Self-Guided Walking Tour in Ravenna

A 9-stop loop through Ravenna's early-Christian and Byzantine mosaics, starting at the lone Mausoleo di Teodorico by the station and finishing at the Battistero degli Ariani. This page gives you the map, the walking time for every leg, the real prices and opening hours, and the ticket logic behind the San Vitale combined pass.

9 Stops5.5 km~2 hours walking4–5 hours with stops
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Ravenna Walking Tour at a Glance

This route is built for anyone who came to Ravenna for the mosaics and wants to see the best of them in the right order, without a car or a tour group. It links nine stops, and every paid interior is optional: you can walk the whole loop for free, dip into just the two masterpieces, or do all seven ticketed monuments. The order is chosen so your eyes are freshest at the sites that matter most.

StartMausoleum of Theodoric (Mausoleo di Teodorico)
FinishArian Baptistry (Battistero degli Ariani)
Route typeA rough loop, not an out-and-back. You start at the isolated Mausoleo di Teodorico by the station, head south-west into the San Vitale complex, work south and east through the cathedral quarter and main square, then curl north back toward your starting corner. Almost no backtracking.
Realistic timeThe 5.5 km of walking alone is barely over an hour. With the outdoor stops it is a gentle half-day, and with all seven interiors plus a coffee it fills a comfortable four to five hours. The route is timed at roughly two and a half hours of walking-plus-stops before you add sit-down time inside.
DifficultyEasy. Ravenna is dead flat, so there are no hills and no climbs, just 5.5 km on pavement and the cobbled lanes of the old centre. The only uneven spots are a low step at Galla Placidia and the stairs up to the Archbishop's Museum. Comfortable flat shoes are all you need.
Cost to followFollowing the route on foot is free, and Dante's tomb and Piazza del Popolo cost nothing. The interiors are where you spend: the San Vitale combined ticket is €12 and covers five monuments, the Mausoleo di Teodorico is €4, and the Battistero degli Ariani is €1. Do everything and your total entry bill is about €17.
Best for:

Anyone chasing UNESCO-grade Byzantine mosaics in a compact, flat town, travellers arriving by train, and people who would rather set their own pace than shuffle behind a group flag.

The Route

Free Walking Tour Map of Ravenna

9 stops5.5 kmabout 2 hours
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The 9 stops along this route

  1. Mausoleum of Theodoric (Mausoleo di Teodorico) in Ravenna, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour
    1Mausoleum of Theodoric (Mausoleo di Teodorico)
  2. Basilica of San Vitale (Basilica di San Vitale) in Ravenna, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour
    2Basilica of San Vitale (Basilica di San Vitale)
  3. Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (Mausoleo di Galla Placidia) in Ravenna, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour
    3Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (Mausoleo di Galla Placidia)
  4. Archiepiscopal Museum of Ravenna (Museo arcivescovile di Ravenna) in Ravenna, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour
    4Archiepiscopal Museum of Ravenna (Museo arcivescovile di Ravenna)
  5. Baptistry of Neon (Battistero Neoniano) in Ravenna, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour
    5Baptistry of Neon (Battistero Neoniano)
  6. Piazza del Popolo in Ravenna, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour
    6Piazza del Popolo
  7. Dante Alighieri's tomb (Tomba di Dante) in Ravenna, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour
    7Dante Alighieri's tomb (Tomba di Dante)
  8. Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo) in Ravenna, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour
    8Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo)
  9. Arian Baptistry (Battistero degli Ariani) in Ravenna, stop 9 on the self-guided walking tour
    9Arian Baptistry (Battistero degli Ariani)
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Your Ravenna Walking Tour, Stop by Stop

  1. 1

    Mausoleum of Theodoric (Mausoleo di Teodorico)

    Mausoleum of Theodoric (Mausoleo di Teodorico) in Ravenna, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour

    You start at the strangest of all Ravenna's monuments, a squat stone drum sitting alone on a lawn a short walk from the train station. The thing that makes people stare is the roof: a single slab of Istrian limestone weighing around 300 tonnes, hauled here whole and set as one monolithic dome. Nobody is certain how the Ostrogoths lifted it. This is the burial place built for Theodoric the Great, who died in 526, and it stands apart from the city's Byzantine mosaic churches in both date and feel. There are no mosaics inside, just bare stone and a porphyry bathtub-sarcophagus, so the appeal is entirely the engineering and the quiet. Entry is 4 EUR, open daily 8:30 to 19:00. Ten minutes inside is plenty. Then walk southwest toward the centre, about 1.5 km along Via delle Industrie.

