Cute little store for a chocolatier that was founded in Bologna. I was visiting Bologna for the…read morefirst time and wanted to bring home some chocolate. This store only has their brand, but they have a very large selection!! They have a great variety of chocolates (dark, milk, white, with nuts, etc) in different packaging (chocolate bars, gift sets, etc). I chatted a bit with the cashier, and she was so sweet and kind. She shared some of their history and provided recommendations. I bought a couple chocolate bars (milk chocolate with pistachios and dark chocolate with hazelnuts) and a gift set that has some of their signature pieces. Everything was delicious! But definitely pricier than I am used to. Especially compared to the very little bit that comes in the box.

Majani is a chocolatier that is founded in Bologna, Italy, in 1796! The dark chocolate comes in…read morevarious percentages as well as flavors using cocoa butter. When I need some strong dark chocolate (which provides my brain with a jump start) I'll go for 70% dark. At the same time I enjoy the caffe and pistachio flavors! Thank goodness when I leave Italy from Malpensa airport in the Milano area, they have a Majani chocolate shop in Milano Centrale (train station)! I load up on their thimble-sized squares filling up a bag with assorted flavors. Never leave Italy without Majani chocolato! Ci vediamo Majani!

Of all places in Italy, I find this little treasure box of chocolate. Made in house (you can see…read morethe kitchen from the shop). I good 8 pieces of filled chocolates (€10). Some had liquor in them ;) The few I've eaten so far are delicious. I would think the most famous cities in Italy would all have their own local chocolate shops, oh no! Not in Florence. Yes, in Bologna, a culinary capital in Italy. I'm tempted to return to Bologna even as I venture on to other Italian towns and cities. Just for more delicious Roccati chocolates!

There is no better chocolate in Bologna. Beautiful shop with gorgeous display and even better…read moretasting treats. Don't miss this shop!

Great place for Italian breakfast. Great selection of pastries. A Avery famous for the chocolate…read more My espresso was very good as well the Nutella cornetto. Service was every fast and nice. The ladies are super efficient and with beautiful smile. Inside is very welcoming... with lord of specialties displayed as u can see from my pics. Great ambient.

All I can say is ... YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS…read more Gian and I were looking for a place to have coffee before our NYE dinner date in Ferrara. While wandering around, we stumbled upon Chocolat & Chocolat, thinking it was just a normal local bakery cafe and thought, ok let's give it a go. To our surprise, this place is award-winning and VERY popular! Jackpot! So we went in and found a seat. Ordered our coffees (which were very inexpensive) and sat down to rest. The coffees were beautiful btw. Just what we needed to keep us energized for the rest of the night! As we were chatting while sipping our delish cuppas, we realized that almost everyone surrounding us had a cup of thick hot chocolate in their hands. Upon further analysis, we realized that this bakery had won awards specifically for their chocolate! So what did we do? Duh ... ordered hot chocolate for ourselves too! Gotta get on that bandwagon!! I had the 62% hot chocolate with normal crema, while Gian had the 77% hot chocolate infused with some rum! Oh good gawd, these were fantastic! So rich! So thick! So creamy! (Stop imagining naughty things now! Even though it might as well have been as sexual as you can get with chocolate). Absolutely unforgettable! We were super warm afterwards too, so perfect for the winter season! We didn't try any of their baked goods (as we were saving up room for our dinners) but I swear, every other person that walked in through those doors were buying boxes of their cakes and pastries! Like NON-STOP! The staff were pretty nice too albeit one cranky lady who was making the coffee. But who dafuq cares when their coffee, hot chocolate and cakes are super awesome?! Everything was very inexpensive too! Less than 7euros for sure. I miss it too much! If you're in Ferrara, check this place out!

Chocolate gelato was good! Vanilla didn't taste like vanilla. Their gelato wasn't displayed like…read moreevery other gelateria, but definitely tastes made by hand. Chocolate spread was tasty too. The owner seemed a little short when we asked for samples, but we discovered Italians don't like to give samples in general.

Staffed by the most friendly people you can imagine. They were so generous with their time and…read moreportions! The mango gelato had the most exquisite taste and the dark chocolate was to die for. Doesn't even begin to talk about rhe chocolates they had to offer. A 100% place to return to whenever I visit Firenze!!

I'll be honest this wasn't one on my list to try however I'm so glad we did. Being American it's…read moreintimidating to order when honestly Italian is not something I'm good at. Anyhow the service was nothing short of wonderful. They welcomed us and walked us through the whole thing. This gelato was so creamy, smooth, with the flavors being on point. Prices I thought were very reasonable considering what it was and compared to the US. Don't hesitate to try even if they say it's a chain.

Going to venchi in Italy is like going to Panda Express in China... overpriced and not that good.read more

One of the most popular gelato spots in Bologna, but I thought Cremeria Cavour was better than this…read moreone. I appreciated how they had a lot more unique flavors, and I chose the speculoos and the classic pistachio. I thought the texture of the speculoos was a bit underwhelming and the flavor wasn't that precise either. The pistachio was solid, but nothing super memorable. either.

We walked past this gelato place, and in the name of science, we needed to test some flavors. This…read morewas the best gelato we found in Bologna, but the flavors were not quite as authentic as what we had in Florence. However, it was still very good and the staff has exceedingly friendly and helpful. I even was able to see them making the gelato in the back room. I would recommend this place for you to do your own scientific testing. There was no seating inside or outside, which would have been helpful as our gelato melted.

CHOCOLATE! If you…read morelove chocolate or anything sweet, the annual chocolate festival in Firenze is almost a dream come true! Every year for a week - typically Valentine's Day week - Firenze will host an open market that features chocolate artisans that sell delicious and tempting sweets. Hot chocolate, chocolate fruits, chocolate of every sort - Every booth has an eye-popping amount of different kind of chocolate that you may not even know existed! This is also where I discover this heavenly chocolate called "cremino veneziano" (Venetian cream) which is a multi-layer chocolate that quickly melts in your hand if you don't pop it in your mouth soon and literally melts instantly in your mouth. Oh why don't they make this in the US... In case you can't get enough sweets though, the festival also includes a chocolate cooking show and the booths also sell other non-chocolate sweets like €1 macaron! Sadly (and maybe fortunately), many chocolate items here are extremely pricey, although that's to be expected as artisan goods. For example, my new love "cremino veneziano" is a costly €4.5 for a mere 100 grams... Nonetheless, even if you don't intend to splurge on sweets, definitely swing by here to at least feast your eyes upon the sweets! You can even get a sample or two like how I met my cremino veneziano. While I would not intentionally fly into Firenze for this festival, I would recommend making a detour to witness sweetness if you are in Italy during this time! --- DOVE? WHERE? Typically, this festival is held in Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the church piazza in front of the train station. However, check the website or ask your hotel staff. We nearly missed the festival because it was moved in the last minute to Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, the northern piazza that is a bit out of the way from the typical tourist route. --- tl;dr version 1) CHOCOLATE! 2) Various sorts of chocolate and sweets to feast your eyes (and even sample) 3) Pricey so don't expect to going home in bags without splurging 4) Recommended detour if you're already in Italy