Getting to Modena: From Bologna, the Airport, Florence and Milan

Modena has no airport, and that fact puts people off more than it should. The airport you actually use — Bologna Guglielmo Marconi, 50 km away — has a direct shuttle that drops you a few minutes' walk from Modena's historic centre. The difficulty is not getting here. It is that each operator explains only its own service, so nobody tells you which option is genuinely best.

This guide puts the numbers side by side: what each route costs, how long it really takes, what happens if you land late, and where to leave a car if you drive. Checked against the operators' own sites in August 2026 — timetables change twice a year, so confirm on the links below before you travel.

The short answer

Option	Time	Cost	When to choose it
Aerbus shuttle	~50 min, direct	€15 (€10 reduced)	Almost always. No changes, free luggage
Marconi Express + train	~50-60 min, one change	~€18	When the connection times work out
Taxi / private transfer	~40 min	€60-90	Three or four people, or a late flight
Rental car	~35 min	rental + parking	Only if you are touring the province

Reading in a hurry? Take the Aerbus. The rest of this page explains why, and when the others make sense.

How far is Modena from Bologna?

About 40 km. By regional train it is 18 to 30 minutes depending on the service, with roughly 25 departures a day and fares from about €5. By car it is around 35 minutes on the A1 motorway.

That is close enough that many people visit Modena as a day trip from Bologna and go back for dinner — although, as our restaurant guide explains, the food argument runs the other way: several of the best trattorie here serve lunch only, so come for lunch, not dinner. Our day trip guide sets out the timings.

Option 1 — the Aerbus shuttle

This is the coach service linking Modena and Reggio Emilia to Bologna airport, run by the SACA group, operating every day of the year including holidays.

• Journey time: about 50 minutes between the airport and Modena.
• Frequency: 12 return trips a day.
• First departure from Modena bus station: 4:20am — which is why this service exists, and a gift if you have a dawn flight.
• Last departure from the airport towards Modena: around 12:30am.
• Fares: €15 one way, €10 reduced; €25 return, €15 reduced. Paying online by card gets you 5% off.
• Luggage is free, with proper hold space. There is wi-fi on board.
• Tickets: online, at the Bologna Welcome desk inside the airport, or on board with a surcharge.

In Modena it does not only serve the bus station: there are five stops around the city, so check the list — one of them may be closer to your apartment. Current timetables are at aerbus.it.

The one thing it does not do is call at Modena's train station. If your destination is the historic centre, that does not matter: the bus station is a few minutes' walk away.

Option 2 — Marconi Express plus a regional train

The Marconi Express is the monorail linking the airport to Bologna Centrale in 7 minutes 30 seconds, running every 15 minutes — every 7 and a half at peak — from 5:40am to midnight. It costs €12.80 one way, €23.30 return.

From Bologna Centrale, regional trains to Modena leave constantly, take 18 to 30 minutes and cost from about €5.

Do the arithmetic: roughly €18 and at least one change, against €15 for a direct coach. The monorail alone costs almost as much as the entire Aerbus journey, and it is among the most expensive airport links in Europe for the distance it covers.

So when is it right? When the timing falls your way. The shuttle runs roughly every two hours; if you have just watched one leave, the train gets you there sooner because regional departures are frequent. Look at the board and decide there — that is the only sensible rule.

One practical note for visitors: since 2024, digital regional tickets validate themselves at the scheduled departure time of the train you selected, so there is no check-in to remember in the app. Buy a paper ticket at a counter and you should ask whether it needs stamping first. High-speed tickets are tied to a specific train and never need validating.

Option 3 — taxis and private transfers

From the airport ranks, the run to Modena is not metered: agreed fares apply, generally €60 to €90. In the other direction, the Modena taxi tariff sheet lists a fixed €85 from Modena to Bologna station.

It makes sense in three cases: there are three or four of you and the split approaches the cost of tickets; you land after the shuttle has stopped; or you are travelling with small children, a pushchair and suitcases, which is precisely when saving twenty euros is not the problem you are trying to solve.

If you go this way, book a transfer before you fly rather than looking for a taxi on arrival: the price is fixed, the driver tracks the flight and takes you to the exact address. We do not run transfers and we do not resell them — but message us and we will tell you what it should cost, so you know whether the quote in front of you is fair.

Option 4 — the rental car, and why you probably do not need one

Airport to Modena by car is 35 to 40 minutes on the A1. Easy. The problem starts when you arrive.

Modena's historic centre is a limited traffic zone — zona a traffico limitato, ZTL — watched by 13 cameras, active 24 hours a day, every day. There is no free window in which you can simply drive in. Pass a camera without authorisation and the fine arrives months later, usually with an administration charge from your rental company on top. This is the single most common expensive mistake visitors make in Italian cities, and Modena is no exception.

Rent a car only if you are going to Maranello for the Ferrari museums, into the hills around Castelvetro, or out to several balsamic producers on different days. For the city, everything is walkable. And if you need wheels for one day only, consider renting in Modena rather than at the airport: come in on the shuttle, pick the car up the morning you need it.