    Hours
    Daily: 8:30 AM – 7:00 PM
    Price
    €4
  2. 2

    Basilica of San Vitale (Basilica di San Vitale)

    Basilica of San Vitale (Basilica di San Vitale) in Ravenna, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour

    This is the one. From the brick exterior you would never guess, but step into the octagonal interior and the apse erupts in green, gold and deep blue. The two famous panels face each other across the chancel: Emperor Justinian with his court on one side, Empress Theodora with hers on the other, both from around 547 when the church was consecrated. The composition, the colour, the sheer survival of it all is the single best reason anyone comes to Ravenna. Construction began in 532, and it became a UNESCO site in 1996. Entry is 12 EUR, and crucially this is the combined ticket that also covers Galla Placidia, the Neonian Baptistery, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and the Archbishop's Museum, so buy it here. Open daily 9:00 to 19:00. Give it 30 minutes. Galla Placidia is 75 m away in the same garden complex.

    Hours
    Daily: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
    Price
    €12
  3. 3

    Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (Mausoleo di Galla Placidia)

    Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (Mausoleo di Galla Placidia) in Ravenna, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour

    A few steps across the lawn from San Vitale sits a tiny brick chapel that delivers the most loved image in the city. Duck through the low door, let your eyes adjust, and the vault overhead becomes a deep blue sky scattered with hundreds of gold stars, the oldest mosaics in Ravenna, made around 425 to 430. The smallness is the point: you stand almost underneath it. The building was likely never actually the tomb of Galla Placidia, who died in Rome in 450, but the name has stuck for centuries. Cole Porter is said to have been inspired by this starry ceiling on his honeymoon. Your San Vitale ticket already covers entry, and in busy months a timed slot of a few minutes is enforced to protect it. Open daily 9:00 to 18:30. Linger, then head south about 700 m toward the cathedral square and the Archbishop's Museum.

    Hours
    Daily: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM
    Price
    €4
  4. 4

    Archiepiscopal Museum of Ravenna (Museo arcivescovile di Ravenna)

    Archiepiscopal Museum of Ravenna (Museo arcivescovile di Ravenna) in Ravenna, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour

    After two free-standing chapels, this stop is upstairs inside the Archbishop's Palace beside the Duomo, so look for the entrance rather than a monument on the street. Two things justify the climb. The first is the Cappella Arcivescovile, a small private oratory and the only surviving private chapel mosaics from the early Christian world, including a striking Christ shown as a warrior. The second is the ivory Throne of Maximian, an intricately carved 6th-century bishop's chair that is a treasure of Byzantine ivory work. The museum was founded in 1734, the first diocesan museum in Italy. Entry is 5.50 EUR, or it is included on your San Vitale combined ticket. Open daily 9:00 to 19:00. Allow 20 to 30 minutes. From here the Neonian Baptistery is barely 150 m east, right beside the cathedral.

    Hours
    Daily: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
    Price
    €5.50
  5. 5

    Baptistry of Neon (Battistero Neoniano)

    Baptistry of Neon (Battistero Neoniano) in Ravenna, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour

    Right next to the cathedral stands a small octagonal building that is the oldest surviving monument in Ravenna, the Orthodox (Neonian) baptistery from the 5th century. Look straight up: the dome shows the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan ringed by a procession of the twelve apostles in white and gold, the most complete early baptistery mosaic anywhere. The Orthodox label here means the mainstream Christians of the day, as opposed to the Arians you will meet at the last stop, so the two baptisteries make a deliberate pair. Entry is 3.50 EUR, again covered by the San Vitale combined ticket, open daily 9:00 to 18:45. Ten to fifteen minutes is right; it is one room. Step back out and walk roughly 350 m east along the lanes to Piazza del Popolo, the town's main square.

