During the festive period in Bologna, a city of unique, distinctive charm, the atmosphere becomes all the more magical with Christmas markets, the streets of the centre decorated with illuminations dedicated to hits by leading local singer-songwriters, and shops brimming over with the produce that evokes the flavours and smells of the area.

 

The Grand Hotel Majestic “già Baglioni” invites you to enjoy the city in this magical period of the year and savour traditional and innovative recipes against the backdrop of the sixteenth-century dining room of the Ristorante I Carracci, under a vault frescoed by members of the Carracci school.

This year you can treat yourself to three experiences in one: sleeping in a historic palazzo, lunching or dining in the restaurant of Bologna’s only luxury 5-star hotel, and visiting one of the top ongoing exhibitions in the city. After a fabulous night in one of the elegant rooms or suites and a lavish breakfast, you can take a pleasant stroll in the old centre of town, admire the festive illuminations and take advantage of free tickets for the “Giovanni Boldini, a Gaze into the Soul” exhibition at Palazzo Albergati, one of the most important museums in Bologna.

 

As for any self-respecting festivity, celebrations come to a climax at the table, where guests can choose between Christmas Eve dinner or Christmas Day lunch. On Christmas Eve, the new executive chef Guglielmo Araldi will serve up seafood recipes featuring baccalà (salt cod), prawn carpaccio, scallops, stewed mussels and Corba Rossa umbrine from the Gargano peninsula. Christmas lunch menu will be a hymn to tradition: hence mortadella mousse with tigella, a local griddled flatbread, spiedo alla petroniana, a skewer of meat mortadella and cheese, with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese foam, zampone en croûte and three great classics: tortellini in double capon broth, guinea fowl stuffed with chestnuts, and gran bollito alla bolognese, mixed boiled meats, all served with local wines. 

To say goodbye to 2021 and welcome in 2022 in the best way possible the Grand Hotel Majestic “Già Baglioni” will serve a menu of seafood, superb wines and classic desserts such as artisan panettone and pandoro to the accompaniment of live music. An antipasto of smoked salmon, red shrimp, Ossetra caviar and dentex will be followed by a first course of ravioli filled with European lobster and bergamot, and pumpkin risotto with grilled scampi, and a second of umbrine with leeks, cardoncelli mushrooms and chard. The wine list will consist of Franciacorta Bellavista Gran Cuvée Brut, Collio Bianco – Korsic, Chardonnay Laguna di Sopra – Condé, and, with dessert, Occhio di Starna Passito - Tenuta Santa Lucia. And Champagne Laurent Perrier Brut corks will pop at the stroke of midnight. 

The New Year will get off the to the best start possible with a lunchtime brunch featuring all sorts of delicacies, with something for everyone, from light energy-giving fresh fruit smoothies and juices to scrumptious pandoro, panettone and a vast array of fresh desserts. For guests who prefer a traditional breakfast, the choice will be just as various, including classics such as eggs Benedict, omelettes, waffles, muffins and croissants, not to mention PDO cured meats and cheeses from the Emilia Romagna region, bread, focaccias, homemade crescentine (local flatbreads), quiches lorraine and mini hamburgers.

 

The Grand Hotel Majestic “Già Baglioni” brunch menu is famous especially for first courses such as lasagna alla bolognese, i tortellini in double capon broth and orzotto with Treviso radicchio and salamella (boiling sausage), gran bollito (mixed boiled meats), stewed cuttlefish with polenta, chicken cutlets with aromatic herbs and of course, lentils, said to bring good luck in the New Year, with potato purée and grilled vegetables.