A series of posts that doesn’t fool around. It just goes straight to the point!
Bergamo is famous for being the Ryanair airport in Milan. I highly doubt that anyone considers visiting the city as it is overshadowed by more sonant names like “Venice”, “Verona” or, as mentioned, “Milan”.
But Bergamo has a delightful old town centre, called “Città Alta” which is worth visiting even if it’s just for a couple of hours. From the train and bus station it’s a straight walk to the century-old funicular (1.30€) which will save your legs from a dreadful effort!
Then head to the Piazza Vecchia, not without first exploring the narrow and crooked streets that make Italian cities the most charming of all. And you’ve arrived to the prettiest and most important part of the town. There are fountains, restaurants, gelaterias and everything you might hope from an Italian square.
Take a look at Santa Maria Maggiore basilica and its baptistery and finally the smaller Colleni Chapel. In that same place there’s the Old City Tower of Bergamo which you can climb for a bird’s view over the city. It costs 5€ or 3€ (discounted) and it’s open from Tuesday to Saturday (9:30 – 13 and 14 – 18) try to not be there when the bell rings!
Before thinking about lunch, you can still check the Venetian Walls, which have been framing the city for four centuries, and see the panoramic view.
And now the best part! The two best choices for a nice meal in Bergamo:
- Il Fornaio: a takeaway pizzeria which will make your mouth water just by looking at it;
- Mimi La Casa dei Sapori: you should go early (like up to 1pm) as it fills up pretty quickly. I’d recommend getting a starter and main dish because courses aren’t too big. Amaretti is the traditional kind of tortellini in Bergamo.
Your day could only end in Gelateria Cherubino for a delicious and 2€ cheap ice-cream.
And this is all you get with a few hours in Bergamo. Not a bad day-trip, right?
Save it all with this map!