    Hours
    Daily: 9:00 AM – 6:45 PM
    Price
    €3.50
  6. 6

    Piazza del Popolo

    Piazza del Popolo in Ravenna, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour

    Time to give your neck a rest. After a run of dim interiors you come out into the open civic heart of Ravenna, an arcaded square with a distinctly Venetian look left from the centuries Venice ruled the town. Two tall columns carry the city's patron saints, and the surrounding palazzi house cafes under their porticoes. This is the place to sit with an espresso, watch the passeggiata in the early evening, and plan the rest. It is free and open around the clock, so there is no ticket and no rush. Grab a table under the arcades; a coffee standing at the bar runs about 1.20 to 1.50 EUR. When you are ready, Dante's tomb is only a couple of minutes away, just southeast off the square down the quiet lanes toward the Dante zone.

    Hours
    Open 24/7
    Price
    Free
  7. 7

    Dante Alighieri's tomb (Tomba di Dante)

    Dante Alighieri's tomb (Tomba di Dante) in Ravenna, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour

    A short step from the square you enter a hushed pocket of the city marked as the zona dantesca, the zone of silence around the poet's grave. The tomb itself is a small neoclassical temple where Dante Alighieri has lain since he died in exile here in 1321, refused by his native Florence ever since. A lamp inside is kept perpetually lit, fed by oil that Florence sends each year as a quiet act of penance. Entry is free, daily 10:00 to 18:00, and around it lie the Franciscan cloisters and the Quadrarco di Braccioforte garden, all part of the same quiet enclosure. It takes five minutes and costs nothing, but it is the emotional anchor of the walk. From here it is about 300 m east to Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the next great mosaic basilica.

    Hours
    Daily: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
    Price
    Free
  8. 8

    Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo)

    Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo) in Ravenna, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour

    Back to gold. This long basilica was Theodoric's own palace church, begun as an Arian place of worship in the early 6th century before it was reconsecrated. Walk down the nave and look up at both side walls: two endless processions in mosaic, twenty-two virgins on one side moving toward the Madonna, twenty-six martyrs on the other moving toward Christ, each figure carrying a crown. Lower down you can still spot ghostly hands left on a column where Arian figures were edited out after the Byzantines took over, a rare visible scar of religious politics. Entry is 10.50 EUR, or it is on your San Vitale combined ticket, open daily 9:00 to 18:30. Give it 20 to 25 minutes. From here the last stop, the Arian Baptistery, lies about 350 m north as you start looping back.

    Hours
    Daily: 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM
    Price
    €10.50
  9. 9

    Arian Baptistry (Battistero degli Ariani)

    Arian Baptistry (Battistero degli Ariani) in Ravenna, stop 9 on the self-guided walking tour

    The quiet finale, tucked behind the Church of the Holy Spirit on a side street, and the one most tour groups skip. This was the baptistery of Theodoric's Arian cathedral, built around the turn of the 6th century. Its dome mosaic mirrors the Neonian one you saw earlier: the same Baptism of Christ with the apostles, but this is the Arian version of the same scene, which makes seeing both the real reward of doing this circuit. At 1 EUR it is the cheapest ticket in town and a deliberate choice to end on, not filler. Check the hours, as they are short and split: Monday to Thursday 9:00 to 12:00, and Friday to Sunday 9:00 to 12:00 plus 14:00 to 17:00. Five minutes inside finishes the loop. From here you are roughly 1.2 km from the Mausoleo di Teodorico and the station where you began.

    Hours
    Mon-Thu: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Fri-Sun: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 2:00 – 5:00 PM
    Price
    €1

How Long Does This Walking Tour Really Take?

Plan four to five hours for the full loop with every interior and a coffee break. The 5.5 km of flat walking is only part of it: San Vitale and Galla Placidia deserve real time and come early on purpose, while the baptisteries and the Archbishop's Museum are single rooms you absorb in ten to fifteen minutes each.

Budget about four to five hours for the full loop with all interiors, which matches the roughly two and a half hours of walking-plus-stops the route is timed at, plus a real coffee break. The two sites that deserve the most time are San Vitale and the Galla Placidia mausoleo; do not rush them, and do them while your eyes are fresh. The baptisteries and the Archbishop's Museum are single rooms you can absorb in ten to fifteen minutes each.

The natural break is Piazza del Popolo, exactly halfway through the route. Sit under the arcades with an espresso before tackling Dante's tomb and the second basilica cluster. If you would rather eat, the Mercato Coperto a couple of minutes north of the square is open daily and good for a quick panino and a glass of Sangiovese. If you feel mosaic fatigue setting in, the Arian Baptistery at the end is short, cheap and forgiving, so you can finish strong without a long final stretch.

