Apertivo, the Italian term for happy hour, is an absolute dream for budget travelers. Grab a drink around 7 p.m. to 8:30 pm in most pubs in Italy and you will have the opportunity to enjoy an complimentary buffet.

Aperitivo buffets range from a few bowls of potato crisps to impromptu dinners of salads, sandwiches, pastas, and pizza. Big aperitivo buffets are especially plentiful in the Northern Italian cities of Florence and Bologna, where bars compete to draw the apertivo crowd.

Bologna, with its student population of over 200,000, is an especially ideal candidate for aperitivo bars. One bar popular with students hunting down aperitivi is Le Stanze—a former chapel converted into a dark and stylish lounge, complete with candlelight and ceiling frescoes. If you’re not a wine drinker, we recommend letting the talented bartenders mix you a surprise cocktail.

Find Le Stanze at Via Del Borgo Di S. Pietro, 1/A, 40126 Bologna. Telephone: 051 228767

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