Davis Cup 2026 in Bologna: Tickets, Dates and Escapes

1. Dates, times and format of the competition

The 2026 Davis Cup carries the official name « Davis Cup by Generali Final 8 ». Eight national teams compete in a knockout format, from Tuesday 24 to Sunday 29 November 2026, at the Super Tennis Arena in BolognaFiere, Viale Aldo Moro, 40128 Bologna. The tournament is played indoors, so the weather mostly affects the journey and sightseeing in the city.

The schedule comes from the World Tennis press release of 24 September 2026. Times are in Central European Time. The session page on daviscup.com still lists them as « to be confirmed », and a typo there still gives 2025 as the year of the Saturday semi-final: the correct date is Saturday 28 November 2026.

Source: World Tennis press release of 24 September 2026, checked on 11 October 2026. Times are indicative: the daviscup.com session page still presents them as to be confirmed.

Each tie is two singles matches and one doubles, best of three sets.

The eight qualified teams are Italy, the host and defending champion, Germany, Spain, Canada, Great Britain, Austria, Czechia and South Korea. France is not on the list published on 21 September 2026. The draw on 22 September, at the Palazzo Pepoli, paired Italy with South Korea, Czechia with Canada, Great Britain with Germany, and Austria with Spain.

Italian squads had not been published as of 11 October 2026, so no team line-up is announced here. Italy won the 2025 edition, held at BolognaFiere, beating Spain 2-0 in the final on Sunday 23 November 2025.

Without a published squad, the names in circulation are guesswork. According to forecasts published in Italy (Sisal, SportFace), Musetti is slowed by injuries, Sinner is uncertain, and Cobolli is seen as almost certain to be in the squad. On the Spanish side, Alcaraz’s presence is not confirmed: Spain hope to field him, but nothing is settled.

2. Tickets: official prices, season pass and where to buy

The price grid below comes from the organiser’s official ticket site. Prices are shown before the 10% presale fee and the service fees, which are added at checkout. The ticket site says prices may change.

Source: official Davis Cup Italy ticket site, price list, checked on 11 October 2026.

Two reference points are enough to choose. The cheapest ticket, €45 before fees, gets you into the Gradinata Laterale for a quarter-final. The most expensive, €380 before fees, is a seat in the Tribuna Centrale for the final on Sunday 29 November. With the 10% presale fee, that final seat comes to €418 before service fees. The Tribuna Top N/S (€105 to €270) and Tribuna N/S (€60 to €170) categories follow the same logic.

Seven-session pass: what it saves

The pass covers all seven sessions. Compared with buying seven separate tickets in the same category, it costs about 20% less. In the Tribuna Centrale, the seven sessions add up to €1,675, against €1,340 for the pass: a €335 gap. In the Gradinata Laterale, the gap is €125 (€630 against €505). These sums are before fees and based on the official price grid. The pass only makes sense if you plan to attend most sessions; otherwise, a single ticket is more flexible.

Where to buy

Tickets had already gone on sale by 24 September 2026, according to the World Tennis press release. The exact date sales opened has not been confirmed, so this article doesn’t give one. The official ticket site is tickets.italy.daviscup.com. Sessions and the pass are also listed at TicketOne, but its price grid has not been checked: compare before you pay. A third-party reseller also shows up in search results; its price has not been checked, and we have not used it as a source.

Hospitality packages and « hotel plus tickets » deals are listed on the official portal. Their prices have not been checked: don’t include them in your budget without asking the ticket office.

3. Getting to Bologna and the Super Tennis Arena

From Guglielmo Marconi airport, the simplest option is the Marconi Express, a rail shuttle to Bologna Centrale station. The official fact sheet from January 2026 gives a journey time of about seven minutes. The fare is paid with a Trenitalia or Trenitalia TPER rail ticket: the Marconi Express isn’t sold on its own.

