From the airport to the city centre Emilia-Romagna

Two airports serve Emilia-Romagna: Bologna airport (bologna-airport.it) and Rimini airport (riminiairport.com).

For Bologna, daily flights from Paris-CDG (Air France and EasyJet), Paris-Orly (Vueling), Paris-Beauvais (Ryanair), Brussels-Charleroi (Brussels Airlines and Ryanair) and Lyon (Air France). Rimini airport offers mainly connections to Moscow and Tirana.

The Aerobus bus company organizes shuttle buses to reach the center of Bologna from the airport (destination: Bologna Centrale train station). They leave every 15 to 30 minutes and run from 6am to 11:30pm. The price of the ticket is 6 €.

Arrival by train Emilia-Romagna

Whoever arrives in Italy by train from abroad will pass through Milan because it is the main railway junction in northern Italy. Thello company offers night trains from Paris to Milan (www.thello.com). On the other hand, there is no direct TGV to Milan: from Paris you have to take the TGV to Zurich and from there take the connection to Milan, not the most convenient! On the other hand, the cities of Emilia-Romagna are very well served: most of these cities are located along the old via Emilia, a straight axis linking Piacenza to Rimini. The connections are regular and the fares are cheap: for example, you can expect to pay less than €4 for Modena-Bologna, around €11 for Ferrara-Parma or Bologna-Rimini. Trenitalia is the Italian state railway company (trenitalia.com). Italotreno is a private high-speed train company which offers connections between certain major cities (Bologna and Ferrara for Emilia-Romagna) at fares which are sometimes lower than those charged by Trenitalia (italotreno.it).

Public transport Emilia-Romagna

Several bus companies provide international connections including Flixbus (flixbus.fr).

Locally, TPER (Trasporto Passeggeri Emilia Romagna) is the most important public transport company in the region, whose activity is concentrated in Bologna and Ferrara (tper.it).

A very practical application allows you to directly find the public transport available according to your destination (bus, streetcar, train) and the line numbers, either from the place where you are or following a desired itinerary (moovitapp.com).

Finally, note that in San Marino, to reach the historic center, it is possible to take a funicular from the Borgo San Maggiore station (aass.sm); parking is cheaper there than in the upper part of the city.

Bike, scooters & co Emilia-Romagna

Lovers of the little queen, Emilia-Romagna is a destination for you! Here, two-wheelers are welcome: in Ferrara alone, there are three bicycles per inhabitant, the city has not usurped its title of bicycle capital of Italy! Many hotels offer bicycles to their guests, often free of charge. You will find bike rental points everywhere. Here are some names: BiciDeltaPo in Ferrara (bicideltapo.it), La Cicletteria in Parma (infomobility.pr.it). Mi Muovo in Bici is a bike sharing service present in most of the big cities of Emilia Romagna.

With a driver Emilia-Romagna

All cities have their own cab companies. In Bologna: Taxi Bologna: +39 051 4590 (taxibologna.it); in Rimini: Radio Taxi Rimini: +39 0541 500 20 (radiotaxirimini.it); in Ferrara: Taxi Ferrara: +39 0532 900 900 (taxiferrara.it); in Modena: Radio Taxi Cotamo: +39 059 374 242 (cotamo.it) The Uber service is also present in the province (uber.com/it/it).

By car Emilia-Romagna

If most cities are well served by train and bus, it must be said that the car offers the freedom to explore the countryside and wander through medieval towns and charming villages as one pleases. A few rules to follow before driving in Emilia-Romagna:

Speed. The speed limit is 110 or 130 km/h on the highway, 90 km/h on the road and 50 km/h in the city.

Traffic signs. The road signs are green for the freeways(autostrade) and blue for the state roads. The signs are relatively well done and reliable.

Access. Be careful! In the majority of the city centers of Emilia-Romagna, access is regulated. These are the ZTL(zone a traffico limitato) where access is often only allowed to residents. Be particularly careful with the signs, as cameras are placed everywhere and you could be fined three months later at your home.

City. Traffic in Italy's major cities is no more problematic than in France. But traffic jams are what they are, and large cities like Bologna are no exception: in short, avoid driving in the city if possible.

Parking. In Italy, parking spaces are marked with different colored stripes on the ground: yellow for residents, blue for paying customers and white for free. The parking ticket can be purchased either from automatic machines, when available, or from tobacconists or newsstands in the form of a Gratta e Sosta ticket, to be placed in plain view inside your vehicle. Do not ignore these rules, as controls are frequent and severe. As an alternative, you can always use the covered parking lots.

Gasoline. Italy is unfortunately one of the European champions of the highest fuel prices.