We were just in Bologna for 2 nights in October, the first stop on our three week adventure in Italy. We LOVED it! Walking around town, hanging out at the odd local deli (eat on the street, great antipasta plater and wine) watching life go by.....and using it as a base to visit Modena and Ferrari and Lambourghini - it turned out to be the highlight of the trip. Hubby drove a Ferrari? Check. And the oldest University in Europe - don't miss the Anatomy theater.
Hey Buzglyd, if you haven't booked your tour yet, I can't say enough good things about MotorStars! The tour was fabulous and the lunch? Out of this world. A great introduction to traditional North Italian cuisine (which is nothing like what most Americans have grown up thinking Italian food is!)
On the way out we visited FICO Eataly World, an absolute gem. You can spend and entire day there! I don't think 2 days in Bologna was enough - I'd go back in a heartbeat. (But I said that about every place we visited in Italy......)