Full Route, Shorter Walk or Two-Day Version?

The nine stops split naturally into two knots of monuments with the main square in the middle, which makes the route easy to shorten or divide. Here are three ways to walk it depending on how much time you have and how much mosaic your eyes can take.

The full loop

All nine stops, station to station

Stops 1–9, roughly 5.5 km, about 4–5 hours with all interiors

The complete circuit from the Mausoleo di Teodorico by the station through San Vitale, Galla Placidia, the cathedral quarter, Piazza del Popolo and Dante's tomb, closing with Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and the Arian Baptistery. Best if you have a full half-day and want all seven UNESCO-grade sites.

The mosaic core

Skip the outliers, keep the masterpieces

Stops 2–8, roughly 3 km, about 2.5–3 hours

Drop stop 1, the Mausoleo di Teodorico, which is the longest single leg at 1.5 km out by the station, and finish at Sant'Apollinare Nuovo instead of looping back to the Arian Baptistery. You still get San Vitale, Galla Placidia, both cathedral-quarter stops, the square and Dante. Ideal on a half-day trip from Bologna or the coast.

The two-part day

Split at Piazza del Popolo

Morning stops 1–6, afternoon stops 6–9, with a long lunch on the square

Do the San Vitale complex and cathedral quarter in the morning while your eyes are fresh, break at Piazza del Popolo for lunch under the arcades, then finish with Dante's tomb, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and the Arian Baptistery in the afternoon. The gentlest way to beat mosaic fatigue and still see everything.

You can walk it in reverse, starting at the Battistero degli Ariani and ending at the Mausoleo di Teodorico, but the given direction is better: it puts San Vitale and Galla Placidia early while your eyes are fresh, and it starts you two minutes from the train station so you can arrive and leave by rail without a long final trudge.

Is This Ravenna Walking Tour Right for You?

This is a short, flat, mosaic-heavy walk in a calm provincial town, which suits some travellers perfectly and others less. Here is who it fits and how to bend it if you are not quite the target.

A good fit if you…

  • Anyone who loves early-Christian and Byzantine art and wants seven UNESCO-grade mosaic sites in one compact circuit
  • Train travellers, since the loop starts and ends two minutes from Ravenna station
  • People who want a genuinely easy day: no hills, no climbs, just 5.5 km of flat pavement and cobbles
  • Rainy-day visitors, because almost every stop is a covered interior

Adapt the route if you…

  • You have only a half-day: use the mosaic-core version and skip the Mausoleo di Teodorico out by the station
  • You tire of mosaics fast: split the day at Piazza del Popolo and do the two knots in separate sessions
  • You want fewer tickets: walk the free outdoor route and pay only for San Vitale and Galla Placidia
  • You have mobility limits: the town is flat, but watch the low step at Galla Placidia and the stairs up to the Archbishop's Museum

Tickets & Skip-the-Line in Ravenna

Ravenna's mosaic sites mostly run on one combined ticket, so the trick is buying the right pass at the right stop rather than queuing five times. Here is what each paid monument costs, when it opens, and where a ticket or booking helps.

Basilica of San Vitale (Basilica di San Vitale)€12, open daily 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM. This is the key ticket: the €12 combined pass also covers Galla Placidia, the Battistero Neoniano, the Museo Arcivescovile and Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, so buy it here first. In peak season book ahead online, as Galla Placidia enforces timed entry. official ticket site ↗
Mausoleum of Theodoric (Mausoleo di Teodorico)€4, open daily 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM. A separate ticket, not part of the San Vitale combined pass. Ten minutes inside is plenty. official ticket site ↗
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (Mausoleo di Galla Placidia)€4 on its own, but already included in the €12 San Vitale combined ticket, so do not buy separately. Open daily 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM, with timed entry of a few minutes enforced in busy months to protect the vault.
Archiepiscopal Museum of Ravenna (Museo arcivescovile di Ravenna)€5.50 on its own, or included on the San Vitale combined ticket. Open daily 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Holds the Cappella Arcivescovile mosaics and the ivory Throne of Maximian.
Baptistry of Neon (Battistero Neoniano)€3.50 on its own, or included on the San Vitale combined ticket. Open daily 9:00 AM to 6:45 PM. One room; ten to fifteen minutes is right.
Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo)€10.50 on its own, or included on the San Vitale combined ticket. Open daily 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM. Give it 20 to 25 minutes for the two mosaic processions along the nave.
Dante Alighieri's tomb (Tomba di Dante)Free, open daily 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. No ticket needed, but note the short hours if you leave it late in the day. official ticket site ↗
Arian Baptistry (Battistero degli Ariani)€1, the cheapest ticket in town and separate from the San Vitale pass. Hours are short and split: Monday to Thursday 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Friday to Sunday 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Check before you go so you do not arrive after it closes. official ticket site ↗
Everything elsePiazza del Popolo is free and open around the clock. These are open public spaces with no ticket and no set hours.
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Tips for Walking in Ravenna

