Palazzo Bo

Palazzo Bo

Universities & SchoolsArchitectural BuildingsEducational sites
Monday
7:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday
7:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday
7:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
7:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
7:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday
7:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday
Closed
About
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • PPCI-BG
    Bergamo, Italy124,804 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    ancient courtyard
    Palazzo del Bo has been the historic seat of the University of Padua since the fifteenth century and is still the seat of the Rectorate today. During our stay in Padua we only managed to see the "ancient courtyard" with the numerous coats of arms that adorn it. I promise myself a more in-depth visit next time since the rest must also be interesting.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled on business
    Written March 5, 2024
  • Renè
    Asti, Italy1,028 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Inside History
    Mandatory guided tour to discover the history of the University second only to Bologna in terms of seniority (1222). Our guide, a very nice and well-prepared new graduate, shows us the Aula Magna and above all the Anatomical Theater where the autopsy examinations were carried out (strictly in winter, for obvious hygienic reasons...) in the presence of students and... paying public! By connecting the vision of the various rooms with the exhaustive story of our guide, we have the feeling of reliving the university world of centuries ago. The rooms where degree theses are discussed are only those of Medicine and Law, in homage to the original traditions of the Centre.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written March 23, 2024
  • Barbara M
    Turin, Italy5,181 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Unmissable
    A visit with a highly trained, friendly and helpful guide made us get to know Palazzo Bo as I believe it couldn't be better. I apologize if the name is not right, I think her name is Sara. New graduate. He also introduced us to the legendary bar Mario e i Goliardi. An unmissable place in my opinion. Thank you, we will remember this visit for a long time.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 8, 2024
  • Travel57279901567
    33 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wonder in the heart of Padua
    Beautiful palace, home to the University of Padua, majestic and rich in history. Contemporary art at Palazzo del Bo is present with paintings and sculptures by some of the major Italian artists of the twentieth century and wherever you look, you can admire very ancient coats of arms and frescoes. The artistic heritage of Palazzo del Bo is open to the public, who can get to know it through guided tours.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written May 1, 2024
  • Patrizia G
    Province of Reggio Emilia, Italy445 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Interesting visit
    Guided tour with Sofia who was thorough, competent and friendly. I didn't learn many things that I found interesting. I recommend the guided tour to understand what you are looking at. The duration of the guided tour is approximately 75' but you can also visit the palace independently.
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written May 4, 2024
  • Giovanni2772
    150 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Interesting
    An interesting route, which I recommend to those in Padua. I recommend the guided tour (€ 15), which allows you to grasp the details. The University, renovated by Giò Ponti in the first half of the last century, has a new courtyard that recalls the architecture of the fascist period. The Great Hall is remarkable! In the Hall of Forty, there is the original wooden Chair on which Galileo Galilei taught. The highlight of the tour would be the Anatomical Stable Theatre (the oldest in the world in the shape of an inverted cone), but they allow you to visit it from below (entering the area where autopsies were performed); no climbing up the stairs. For me a little disappointment, as the view from above would have been more beautiful! The rooms in which theses on law and medicine are discussed are also beautiful. Anyway, not bad!
    Visited November 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written November 6, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles206 reviews
Excellent
151
Very good
40
Average
7
Poor
5
Terrible
3

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
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chicaLi
Livorno, Italy92 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Friends
We decided to visit this palace because it was recommended to us by a friend, but it didn't look so good from the online guide reviews! It was a wonderful surprise, a palace that combines the modern and the ancient... which contains incredible treasures... including Galileo's chair! However, everything was made compelling by our guide Laura, an art history graduate who was able to entertain a group of over thirty people aged from 10 to 70 for more than an hour and a half... providing us with information in an engaging way!
Google
Written January 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

