Bologna Airport to the City Centre: All the Options.
Guglielmo Marconi Airport sits 6 km northwest of Bologna. Between the Marconi Express monorail to Bologna Centrale, taxis and private cars, here is how you actually get to the city centre, with real 2026 prices. Updated July 2026.
The options compared
| Option | Price | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marconi Express monorail | 12.80 euro | 7 min to Centrale | 5:40-24:00, up to 8/hour |
| Taxi (metered) | around 15-18 euro | 15-25 min | Min 12.80 from the airport; night and luggage extras |
| Tper bus (night line Q) | urban ticket | 25-40 min | Covers the 0:00-5:40 gap |
| Private transfer (NCC) | fixed at booking | 15-25 min | Name sign at arrivals, door to door |
Marconi Express: fast, frequent, station-bound
The elevated monorail links the airport with Bologna Centrale in 7 minutes, running 5:40 to midnight with up to 8 departures an hour. A single ticket costs 12.80 euro and includes 75 minutes on city buses. It is the quickest public option, with one limit: it ends at the station, so your hotel is still a walk or a cab away.
Taxi: metered, honest, queue-dependent
Bologna taxis run on the meter with an official tariff card: pickups at the airport start from a 12.80 euro minimum, and a typical daytime run to the centre lands around 15-18 euro before luggage or night extras. Fine when the rank is stocked; less fun after a late landing with the queue out the door.
The night gap
Between midnight and 5:40 the monorail sleeps and the Tper night line Q covers the airport-station run with an ordinary urban ticket. It works, slowly. If your flight lands at 1:00 with a family and four bags, this is exactly the hour a pre-booked car earns its keep.
Private transfer: when door to door wins
A pre-booked private car waits at arrivals with your name, tracks the flight and drives to your exact address, in Bologna or far beyond it: the riviera, Ravenna, the cruise terminal. The price is per vehicle and locks at booking, whatever the meter would have said.
Book a fixed-price transferHeading past Bologna? So are most arrivals
BLQ is the gateway to the whole region: Rimini and the riviera in about 1h30, Ravenna in 1h15, the cruise terminal in 1h20, Florence in 1h30. For those distances the comparison changes completely: see the dedicated airport transfer pages.
From the station onward
If you do ride the Marconi Express, regional trains continue from Bologna Centrale to Rimini (about an hour, around 10 euro) and Ravenna (about an hour, around 9 euro). Add the monorail leg and a taxi at the far end to compare the full chain fairly.
Why travellers pre-book the car
One vehicle, zero chains: that is the whole argument.
- Name sign in the arrivals hall, flight tracked live
- Fixed per-vehicle price, locked at booking
- Door to door: no station, no second leg
- Any hour, including the 0:00-5:40 monorail gap
- Vans up to 8 seats for families and groups
Romagna Transfer
Owner-run chauffeur service based in Faenza: private transfers from Bologna Airport to the city, the riviera, Ravenna and the cruise terminal, with fixed prices confirmed online.
Frequently asked questions
Landing at BLQ and heading to the coast?
Rimini, Ravenna, the cruise terminal and every riviera town have direct fixed-price lanes.
