I posted this question to the Bologna topic but folks seem to have stopped frequenting that thread:

We are in our mid-70s and I have two artificial knees, so I don't think we can walk all the way to the top of the San Luca walk. But we would love to walk to the Meloncello gate and have lunch, then take the bus the rest of the way. Is this possible? Is the walk to Meloncello steep or is it mostly flat?

Charnee, as far as I can remember the walk to Meloncello is flat and easy. (Meloncello is not a gate, though.) Go out Porta Saragozza and follow Via Saragozza. The restaurant Meloncello is on Via Saragozza 240. It is located 1.7km from the Porta, so the full distance would be the distance from your starting point (your hotel, for instance) to Porta Saragozza, plus 1.7km from the gate to the restaurant. Hope this helps.

Judy (TourMama) posted that she and her husband took the bus up to San Luca. My Cadogan guide says that bus #20 from Via dell Independenza or Via Ugo Bassi will take you halfway. My guide is old though. I'm sure Judy will chime in soon with more details.

I wonder if a taxi would be very expensive?

If you are staying in a hotel, they can probably help you with bus stops and bus schedules. When we were in Bologna, the hotel gave us very good directions for catching a bus. We rode the bus from near the hotel all the way to the top, then walked down. Actually, I think we had to change buses near the uphill road -- is that right? My memory is a bit hazy.

If you're not in a hotel, I would imagine the tourist office could also give you the info. It might be a good idea to check anyway, once in Bologna, since sometimes bus schedules change.

- Roz

Thanks for the quick replies. I will see if the apartment owner in Bologna can give us advice about this. I'm trying to find a way to experience the porticoes and the top of the hill without walking all the way up. We also want to have lunch at Meloncello.

Judy chiming in to say I was looking for my trip folder to find the bus information. We picked up a schedule from a bus information office that shows we took bus 20 from town center to Villa Spada, then took the Line 58 shuttle bus from there to the Basilica. Villa Spada is a park on Via Saragozza, and is before you reach Melloncello restaurant. As of June 2009, line 58's weekday schedule:leaving Villa Spada at 7 am, 7:30 am, 8 am, 9 am, noon, 12:30, 1 pm, 1:30 pm, 2 pm, 5:30 pm 6 pm, 6:30 pm and 7 pm.

Return buses ran 7:20, 7:50, 8:20, 9:20, 12:20, 12:50, 1:20, 1:50, 2:20, 5:50,, 6:20, 6:50 and 7:20.

There is more frequent service on "festivo" days - which include Sundays, which is when we visited. On "festivo" days, there are added shuttles after 9 - 9:20, 9:40, 10, 10:20, 11:20, 11:40 and noon; but then there are NO shuttles again until 2:00 - after which they run at 2:20, 2:40, 3, and every 40 minutes until 6:20. Return trips are also added - but again, with no trips between 12:20 and 2:10.

The fare was 1.70 euros one way, or 3 euros round trip - purchased from the driver.

Hope this helps.

Judy

Let us know what you find out Charnee!

quote:

we would love to walk to the Meloncello gate and have lunch, then take the bus the rest of the way.

Per the schedule information I posted above, the only day that you could do this easily would be on a Sunday - the weekday shuttle schedule does not coordinate well with the hours at the restaurant (lunch is served from 12 - 2:15, except Tuesdays). There is some walking and some climbing from the shuttle stop to the Basilica - probably 10 - 15 minutes each way.

Can I come, too?

Judy

It appears the best plan would be to take the bus up in the morning on Sunday and back down by noon and then have lunch.

We did the excursion on a Sunday, and really enjoyed the people-watching on that day. There were a lot of walkers and joggers and families (I didn't envy them pushing their strollers up all those steps!), and some who were there for religious reasons. There was one group climbing up with a priest at the head, who would stop every so often and broadcast his messages to the faithful over the microphone he was carrying, and others who would stop to sing hymns along the way.

The one thing to be aware of if you go on a Sunday morning is that you will not be able to see much of the inside of the church, as religious services will be going on.

- Roz

We did this in 2007.

Most of what has been stated here is accurate.

The walk up to San Luca from the gate is probably not possible for you. It is pretty steep.

However the restaurant Meloncello is on the same flat level as the rest of Bologna. It is certainly worth the visit.

You can reach it from central Bologna by the bus that starts on the Via Della Independenza (#20?)

Just outside the restaurant is the stop for the shuttle up to San Luca. It's actually a large van.

As noted above there are is still a small climb and stairs from the shuttle stop to San Luca.

But it really is a lovely experience.

Thanks, Stephen, for that additional info on the bus stops.

And thanks to everyone for the help.