From Bologna Centrale to BolognaFiere, the official access page lists bus lines TPER 35 and 38. The bus fare has not been checked. A taxi also makes the trip, but no fare is confirmed here. By car, the arena is reached via the « Bologna Fiera » exit of the A14; the Michelino car park is cited by sources, with no fare checked.

Source: « How to get there » page of the official ticket site and Marconi Express fact sheet of January 2026, checked on 11 October 2026.

Two points to note. One third-party source also cites line 39 for the return trip; the official page only mentions lines 35 and 38, so those are the ones to use. Also, the return Marconi Express fare is listed at €23.30 on the official fact sheet, against €23.20 on the Trenitalia page: budget for the higher amount. An Aerobus shuttle also exists, but its 2026 fare is not confirmed, so we don’t quote it.

4. Where to stay and what the trip costs

A third-party guide says there are plenty of hotels and B&Bs in the Fiera district, within walking distance of BolognaFiere, and in the historic centre. Bologna Welcome advises booking early during trade fairs and major events. We have not checked a hotel rate for November 2026: no amount is published here, so get the nightly estimate directly from the properties.

Tourist tax is charged per person per night.

Source: Bologna Welcome, tourist tax page, valid from 1 January to 31 December 2026, checked on 11 October 2026.

For two people, the tax comes to between €8 and €14 a night, depending on the band.

Bologna on foot, for your free hours

Outside the sessions, the city is best seen on foot. The tourist office highlights two things: the porticoes, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site according to Bologna Welcome (to be checked on the UNESCO website), and the regional food. Guides point to four must-sees: Piazza Maggiore, the Clock Tower, the Archiginnasio and San Petronio. We have found no official opening hours for these sites in 2026: check them before you go.

• Bologna Welcome Card « Easy »: €35. Indicative price, checked on the card page on 11 October 2026. It gives access to museums, the « Discover Bologna » guided walk, the Clock Tower and bike hire. It is valid for up to 15 days after activation, and the guided walk, the Clock Tower and bike hire should be booked in advance.

For a quick bite, guides recommend the Quadrilatero and the covered markets.

5. A day away from the tournament: day trips from Bologna

There is no day without play during the tournament: the competition runs every day from Tuesday 24 to Sunday 29 November. An excursion of 8.5 hours therefore has to be planned around the matches. The 4 pm sessions (Tuesday 24, Wednesday 25 and Friday 27) and the 3 pm final should in principle leave the morning free; the 10 am (Thursday 26) and 12 pm (Saturday 28) sessions don’t fit with an 8.5-hour day. No source gives the departure time of the excursion below, which includes lunch and offers free cancellation.

A day of Parmigiano, balsamic and Ferrari from Bologna

From €170 per person About 8.5 hours Lunch included Free cancellation

Who it’s for. Anyone who wants to taste Parmesan, balsamic vinegar and Lambrusco without driving between tastings, with a visit to a Ferrari museum and lunch. Transfers are included.

The catch. The day lasts 8.5 hours: it doesn’t fit with the 10 am session on Thursday 26 November or the 12 pm session on Saturday 28 November, and 24 November is not confirmed.

The timing. When checked on 11 October 2026, the product listing offered five confirmed dates, from 25 to 29 November 2026, from €170 per person, with free cancellation.

Highlights

• Parmigiano and balsamic on the programme, two signature products of the region
• Lambrusco, the sparkling wine of Emilia
• Ferrari museum, lunch and transfer included

Pixidia tip: when checked (11 October 2026), the excursion was available on five dates between 25 and 29 November. 24 November was not confirmed. If you want this day, book early: availability can change.

Day Tour Parmigiano, Ferrari Museum, Balsamic, Lambrusco, Lunch with Transfer From €170 to €365 per person (based on 2 adults), dates 25 to 29 November 2026, checked on 11 October 2026 · ★ 4.8 (67 reviews)

Book the day on Viator

Modena, Parma, Ferrara, Ravenna: day trips by train

Four cities are within easy reach of Bologna by train, but journey times vary between sources and no official timetable has been checked. The table gives the figures quoted, to be checked before you travel.

