a wasted day.
In what order should I do the trips? Alternating near and far. This itinerary starts with Florence (near, to get into a rhythm), then Venice (mid-distance), the Bologna day as a reset, then Rome (the longest) and finally Verona (short, to finish without strain). You avoid putting two long routes back to back.
Do I need to buy train tickets in advance? For the high-speed routes it pays to, especially Rome: the lowest fares are found by booking ahead and rise as the date approaches. For the nearby destinations reachable by regional train there is more flexibility. Either way, always check the current timetable before you travel.
What time do I get back in the evening from the trips? It depends on the day: from Florence and Verona you can comfortably get back for dinner, from Venice in the late afternoon to avoid the crush, from Rome later. Check-in is self check-in with a code at any hour, so even a late-night return is no problem: you walk in without depending on a reception.
Do high-speed trains leave from the normal platforms? No, they use the underground platforms of the AV station, one floor below the main concourse. They are well signed, but allow a few extra minutes to get down there.
Your Base for Five Days, 20 Metres from the Platforms
Five days of trips only work if you don’t waste time changing hotels. Bologna Station Suites is 20 metres from Bologna Centrale, on Via Amendola 17: the room stays the same all week and every morning you are on the platform in moments.
Discover our rooms. If you prefer a shorter or longer trip, look at the 3-day or one-week itineraries. And for the overview of times and tickets for every destination, read Train from Bologna: Florence, Milan and Venice in a day.