Coming from elsewhere in Italy

Modena's station is at piazza Dante Alighieri, just north of the historic centre, and it is busier than people expect: around 257 trains a day, including regional services, Intercity and some Frecce. It sits on the Milan-Bologna line, plus the lines to Verona and Sassuolo.

• Bologna — 18-30 minutes, constant regional trains. This is the hub for everything else.
• Milan — around an hour and a half; some fast services run direct, otherwise change at Bologna.
• Florence — around an hour and a half, changing at Bologna.
• Rome, Venice, Verona — always via Bologna, with a single connection. Verona also has a direct line to Modena.

A money-saving habit worth knowing: if there is no direct high-speed train to Modena, buy to Bologna Centrale and add a regional ticket rather than hunting for one through fare. It is usually cheaper, and the regional trains are frequent enough that you do not need to plan the connection.

The distinction that confuses visitors most: regional trains (Regionale, RE) are not bookable, have no assigned seats, and you simply buy and board. High-speed trains (Frecciarossa, Italo, Intercity) are tied to a train and a seat, and prices rise as the date approaches. For Bologna-Modena, always regional.

Buying train tickets, practically

Regional fares between Bologna and Modena are fixed: they do not rise as the date approaches, and there is no advantage to booking early. Buy on the day, from the Trenitalia app or a station machine, and take whichever train is next.

Two things that catch visitors out. You cannot reserve a seat on a regional train — it is first come, first served, and at rush hour the Bologna-Modena run carries commuters, so with big suitcases aim for the middle of the day. And if you miss your train, a regional ticket is not lost: the fare is for the route, not the departure, though the rules on changing digital tickets are worth reading in the app before you rely on them.

Third-party apps sell the same regional journeys with a booking fee added. For a €5 ticket, buy direct.

If you are driving on a non-EU licence

One item to sort out before you leave home. Driving in Italy on a licence issued outside the EU — American, Canadian, Australian — requires an International Driving Permit carried alongside your own licence. It is an official translation, not a substitute.

Whatever the rules say in theory, the practical point is that the big rental companies check for it at the desk and can refuse to hand over the keys without one. In the US you get one from AAA before departure; it is inexpensive and issued the same day in many branches.

It is a small piece of admin that ruins an arrival if you skip it — and one more reason that, for a city as walkable as this one, the shuttle is the easier plan.

If you fly into another airport

Bologna is the natural choice, but not the only one. Before you buy a flight into somewhere further out because it is thirty euros cheaper, look at what it costs you on the ground.

Verona (VRN) is the sensible second option: Modena sits on the Verona-Modena railway line, so the connection is direct and does not pass through Bologna. You will need the link from the airport to Verona Porta Nuova station first.

Milan Linate, Malpensa and Bergamo Orio al Serio all work the same way: get to the city's central station, then take a train towards Bologna or Modena. Expect these to add two or three hours to your journey.

Florence (FLR) looks close on a map but is on the other side of the Apennines, and the trip still routes through Bologna.

The rule we give guests: if the Bologna flight costs less than fifty euros more, take it. The transfer eats the difference, with interest.

Landing late at night

This is the scenario that generates the most anxious messages, and it is worth planning before you fly.

The last Aerbus leaves the airport around 12:30am. The Marconi Express stops around midnight, and the last regional trains to Modena run earlier than that. So:

• Landing before 10:30pm: no problem, both options are open.
• Between 10:30pm and midnight: the shuttle is probably still running, the train probably is not. Check the timetable for your exact date at aerbus.it before you fly, not on landing.
• After midnight: it is a taxi, at €60-90. If you already know that is your arrival, book a transfer from home — at half past midnight, with a delayed flight, that is the difference between going to bed and hunting for a phone number.

Another reason to tell us your flight: if you arrive late we set up self check-in and send you the instructions in advance, so you do not have to coordinate with anyone at that hour.

Arriving by car: which motorway exit

Modena has two exits on the A1, and picking the right one saves a quarter of an hour of city traffic.

• Modena Nord — about 5 km from the centre. The right exit for almost everyone, and the most direct route to the central car parks.
• Modena Sud — about 10 km from the centre. Useful if you are arriving from the south or heading for the hills, Maranello, Vignola or Castelvetro.

Modena is also the southern terminus of the A22 Brenner motorway: coming down from Austria or Trentino, the Modena-Campogalliano exit is about 8 km from the centre.

And the important part again, because this is the one that costs money: set your navigation to the car park, not to your apartment's address. The ZTL is live around the clock and your satnav does not know it.

Where to leave the car

The answer we give every guest who drives is the Parcheggio del Centro, underground beneath Parco Novi Sad:

• 1,720 spaces across two underground levels
• Staffed and open 24 hours
• Entrances at via Achille Fontanelli 18 (at the lights on Corso Cavour) and viale Monte Kosica
• Five minutes' walk from the cathedral, with pedestrian exits inside the park
• €1.50 an hour from 6am to 8pm, €0.50 an hour from 8pm to 6am; minimum stay one hour, with the first 15 minutes free

It sits outside the ZTL, so you reach it without risking a fine. There is also plenty of blue-line street parking around the centre, cheaper the further out you go — but with luggage, on your first day, Novi Sad is the choice that cannot go wrong.

