What is the Ravenna self-guided walking tour?
The Ravenna self-guided walking tour is a narrated stroll through the centre with no guide in tow: the World City Trail app marks the way on the map and, at each landmark, tells you through your earphones what you are looking at. Allow about 2 hours in all; the 10 stops are spread over 2.8 km, which comes to roughly 38 minutes on foot. The route stays on level ground in the old town, so the legs between the monuments are short.
At Sant'Apollinare Nuovo the narration tells how the Ostrogothic king Theodoric built the church in the early 6th century for Arian worship, and why one mosaic panel shows his palace. At Dante's Tomb you hear that the poet died in exile here in 1321, and that the oil for the lamp inside is still donated every year by Florence, the city that banished him. The Neonian Baptistery, now below street level, keeps a mid-5th-century dome mosaic of the Baptism of Christ, and in the apse of San Vitale the emperor Justinian and the empress Theodora appear with their courts. Last comes Galla Placidia, whose mausoleum, despite its name, most probably never held her body.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 38 min · 2.8 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
Along the route
A chapter for every stop
Each landmark comes with its own narrated chapter of history, local legend and curious facts, and the full text stays on screen for anyone who likes to read along.
The map does the steering
Google Maps shows the way to each stop; the full route is 2.8 km, around 38 minutes of walking in total.
Your timetable, nobody else's
No meeting point, no group to wait for. Spend an hour in a museum or linger over lunch, then rejoin the route later or on another day.
Where to eat and browse
The app recommends cafés, restaurants and local shops close to the stops, and lets you choose a different first stop or change the order.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who gets the most out of it
First time in Ravenna
One walk gives you the lie of the land: where the main sights are and why each of them matters.
Travellers who set their own pace
Linger where something catches your eye and move on where it does not, with no group to keep up with.
Half a day to spare
About 2 hours covers the centre and still leaves an afternoon or an evening for something else.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
Fifteen centuries in one walk
10 stops · about 38 min walking · start: Giardini Pubblici · finish: Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
The walk sets off in the Giardini Pubblici, beneath the Renaissance Loggetta Lombardesca, and heads for Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and the neoclassical Teatro Alighieri, opened in 1852. Dante's Tomb beside San Francesco and the Neonian Baptistery by the cathedral come next, then Piazza del Popolo with its two Venetian columns and, a few steps away, the Mercato Coperto. Via Cavour leads west to the Porta Adriana, and the walk ends with two neighbours, the Basilica of San Vitale and, beside it, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The app lets you pick another first stop, and every story is told outside.
Open the route map ↗
1Giardini PubbliciStart
Ravenna's public gardens are a green park of shady paths and old trees on the edge of the historic centre. They are overlooked by the Loggetta Lombardesca, the Renaissance loggia of the former monastery of Santa Maria in Porto, which now houses the city's art museum, MAR.
2Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo
The Ostrogothic king Theodoric built this church in the early 6th century as his palace church for Arian worship. Inside, long mosaic processions of martyrs and virgins line the nave, and one panel shows his palace. From the street, look for the round brick bell tower beside the portico.
Read the full story →
3Teatro Alighieri
Ravenna's opera house is named after Dante Alighieri and opened in 1852. It was designed by the Venetian architects Tommaso and Giovan Battista Meduna, who had also rebuilt Venice's La Fenice. Its neoclassical columned front faces Via Mariani, and it is one of the main venues of the Ravenna Festival.
4Dante's Tomb
Dante Alighieri died in exile in Ravenna in 1321 and was buried beside the Basilica of San Francesco. The small neoclassical temple over his tomb was built in 1780–1781 to designs by Camillo Morigia. Inside hangs a votive lamp whose oil is donated every year by Florence, the city that had banished him.
Read the full story →
5Neonian Baptistery
This octagonal brick baptistery next to the cathedral, also called the Baptistery of the Orthodox, is one of the oldest monuments in Ravenna. Bishop Neon had it decorated with mosaics in the mid-5th century, and the dome shows the Baptism of Christ surrounded by the Twelve Apostles. Notice how it sits below today's street level.
Read the full story →
6Piazza del Popolo
Ravenna's main square took its present shape under Venetian rule in the 15th century. Two granite columns raised by the Venetians in 1483 now carry statues of the city's patron saints, Apollinaris and Vitalis. The battlemented Palazzo Comunale, known as Palazzo Merlato, is Ravenna's town hall.
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7Mercato Coperto
Ravenna's covered market hall on Piazza Andrea Costa was built in the early 20th century, a few steps from Piazza del Popolo. After a renovation it reopened as a food market, where local produce and Romagna specialities such as piadina are sold under the original roof.
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8Porta Adriana
This monumental stone gate stands at the western end of Via Cavour, one of the main streets leading into the centre. Its present form dates from the late 16th century, when an older gate in the city walls was rebuilt. Its name is often linked to the Roman emperor Hadrian, but its origin is debated.
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9Basilica of San Vitale
Begun around 526 and consecrated in the 540s, this octagonal church is one of the most important monuments of early Christian art in Europe. Its apse mosaics show the Byzantine emperor Justinian and empress Theodora with their courts. Since 1996 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ravenna's early Christian monuments.
10Mausoleum of Galla PlacidiaFinish
This small cross-shaped brick building dates from the first half of the 5th century and bears the name of Galla Placidia, daughter of Emperor Theodosius I, who ruled the Western Empire for her young son. Its plain walls hide a vault of deep blue mosaics with golden stars. Despite its name, she was most probably not buried here.
Read the full story →
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