Ferrara: What to See, How Long to Allow, and Getting There from Bologna

Ferrara is the only planned Renaissance city in Italy that was actually completed. Every other city in the peninsula grew organically over centuries; Ferrara was designed. Under the Este dynasty, which ruled from the 13th to the 16th century, the city was laid out according to Humanist principles — wide straight streets, proportioned piazzas, palaces positioned to catch light rather than dominate their neighbours. The 1492 expansion known as the Addizione Erculea doubled the city’s size overnight and added the grid of the northern quarter. The result is a city that still looks almost exactly as it was planned, which is why UNESCO added it to the World Heritage List in 1995. It is 30 minutes from Bologna by direct train and almost nobody goes.

How Long to Allow

A full day is the right amount. Half a day gets you the castle and the cathedral and a walk through the centre; a full day adds the Palazzo dei Diamanti, a circuit of the city walls, and time to eat well. Ferrara is a compact city — the historic centre is car-free and almost everything worth seeing is within 20 minutes’ walk of the station. If you are coming from Bologna for a day trip, take the first morning train (around 7.30) and leave on one of the late afternoon departures; you will have eight hours in the city without rushing.

What to See

Castello Estense

The Estense Castle is the symbol of Ferrara and the best starting point. It sits at the exact centre of the city, surrounded by a water-filled moat, with four corner towers that give it a silhouette unlike anything else in northern Italy. It began as a purely defensive structure in 1385 — the Este family commissioned it after a violent popular uprising, and the first phase was the construction of the Torre dei Leoni (Lion’s Tower). Three more towers followed to form a rectangle around a large inner courtyard. The moat was originally fed by the Po.

Inside it is part fortress, part palace. Guided tours take you through the ducal apartments (with ceiling frescoes and original Este furnishings), the underground dungeons where the family imprisoned relatives they found inconvenient, the Ducal Chapel, and the Garden of the Oranges on the rooftop. Climb the Lion’s Tower at the end for the best view of the city and the surrounding Po plain. Allow 90 minutes. Guided tours run several times daily.

The Cathedral and Piazza Trento e Trieste

Five minutes’ walk from the castle brings you to the Cathedral of San Giorgio, begun in 1135. The façade is one of the finest examples of Romanesque-Gothic architecture in northern Italy — three arched portals, a loggia of marble columns along the side, and a detached bell tower added in the 16th century. The interior was remodelled in the 18th century but the Cathedral Museum (Museo della Cattedrale, in the former church of San Romano opposite) holds the most important original pieces: Jacopo della Quercia’s marble Madonna and the months of the year in bas-relief, along with a series of 12th-century bronze doors.

Piazza Trento e Trieste in front of the cathedral is the main piazza of the city — not a grand baroque space but a working square with the medieval Palazzo Municipale on one side, the loggia of the cathedral on another, and a covered market running along the third. The market sells fresh pasta, coppia ferrarese (the city’s distinctive PGI bread), and local produce. This is the best place to buy food to take home.

Palazzo dei Diamanti

The Palazzo dei Diamanti is one of the most distinctive buildings in Italy. Its entire exterior is clad in more than 8,500 marble blocks, each carved into a diamond point and set at a slight angle so the surface catches the light differently depending on the time of day and the direction of approach. It was built in the late 15th century for Sigismondo d’Este and is named for the diamond — the heraldic emblem of the Este family. The interior houses the National Picture Gallery, with an important collection of Ferrarese painting from the 14th to the 17th century. The artists who worked under Este patronage — Cosmè Tura, Francesco del Cossa, Ercole de’ Roberti — are not well known outside specialist circles, which means the gallery is rarely crowded. Allow an hour.

The City Walls

Ferrara and Lucca are the only cities in Italy with intact Renaissance city walls. Ferrara’s run for nine kilometres and completely encircle the historic centre, built mainly between the 14th and 16th centuries. The walls have been converted into a linear park: a path runs along the top for the entire circuit, shaded by trees, with views over the rooftops and the flat Po plain. Locals use it for cycling and walking in the evenings. A full circuit on foot takes about two hours; on a bike, considerably less. The northern stretch, along the Addizione Erculea, is the most dramatic — wide, straight, and designed to be seen as well as walked.

The Jewish Ghetto

Ferrara had one of the most important Jewish communities in Renaissance Italy, and the ghetto in the south of the historic centre is one of the best preserved in the country. Under Este rule the community had unusual freedoms and became a centre of Jewish scholarship and printing. The area around Via Mazzini still has the character of the original ghetto — narrow streets, the 16th-century synagogue (now a museum, open for visits), and the Jewish Museum, which holds manuscripts, textiles, and ritual objects from the Este period. For anyone interested in the Renaissance beyond its Christian institutions, this is the most distinctive thing Ferrara has to offer that you cannot find elsewhere.

Getting to Ferrara from Bologna

Direct trains run from Bologna Centrale to Ferrara roughly every 30 minutes. The journey takes 28–35 minutes depending on the service. No reservation needed — buy a standard regional ticket at the machine or on Trenitalia’s app. The first morning trains leave Bologna around 6.30; trains back run until late evening. Ferrara station is a 15-minute walk from the castle, or take one of the city’s bike hire points immediately outside the station. Ferrara is also directly connected to Ravenna (about 1 hour) and Venice (about 1h 20m).

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Our half-day food tour from Bologna or Modena visits a Parmigiano dairy, a balsamic acetaia, and a prosciutto producer — transport included.

Getting Around

The historic centre is car-free. Almost everything worth seeing is within 20 minutes’ walk of the Castello Estense, which is itself 15 minutes from the station. Ferrara has more bicycles per capita than any other city in Italy — cycling is not a tourist activity here but how the city actually moves. Bike hire is available from several points near the station and costs around €8–12 per day. On a bike you can cover the castle, the cathedral, the Palazzo dei Diamanti, and a stretch of the walls in an afternoon without any difficulty. Walking is equally straightforward — the streets of the Addizione Erculea are wide and flat.

When to Visit

Spring (April–June) and autumn (September–October) are the best months. The Po plain summers are hot and humid — August in particular is uncomfortable and many local restaurants and shops close for part of the month. Winter is cold but the city is quiet, the light on the Palazzo dei Diamanti is extraordinary, and there are no queues anywhere. The Palio di Ferrara in late May and the Buskers Festival in late August bring the largest crowds; book accommodation in advance if visiting then.

For what to eat in the city and which restaurants to choose, see the Ferrara food guide. For planning a day trip from Bologna, see the Ferrara day trip itinerary. To explore the city on foot, see the Ferrara walking route; by bike, see the Ferrara cycling guide. For a guided visit, see our Ferrara guided tour. The Po Delta canal town of Comacchio is 40 km away and well worth combining. For a detour into Fascist-era architecture, see Tresigallo. For the broader Emilia-Romagna picture, see our Emilia-Romagna food and travel guide.