When you book with us we send precise instructions for your apartment: which way to approach, where you can stop to unload without crossing a camera line, and where to leave the car afterwards. It is the number one question from guests who drive, and we would rather answer it before you arrive than after.

Getting around once you are here

Good news: you need nothing. The historic centre is compact and completely flat — this is the Po valley, there is not a hill in the city — and you can walk from one side to the other in about fifteen minutes. The cathedral, Piazza Grande, the Albinelli market, the Ducal Palace and most of the restaurants sit inside that circle.

For anything further:

• Bicycles are the local vehicle: the city is flat and full of cycle lanes. There are rental options in the centre, and the tourist office on Piazza Grande will tell you which schemes are running right now — they change, so ask there rather than trusting a page written years ago.
• SETA city buses cover the city and its districts, useful mainly for getting out of the centre — towards Cognento, say, or the Ferrari park. Timetables at setaweb.it.
• Taxis wait at the station and on Piazza Grande; city journeys cost a few euros.

To reach a balsamic producer, the motor museums or the hills you do need a car or a lift — our guide to visiting an acetaia covers that, including the one producer you can reach by city bus.

From the station into town

From the station to Piazza Grande is about ten minutes on foot, all pavement and all flat. With wheeled cases it is a comfortable walk.

There are taxis outside the exit and SETA city buses, but for that distance, once you have waited, you may as well walk. If it is raining or your bags are heavy, the taxi costs a few euros.

Where to stay when you arrive

All our apartments are inside the historic centre, so they are walkable from the bus station where the shuttle drops you, and ten minutes from the trains. If you drive, Novi Sad is the base, and we explain it properly before check-in.

You book directly with us, with no platform commission, and we are one message away: if the flight is delayed or you miss the last shuttle, tell us and we will sort it out — which is rather the point of having a host instead of a reception desk.

See our apartments in Modena, or read where to stay in Modena if you are still choosing an area.

Read before you travel

If you have a single day, Modena as a day trip from Bologna is built around the train times. Otherwise: what to see in Modena for the centre, where to eat so you do not waste a meal, and the balsamic producer guide for a morning out of town.

Frequently asked questions

How far is Modena from Bologna? About 40 km, which is 18 to 30 minutes by regional train depending on the service, or roughly 35 minutes by car. Trains run around 25 times a day from Bologna Centrale and cost from about €5, with no booking needed. It is one of the easiest day trips in Emilia-Romagna.

Does Modena have an airport? No. The airport you fly into is Bologna Guglielmo Marconi (BLQ), about 50 km away, and it is well connected: the Aerbus shuttle reaches Modena in around 50 minutes without changing, and the Marconi Express monorail plus a regional train is the alternative. Verona, Milan and Florence airports all work too, but add two to three hours on the ground.

How do I get from Bologna airport to Modena? Take the Aerbus shuttle: 12 departures a day, about 50 minutes, €15 one way (€10 reduced), luggage carried free, and no changes. If you have just missed one, take the Marconi Express monorail to Bologna Centrale (€12.80, 7.5 minutes) and then any regional train to Modena. A taxi or private transfer costs €60-90.

How long does the train take from Modena to Florence or Milan? Both are around an hour and a half, usually changing at Bologna. Modena sits on the Milan-Bologna line and is served by regional trains, Intercity and some Frecce, so you often have a direct option to Milan. For Florence, buying a ticket to Bologna and a separate high-speed leg is frequently cheaper than one through fare.

Do I need to validate my train ticket in Italy? Digital regional tickets bought through the Trenitalia app have validated automatically since 2024, at the scheduled departure time of the train you chose — no check-in required. If you buy a paper ticket at a counter or machine, ask whether it needs stamping before boarding. High-speed tickets are tied to a specific train and never need validating.

Should I rent a car to visit Modena? Not for the city itself. The historic centre is a limited traffic zone watched by 13 cameras, active 24 hours a day, every day, and fines reach you months later through your rental company. Everything worth seeing in town is walkable. Rent a car only for the Ferrari museums, the hills, or visiting several balsamic producers.

Where do I park in Modena? The underground Parcheggio del Centro beneath Parco Novi Sad is the reliable choice: 1,720 spaces on two levels, staffed and open 24 hours, entrances on via Fontanelli 18 and viale Monte Kosica, five minutes' walk from the cathedral. It costs €1.50 an hour from 6am to 8pm and €0.50 an hour overnight, and it sits outside the restricted zone.

What is the last connection from Bologna airport at night? The last Aerbus from the airport leaves around 12:30am; the Marconi Express stops running around midnight and the last regional trains to Modena go earlier. If you land after 11pm, check the timetable for your exact date on aerbus.it before you fly — otherwise your only option is a taxi at €60-90.