Bologna is the Italian food city Italians pick, and it still gets skipped by most first-time itineraries, which is exactly why it works. The old market lanes of the Quadrilatero hang with prosciutto and wheels of parmigiano; the tortellini here are a civic religion; and the ragu served over fresh tagliatelle bears no resemblance to what the rest of the world calls bolognese.

Do one thing that requires a booking: a morning visit to a parmigiano dairy or an acetaia where balsamic ages in attic barrels for twenty-five years. The tasting at the end recalibrates what you think vinegar is. Bologna is also a rail hub, under forty minutes from Florence, which makes it the easiest great detour in Italy.

Come for lunch, stay for dinner, regret nothing.