The best of Bologna

Restaurants: It seems fitting to begin with restaurants, as this city is famed for its food. We asked Victor Hazan, who, with his wife, Marcella, runs the Classic School of Italian Cooking in Bologna, to recommend his favorites. If you have time for only one meal in Bologna, he says, go to ''Diana'' on the Via Dell' Indipendenza. ''The pasta is made by hand, and the fillings and sauces are still traditional,'' he says. Another restaurant he recommends is one with the not-very-Italian name of Cordon Bleu. The chef has searched out old recipes, and creates dishes that you'll find nowhere else, according to Mr. Hazan. Cordon Bleu is in the Grand Hotel Elite.

Hotels: The fanciest hotel in town is the Royal Hotel Carlton on Via Montebello, ultra-modern in a very Italian style; a very nice businessman's hotel. Less expensive is the Internazionale on Via dell' Indipendenza.

Museums: The Pinacoteca Nazionale offers a collection of Bolognese painters from the 15th through the 17th centuries; also Raphael's Santa Cecilia, and paintings by Tintoretto, Vivarini, and Palma el Giovane. Via delle Belle Arti 56 . Open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; closed Mondays. Admission: 500 lire.

The Museo Civico Archeologico has pre-historic, Etruscan, and Roman antiquities.

Shopping: For clothing, go to the Via Rizzoli, Via dell' Indipendenza, and Piazza Maggiore area. For antiques, the Mercanzia area; for leather goods, Piazza Maggiore.

Architectural walk: Stroll up the Strada Maggiore. The Casa Isolani, is a 13 th-century aristocrat's mansion, and the best example of a loggia with wood-beam supports. The Palazzo Sampieri, No. 24, has interesting frescoes by the Carraccis. Two streets and one piazza away, the Palazzo Bevilacqua, on Via d'Azeglio, is a fine example of early Renaissance architecture.

Tourist Information Office: Via Leopardi, 1. Telephone: 23 74 14.