Source: third-party transport sources and travel guides, unofficial, checked on 11 October 2026.

Modena is the simplest day trip: it has the shortest quoted journey time, and the return fits in a day. For Parma and Ferrara, the times vary too much to promise a timetable. Ravenna needs at least half a day: by the quoted times, a return trip takes at least two hours, not counting the visit. Ferrara’s castle was due to close for works from 2025 according to a 2024 article; we have not confirmed that it will be open in November 2026.

6. Budget for two people for a weekend

The items below are priced from the official figures. Meals and accommodation are not included, as no verified rates were found.

• Session tickets. Two seats in the Gradinata Laterale for a quarter-final: €90 before presale fees. Two seats in the Tribuna Centrale for the final: €760 before fees.
• Airport transfer. Two Marconi Express one-way tickets: €25.60. Return: €46.60. Add the TPER bus ticket or a taxi, whose fare is not confirmed.
• Tourist tax. Between €8 and €14 a night for two people, depending on the price band before VAT.
• Excursion. About €340 for two, based on the lowest fare checked (€170 per person, confirmed dates).

A weekend with a quarter-final and the excursion therefore comes to about €430 for two people, before transport, tax, meals and accommodation.

To save money, three levers matter. The Gradinata Laterale is the cheapest category at every session. A quarter-final costs about a third of the final: €45 against €150 in the Gradinata Laterale. Finally, the excursion is optional: a train to Modena makes a cheaper outing, provided you check the timetables.

7. Which weekend for which profile

The same trip feels different depending on whether you’re coming for the tennis or for the region. Here are a few reference points by profile.

• Tennis fan. The Tribuna Centrale is the most expensive category at every session; what you see depends on your seat in the arena. On Wednesday 25 at 4 pm, Italy play their quarter-final: the seat costs €285 before fees. For the Friday semi-final or the final, budget €350 and €380.
• Curious, but not a tennis fan. One session is enough for the experience. A quarter-final on Tuesday 24 at 4 pm or Thursday 26 at 10 am costs €45 before fees in the Gradinata Laterale, and the rest of the day goes to the city.
• Tight budget. Gradinata Laterale, one quarter-final, single tickets rather than a pass.
• Couple visiting Bologna for the first time. One quarter-final, then half a day in Modena or a walk around the centre. Book accommodation early: the city is in high demand during big events.
• Family. No child discount was found on the ticket site we checked: check before you buy. The discount for federation members was not found either.
• Reduced mobility. The sources we checked don’t detail the arena’s accessibility: contact the ticket office before you buy.

Thursday 26 November is a special case: two quarter-finals run back to back on the same day, at 10 am and from 5 pm. Both cost €45 before fees in the Gradinata Laterale, so you can see two matches in one day for €90.

What other guides don’t tell you

Reseller pages and the guides we read rarely give the following figures. We took them from the official sources on 11 October 2026.

• The full price grid, from €45 to €380. Seven sessions, four main categories, prices before fees, from the organiser’s ticket site (tickets.italy.daviscup.com, checked on 11 October 2026).
• The seven-session pass saves about 20%. That’s €335 in the Tribuna Centrale and €125 in the Gradinata Laterale, before fees, from the same official grid (official ticket site, checked on 11 October 2026).
• The Marconi Express, fare by fare. €12.80 one way and €23.30 return according to the official fact sheet, while third-party sites quote €9 or €17 for other services (Marconi Express fact sheet, checked on 11 October 2026).
• The 2026 tourist tax by price band. €4, €5.80, €6.50 or €7 per person per night, €2.80 at campsites or hostels (Bologna Welcome, checked on 11 October 2026).
• The address to put in your GPS. Viale Aldo Moro, 40128 Bologna, for the Super Tennis Arena at BolognaFiere. It is the address given on the official access page, better to use than the arena name alone (« How to get there » page, checked on 11 October 2026).