

Photos: Bologna by Vanni Lazzari, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Oaxaca by Öskr Rck, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.
Bologna or Oaxaca?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Bologna for
- day trips
- beaches
- live music and the arts
What lies behind each score is written up on Bologna’s own page.
Choose Oaxaca for
- prices
- nature and the outdoors
- wellness
What lies behind each score is written up on Oaxaca’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Bologna and Oaxaca.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on day trips and beaches with your weighting.
Wins on prices and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Bologna in July
Oaxaca in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Bologna has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Bologna's sunshine is measured 82 km from the centre, at Cervia.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Bologna: 1991-2020 normals, Bologna / Borgo Panigale (5.5 km from centre). Oaxaca: 1961-1990 normals, Oaxaca, Oax. (1.1 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Bologna | Oaxaca |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Italian | Spanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | Mexican Peso (MXN) |
| Sockets | CFL230 V, 50 Hz | AB127 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer | UTC-6 |
| Emergency number | 112 | 911 |
| Elevation | 54 m | 1,555 m |
| Main airport | Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ)6 km from centre98 non-stop destinations | Xoxocotlán International Airport (OAX)7 km from centre14 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 13 days | 9 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Bologna | Oaxaca |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 387,971 | 258,913 |
| People per km² | 2,754 | 3,028 |
| Museums within 10 km | 68 | 10 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 3 | 2 |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Bologna or Oaxaca somewhere new.