Bologna, Italy

Bologna earns its nickname "La Grassa" (The Fat One) through culinary superiority: its 40-mile network of porticoed streets shelters more than 200 trattorias, many serving tortellini in brodo for under €12. The University of Bologna, founded in 1088, remains the oldest continuously operating university globally, attracting 90,000 students. A single mortadella sandwich from Tamburini costs €5 and weighs 300 grams.