DaveIndy
Indianapolis, IN116 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022 • Solo
I had a guided tour of the University of Padova, one of the oldest in Europe, where Galileo taught for a dozen years, and which awarded the first Ph.D. in the world to a woman in the 17th century). The English-speaking guide was excellent and interesting, and this tour was my favorite experience in Padova besides Giotto’s frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel. You can get timed tickets for the tours on the university’s website, or at the ticket office inside the Palazzo Bo.
Written April 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Fabros974
36 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Family
Beautiful experience with the expert guidance of a very knowledgeable and friendly recent art graduate (unfortunately I don't remember her name, she had short blonde hair). We were able to visit this beautiful headquarters of the University of Padua, the foundation of the city's cultural identity, on an extremely interesting journey between past and present. I recommend this beautiful 75 minute visit to everyone which will leave adults and children enthusiastic.
Google
Written January 11, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Elisa Z
Grenoble, France21 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Family
We booked the visit by phone the day before, when we arrived just before the booked time, we bought the ticket and waited for the visit to start (Thursday, November 2nd). Only at that point, we were informed that the Aula Magna and the Sala dei Quaranta, i.e. the main points of interest, could not be visited due to an event in progress (conference and awards ceremony). Upon our request to return later to visit the two rooms, we were told by the guide that we would have to repay the ticket and by the person from the public relations office that "unfortunately it often happens, there are often events" without offering any apologies or propose an alternative date. It is really incorrect not to notify visitors until after they have paid for the ticket, which is full price. The rest of the visit (anatomical theatre) was interesting, but it does not justify the full price and above all by giving notice you can organize differently. Too bad, really a bad image.
Google
Written November 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Angela
Sydney, Australia33 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2024 • Couples
If you are into architecture and a little bit of history with a bit of modern art thrown in, then you might enjoy the tour. We did the English language tour at 1130, the guide was enthusiastic about her subject but there really isn’t much to see. We thought there would be lots more about the history of the University, but it is really just a few co-joined old buildings that have been modernised in Mussolini’s time. There is lots of explanation about the artist and why he designed certain rooms. This leads into the older section of the Uni, which was a little more interesting. The only real historical displays were an old wooden podium and the anatomical theatre. Tour typically takes 1 hour but we took longer as it was a holiday and more rooms were available. Lots of standing around looking at nothing in particular. If you really want to see it, do a self guided with audio guide, you can walk through much quicker.
Written June 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

lindsaymargaret
Baltimore, MD53 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2024 • Friends
We took the 11:30 English tour expecting to see the dissection theater as shown in all the advertising material. Turns out that you can no longer walk up the stairs and can only view from the very bottom. This is an extremely limited view. Otherwise you see one big room and the lectern used by Galileo. Not worth the time or price unless you really love astronomy or the history of medicine.
Written July 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michele M
Cuneo, Italy71 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
Beautiful experience: we visited Palazzo Bo in Padua, home of the historic city University, with the expert guidance of a recent graduate and it was very interesting to discover the characteristics and history of this University
The classrooms, the works of art contained in them, the history that exudes and the culture have enraptured us
Not to be missed in Padua
Google
Written December 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Heli K
Lappeenranta, Finland1,686 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Friends
We took a guided tour (and it is the only way to see this place) to visit Palazzo Bo - the main building of University of Padua - one of the oldest universities in Europe.
In this tour you hear about the history of the university and see interesting places e.g. Anatomy theatre, Great hall and lectern where Galileo Galilei taught. He was teaching in Padua 18 years and was very much liked among students.
If you want to be sure that you can go to English tour - book advance. Guided tour takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. To visit the courtyard and Hero's gate is free.
By the way this university is also very proud of its students which went to war and the resistance the university people did during the WW II.
Written July 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gabriel H
Bellaire, TX7,165 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019
This majestic building has housed the main campus of the University of Padua's medical school for centuries. As such, it is decorated to the hilt with the family crests of all the illustrious teachers and alumni who have walked these old stone floors. The Aula Magna is simply spectacular: decorated from floor to high ceiling with hundreds of crests, it is one of the most majestic halls I have ever seen at a University. The amphitheater is the oldest surviving such a structure in the world. Entrance is free, as long as the place is not reserved for a function. The amphitheater can only be visited as part of a guided tour.
Written January 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Simone
England, UK276 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022 • Couples
We missed the English tour which we tried to book too late online and given we'd plan our trip to Padova on a Monday (most tourist places shut on Monday, including Botanical Gardens) we were keen to go here. So we booked a tour in Italian as it was the only means of entrance. The leaflet was good.
It is a fabulous renaissance building and its tiered courtyard is quite similar to that of Bologna's.
I was a little underwhelmed. My husband liked it more than I did. There is a fantastic wooden ceiling. We saw a lectern where Galileo taught. The Great Hall was OK. I think we've been spoilt by
Courtyard of Archiginnasio in Bologna upon which this was based and the Palazzo Ducale in Venice.

I'd say don't go to Padova on a Monday and leave your options open in spite of what lonely planet says
Written June 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Palazzo Bo - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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