Is the area around Bologna station safe?

Generally yes, for a visitor passing through who takes the usual big-station care. The walk from Bologna Centrale to Piazza Maggiore is about 20 minutes, down Via dell’Indipendenza, which is partly pedestrian. The streets around the station do have drug dealing and petty theft, which is why they are a police “zona rossa” until 31 March 2027.

What are the zone rosse around the station?

“Zone rosse”, red zones, are areas where the Prefecture, the state’s local office for public order, gives police extra powers. Bologna’s were first set up in October and November 2024, around the station, the Montagnola park and the Bolognina district north of the tracks.

The Prefecture’s order of September 2025 lets police remove people already reported for drug dealing, violence or criminal damage who behave in an aggressive, threatening or persistently harassing way in those streets. It covers, among others, Piazza XX Settembre, the Montagnola park and the Pincio steps (Scalinata del Pincio), Galleria 2 Agosto, Via Boldrini, Via Gramsci, Via Amendola and Piazza delle Medaglie d’Oro, the square in front of the station, plus streets in Bolognina. In April 2026 the order was extended to 30 September, and on 22 September 2026 it was renewed for six more months, to 31 March 2027, according to ANSA.

The label sounds alarming. In practice it gives police more power to move people on in the specific streets where problems cluster, and one of them is the square in front of the station.

Has crime around the station gone down?

According to figures reported by il Resto del Carlino when the order was extended in April 2026, it has. Comparing 1 January to 20 April 2026 with the same period of 2025:

• Reported crime fell 19% across the city and 33% inside the zones.
• Robberies inside the zones roughly halved.
• Thefts inside the zones fell by more than half, against 18% citywide.

These are early figures over less than four months, and they count reported crimes, not what happens to visitors.

Is Bologna safe for tourists?

For the most part, yes. The UK government’s travel advice for Italy says crime levels are generally low but petty crime, especially bag-snatching and pickpocketing, is higher in city centers and at major tourist attractions. It singles out public transport, crowded areas and main train and metro stations. The US State Department has Italy at Level 2, “Exercise Increased Caution”, because of the risk of terrorism.

You may also see Bologna near the top of crime tables. Il Sole 24 Ore’s 2026 crime index, published in October 2026 from 2025 data, ranks the province of Bologna 4th of 106, with 6,058.6 reported crimes per 100,000 people, behind Milan, Florence and Rome. That counts every crime reported across the whole province, and says little about the risk to someone walking from the station to the square.

Practical tips for arriving at Bologna Centrale

• Leave by the main entrance. It faces Piazza delle Medaglie d’Oro. Our getting there guide covers the walk from there, which measures 1,512 meters.
• Keep your bag in sight. The UK government advises keeping sight of your belongings at all times and not carrying all your valuables together in one bag or pocket.
• Stick to the main street after dark. Via dell’Indipendenza has been pedestrian from Via Righi to the Rizzoli and Ugo Bassi junction since December 2025. Skip the shortcut through the Montagnola park.
• Use the taxi rank. Taxis in Bologna cannot be flagged down in the street, so pick one up at the station rank or book one.
• Flying in late? The Marconi Express from the airport stops at midnight. See the airport to city centre guide for the night bus.

Where to stay if the station area worries you

Stay near the square instead. Hotels by Piazza Maggiore and in the Quadrilatero market streets are under five minutes’ walk from it, while those around the station are 13 to 20 minutes away. Our guide to where to stay in Bologna compares the areas.