Palazzo Bo
Palazzo Bo
4.5
7:30 AM - 8:00 PM
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
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4.5
201 reviews
Excellent
147
Very good
39
Average
7
Poor
5
Terrible
3
Angela
Sydney, Australia32 contributions
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 21 June 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
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 8 July 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.
Simone
England, UK256 contributions
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
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 6 June 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.
Anna H
Chicago, IL1,169 contributions
Oct 2023 • Friends
Original university building, with an elegant entry court, surrounded by plaques honoring former students. The guided tour includes a lecture hall, frequented by Galileo, the anatomical theater (smaller than you would think, given the capacity) and the examinations hall. A must-visit if you have any interest in education and the sciences.
Written 13 November 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.
star557799
Providence, RI99 contributions
Oct 2019
The tour of Palazzo Bo was one of the best I've taken. Our guide was wonderful and obviously proud of the university and its history. I learned so much and enjoyed looking at the beautiful ceilings and shields.
Written 24 November 2019
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.
Jenny F
Montreal, Canada118 contributions
Oct 2019
My visit to the Palazzo left me speechless. The guide told us in great detail the history of the University and guided us through impressive rooms. Galileo taught at this university and his podium is kept visible. The rooms will leave you humbled and I could imagine how many, many people in history have walked those same corridors. The observation room where they would have conducted autopsies for the biology studies is beyond words. Do not overlook this Palazzo, you will be missing a gem of a sight.
Written 6 November 2019
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, TX7,101 contributions
Sept 2017 • Business
Palazzo Bo is the original site for the University of Padua Medical School. Located across the street from City Hall, and within one block of the two major Piazzas in town, it is in the heart of the historic center of Padua. The Palazzo occupies an entire city block. Entrance if from the Via VIII Febraio. To the left of the entrance are frescoes and sculptures along the staircase. As you enter the central part of the building, there is an open square surrounded in all four sides by an arcade. Graceful arches provide a walkway that is full of stone carvings of family crests and inscriptions, the sign of prominent alumni who left their imprint on the building. There are staircases that lead to the second floor both to the left and to the right of the entrance hallway. ON the second floor is the Aula Magna, a fabulous room with additional wall decorations, frescoes and paintings on the ceiling and an anteroom with the portraits of the most famous alumni, many being pioneers of various aspects of biology, anatomy, pharmacology and other aspects of medicine. The podium used by Copernicus is located in this anteroom. Behind the Aula Magna there is a rectangular ballroom that serves as a mini-museum of historical artifacts and busts of many pioneers of medicine that taught or studied at this august university. Also on the second floor is the entrance to the Anatomic Theater, the earliest room where dissection of corpses was shown to medical students, providing real life demonstrations of anatomy, as opposed to the imaginary concepts that had been transmitted over the previous centuries. The Theater, made entirely of wood, provides standing room for several dozen students. A much smaller model in the ante-room provides a clear view of the entire theater. Architecturally, historically and from an artistic point of view, this building is not to be missed.
Written 8 November 2017
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.
Tim O
Castle Hill, Australia111 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
Palazzo Bo is part of the University of Padua. It has a great history and I would recommend the guided tour. It is the only way you get to see inside. Book ahead if you can to avoid disappointment. You will see where Galileo, Copernicus and Casanova studied and worked. The world’s first anatomy theatre is a sight to see and the guides really know their stuff.
Written 13 May 2019
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.
Ace6of6Clubs
Calgary, Canada131 contributions
Aug 2023
The only way to see the anatomy theatre - the oldest extant at 1594 - is to take a tour. English tours were at 11:30. We booked ahead online and checked in at the ticket office about twenty minutes ahead and they instructed us to wait in a courtyard with a staircase. At 11:30 the guide checks your tickets and lets you up the stairs to start the tour with Galileo's lectern and the hall where he used to teach. The tour lasted between forty-five minutes and an hour. The anatomy theatre is kept dark to help preserve it, and you go into the passage underneath, where the bodies were raised up for dissection, and look up from the centre into the theatre.
I was worried we wouldn't be able to find the ticket office, as instructions were vague, but if you go to the university buildings, which are northwest kitty-corner from Antenor's tomb, it's very well sign-posted to get to the ticket office, which is next to the university's gift shop. There's more than one courtyard, but it's a small city block, so give yourself a bit of extra time and walk around - you'll find it.
I was worried we wouldn't be able to find the ticket office, as instructions were vague, but if you go to the university buildings, which are northwest kitty-corner from Antenor's tomb, it's very well sign-posted to get to the ticket office, which is next to the university's gift shop. There's more than one courtyard, but it's a small city block, so give yourself a bit of extra time and walk around - you'll find it.
Written 14 August 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.
B15jdr
22 contributions
Sept 2019 • Business
Had a pre-booked evening guided tour as part of a group of visiting doctors, vets and scientists - keen to see what was one of the earliest medical schools. Guide was great spoke several languages, but conducted most of the tour in very good English. No rush to get us round, plenty of facts and figures, any number of artefacts, and good opportunities to take photos - but no flash photography indoors. A good experience and glad I did it.
Written 19 September 2019
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.
Como hacer para reservar una visita guiada en el Palacio Bo?
Muchas gracias!
Written 2 February 2019
Is there somewhere to leave bags while doing a tour?
Written 6 January 2019
Are advance reservations recommended for the guided tour?
Written 21 May 2018
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