Your Own Tour- Custom trips to Emilia Romagna, Italy - Argelato, Città Metropolitana di Bologna

Maggie J.

So thankful for our last minute tour of Bologna!! We decided last minute that we needed a tour guide and Cecilia was able to pull it together and even give us some tips on where to eat in Parma on our way down. She is extremely knowledgeable about the area and I highly recommend this for people wanting more of an authentic, cultural experience and not the big box tour type. We loved Sasha, our guide of the city who customized the tour to exactly what we were looking for.

Dolly F.

New Review November/24
Best of Bologna

Hello travellers.
We have just returned from a 3 week trip to Italy and Croatia.
We spent 6 glorious days in Bologna!
We were blessed with the most amazing guide, Cecilia Alderighi.
We had 2 different experiences with Cecilia which made our stay wanting for nothing.
Cecilia picked us up at our apartment for a get to know Bologna introduction.
We spent a few hours walking and learning about every aspect this charming city has to offer. Cecilia was fun, knowledgeable and so easy to be with. She answered all our questions and immediately understood our interests. It was all about the food for us and she made sure we visited the market, where she had reserved the perfect lunch spot in a wonderful trattoria. She introduced us to the waiter and off she went.
Other highlights of the tour were visiting the Teatro Anatomico, the oldest library in Europe and enjoying Cappuccinos in Piazza Maggiore.
On another day, Cecilia picked us up in her car and we had a fun drive to Emilia Romagna to learn how real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Balsamic vinegar and Parma ham are made.
Each experience was so personal and informative. Our day ended with lunch in a typical trattoria where we enjoyed scrumptious tagliatelle and Lambrusco wine.
As we drove through the countryside Cecilia shared such interesting, personal stories of the region.
Believe me, if you want the BEST guide for Bologna and the surrounding countryside, book Cecilia and the rest will be fond memories!
Sincerely, Dolly and Joe Fox
Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦

Hello travellers.
I want to tell you about the MOST AMAZING tour guide you could ever hope for.
Her name is Cecilia Alderighi.
Recently, my husband and I were to spend 6 days in Bologna.
The highlight was going to be a one day trip to the Emilia-Romagna region with a fabulous guide, Cecilia.
Sadly, my husband became very ill and we had to cancel our trip, 5 days prior to arriving in Bologna.
I contacted Cecilia immediately and she was so gracious and understanding.
She cancelled our tour and waived all fees.
She was incredible.
There’s so much more.
While I was planning our trip to Bologna, Cecilia also booked us into Three amazing restaurants, advised me about the best area in which to book an apartment and answered endless questions that would make our stay absolutely amazing.
She is a gem.
We haven’t met her but we feel we know her already.
We will DEFINITELY book another tour with her when we do make it to Bologna at a later date.
Most sincerely,
Dollina and Joe Fox

Anthony A.

My Immersion Program in Bologna , Italy introduced me to a welcomed addition during my two week stay. While I was immersed in the Italian Language, along came an enthusiastic Cecilia (Your Own Tour). She helped me to venture outside the boundaries of Bologna. Cecilia brought me to Modena, Parma, Ravenna and places in between.Her expertise and trusted reputation in the region provide me with private tours. These included the production of parmigiano, prosciutto, balsamic aceto and the mastery of Alfredo's Ferrari's motor vehicles. Cecilia's warmth and friendliness enriched the journey into areas that were heretofore only discovered in travel literature. She was always mindful of my primary goal to speak and understand the language of Italy. It was her patience and understanding that supported what I was learning in the Immersion Program. If one seeks a guide to the Italian journey, look no farther than Cecilia and her Your Own Tour. The Immersion Program would have been incomplete without the expert guidance of Cecilia. Truly a 5 Star guide.
Grazie Mille Cecilia,
Tony Abbondandolo, Phd

Barbara S.

Cecilia was a marvel. My husband and I are not “tour” people. We have wandered around the world on our own for more years than we care to remember. However, at our advanced ages of 85 and 82 respectively, it now more “doddering” than wandering. Our last trip to Bologna was twenty seven years ago and we decided that this time we might need some help. So, we booked Cecilia for a Bologna food tour. What a wise decision that was.

Cecilia’s knowledge of the city, its history and culture is extraordinary. In addition to the usual San Maggiore markets and shops, Cecilia took us to places close to our rental apartment that we never would have found on our own.

Every type of food has a backstory and Cecilia knows them all. We learned which prosciutto was the best, never to buy mortadella with pistachios, discovered a wonderful dessert called rice cake and now know how to order Lambrusco and not wind up with the sweet swill that makes its way to the States.

Cecilia moved at our pace. She adapts her tour to the customer. This is not a “by the book tour”.
This is a tour that is tailored the interest of the specific customer. You will enjoy her warmth, her sense of humor and her knowledge. You will not regret spending a morning, an afternoon or an entire day with her.

Jonathan Y.

My family of 5 really enjoyed our tour with Cecilia so much. We wanted to learn how parmiggiano-regiano cheese and prosciutto ham are made so got to visit the factories and learn first-hand on how this is done. She translated a lot of the conversation to English and was amazing in this respect because most of the key factory staff only spoke Italian. She also arranged tours to the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums which were a particular highlight for our boys. All-in-all a very memorable experience in Bologna with Cecilia, which far outshone our expectations. Grazie mille, Cecilia!

zachary L.

We spent 2 days with Cecilia eating Emilia-Romagna. Cecilia had a great itinerary for us around Modena and in Bologna.

She picked us up in Modena, took us on private tours of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese manufacturing, traditional balsamic vinegar producer and a great pasta cooking class with Barbara and Monica at a vineyard. Unbelievable Day 1.

Day 2 in Bologna amazing. Great food in the market. Beautiful walking city with great sites and great shopping.

Cecilia is warm, knowledgeable and knows this territory very well. The stops she takes you to are all small, private and fun!

Raime E.

Great day spent with Cecilia visiting cheese, wine, vinegar and prosciutto factories. It was nice that she was allowed to conduct the tours of the facilities on her own (not vinegar and wine) because that ensured that we understood her. She also had gauged her audience so knew how much to share with us. We were recommended to her by friends and certainly plan to pass on her info to others.

Michael W.

We had a lovely private tour with Cecilia. We visited a dairy, ham factory, Ferrari and Balsamic vinegar producer. I call it the food and Ferrari tour! It was informative as well as a great opportunity to see the passionate people make the various products. I would highly recommend this tour.