  • Timing and transport: Ravenna station is a 2-minute walk from the Mausoleo di Teodorico, so arrive by train and start the loop there. Begin by 9:30 to clear the major mosaic sites before tour groups peak around late morning.
  • Terrain and shoes: the route is flat the whole way, but the old centre is cobbled and the Galla Placidia step is low and uneven. Flat comfortable shoes are fine; you need no climbing gear and there are no hills.
  • Restrooms: there are no public toilets inside the small mausolea or baptisteries. Use the facilities at the San Vitale visitor complex when you buy the combined ticket, or a cafe on Piazza del Popolo (buy a coffee first).
  • Food and drink: at the Mercato Coperto just north of Piazza del Popolo, open daily from 9:00, grab a piadina romagnola, the local flatbread, for a few euros, or a plate of cured meats with a glass of local Sangiovese.
  • Photo: the Galla Placidia starry vault is the shot. Stand directly under the dome, point your phone straight up, and turn off the flash, which is forbidden anyway. Mornings give the calmest light through the alabaster windows.

Why Walk This Route?

Ravenna is a flat, compact town where the whole reason you came is hidden behind plain brick walls. From the outside these are dull early-Christian boxes. Inside they hold the best-preserved mosaics on earth, gold and blue ceilings made fifteen centuries ago when this was the capital of the Western Roman Empire and then of Byzantine Italy. Eight of these monuments are a single UNESCO World Heritage listing, and this walk hits seven of the eight plus Dante's tomb in one loop. You do not need a car, a bus, or much fitness. You need about half a day and a willingness to keep tilting your head back.

Why this route and not just wandering: the mosaic sites cluster in two tight knots, and most of them sell tickets through one combined pass. Doing them in geographic order saves you backtracking across town and lets you buy the right ticket once. The walk starts at the lone monument out by the train station, drops into the great San Vitale complex, threads through the cathedral quarter, pauses in the main square and at Dante's grave, then closes with the two basilica-and-baptistery sites near the loop back.

The total is roughly 5.5 km of walking on flat pavement and cobbles, easily managed in an afternoon. Be honest with yourself about mosaic fatigue: by the fifth gold ceiling some people stop seeing them. The route is built so the two non-negotiable masterpieces, San Vitale and Galla Placidia, come early when your eyes are fresh.

Common Questions

Is Ravenna safe to walk around?

Yes. Ravenna is a small, calm provincial city with very low crime, and this entire route stays in the well-kept historic centre. The usual sense around the train station at night applies, but by day it is relaxed. The only real hazard is cyclists, who use the flat streets heavily, so listen before stepping off a kerb. There are no tourist scams of note here.

What if it rains during my Ravenna tour?

Good news: almost every stop on this walk is indoors. San Vitale, both baptisteries, Galla Placidia, the Archbishop's Museum and Sant'Apollinare Nuovo are all enclosed, so rain barely affects the tour. The only fully open-air stops are Piazza del Popolo, where the arcaded porticoes keep you dry, and Dante's tomb, which is a 30-second dash. The walking links are short. Bring a small umbrella and you lose nothing.

What's the best time of day for this walking tour?

Start around 9:00 to 9:30. The mosaic sites open at 9:00, group tours tend to swell from late morning, and Galla Placidia in particular gets a queue with timed entry in peak season. Going early means you stand under San Vitale's apse and the starry vault in near silence. You then reach Piazza del Popolo for an early-afternoon coffee and finish the Arian Baptistery before its short hours close.

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