I’ve just come back from my 4-day mosaic vacation in Ravenna. I feel like I should have planned more days there.
Why more days? My Google search suggested that a maximum of four days would be enough to see everything in Ravenna, but I felt like seven days would have been more suitable to see everything on my list.
My list included not only the mosaic-decorated ancient cathedrals and mosaic workshops that Ravenna prides itself on, but also its beautiful beaches. During my 4-day stay, I managed to combine a beach visit with my mosaic sightseeing.
Thanks to Trenitalia’s extensive railway network, traveling in Ravenna and the surrounding area was very easy for me. Public transportation took me from Ravenna’s mosaic-studded city centre to the beaches in about 30 minutes, and vice versa.
The good news is that public transportation doesn’t break your bank. Train tickets start from 1.60 EUR, and bus tickets can be completely free.
Why free? All passengers must pay the bus fare when they board. You will see a payment terminal as you walk past the bus driver’s area.
The payment terminal lets you select how much you want to pay based on the duration of your ride and the zone you travel in.
Just select the correct duration and the zone. That’s it. However, I didn’t see my card being charged for any of the bus rides — at least that was my experience when paying through the Google Pay mobile app.
I can’t tell whether you actually get charged later in the case of cash payment. The official website doesn’t specify whether you can pay cash onboard. I assume that the buses only accept cashless payment, though.
If you are going to spend just up to three days in Ravenna, you probably won’t need a car or even a bicycle. If your hotel is located in the city centre, you can explore the major sights on foot.
My Airbnb was located a little farther from the centre, but the bus service was very good. It only operates until 8 pm, but that suited my travel needs.
I’m not a party girl anymore, so I didn’t need public transportation at ungodly hours.
For this trip, I opted for Airbnb again. I wanted to stay in a hostel, but there weren’t any available in Ravenna at all (!). That made me realize again that Ravenna is not a city like Milan, Rome, or Bologna. Hostels seem to exist mainly in big/highly touristic cities like Venice.
If you want to spend less on accommodation, Airbnb is probably the next available budget option. Fortunately, I found an Airbnb room that accepted my last-minute booking, and it cost me approximately 170 EUR for three nights.
The Airbnb owner was very responsible throughout my stay, and the room was extremely comfortable and spotless — maybe even better than a four-star hotel room.
For food, I already had the Too Good To Go app installed on my smartphone. During my four-day stay in Ravenna, I managed to pick up two boxes, but I missed several other offers.
Why? I didn’t check the Too Good To Go app frequently enough or book the offers early before they ran out.
I focused mainly on visiting as many places as I could rather than grabbing cheap bites. Because of that, many offers were already gone by the time I tried to book them.
However, I don’t regret focusing on sightseeing instead of planning my schedule around TGTG pickup times. If I had prioritized TGTG, I might have missed out on the Byzantine universe Ravenna has to offer, and I would have regretted that.
I did miss a few TGTG offers, but I didn’t miss sightseeing all the Byzantine places on my Ravenna wishlist, which made me very happy during my trip.
If you definitely want to save money on food while in Ravenna, make sure to check TGTG offers frequently and book them immediately. If you book early, you won’t miss the cheapest eats in Ravenna, as the city has plenty of offers for early birds.
As for sightseeing, do take advantage of the combo ticket offers provided on the official ticket website. I recommend getting the combo ticket for five churches at 14.50 EUR.
This is a very generous offer by the Diocese of Ravenna, in my opinion. Having the 25 EUR entry fee for Hagia Sophia in Istanbul in mind, I was still pleasantly surprised by this budget offer. Yes, you need to pay 25 EUR to enter just one place (Hagia Sophia), where you might spend only 5–10 minutes exploring and maybe buying souvenirs.
Interestingly, the same Byzantine emperor, Justinian I, built both Hagia Sophia and San Vitale. One of them charges a rip-off price, while the other does not. I simply find this price difference interesting. It also demystifies the idea that “Istanbul is one of the cheapest European cities” — Istanbul isn’t really a low-cost city at all.
Those five places in Ravenna are located quite close to each other, within walking distance. You would need at most three hours to see everything, read the information, and admire the Byzantine beauty of the mosaics.
If you belong to certain discount groups — for example, if you are a student or you bring children younger than five — you may qualify for reduced fees or free entry.
For luggage storage, I recommend the luggage storage facility right next to Ravenna railway station, VeRa.
This space is shared with a bicycle rental shop and a bicycle workshop. It consists of several square lockers tucked away behind the bicycles.
The luggage storage charged only 6 EUR for two pieces of luggage for four hours (a backpack and a sports bag), and only 1 EUR per extra hour. It cost me 7 EUR in total, which was a great deal compared to the 27 EUR I paid for 10 hours in Bologna.
Yes, my luggage stayed for six hours in the luggage storage facility right next to the train platforms in Bologna, which explains the 27 EUR charge. Still, the rate in Ravenna is much more favorable for budget travelers like myself.
I also felt that my luggage was stored more safely than in Bologna. That might be because Ravenna is much smaller than Bologna and possibly less prone to crime.
Of course, I only spent a few days in Ravenna and Bologna respectively, so that observation is probably biased.
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