Bergamo is an ancient Italian hill-town of magical beauty, yet relatively undiscovered, where you can avoid tourist crowds and step into this crown jewel of Italy. Even though it's not as well-known as many other famous cities in Italy, you will find it definitely worth visiting, so stay for one or two nights to get the most out of the experience. Escape overtourism and come to quiet and peaceful Bergamo!
There is so much to say about this incredible town that we are presenting the information in several different pages to make it easier for you to navigate, with detailed descriptions and many photos, as linked in the sidebar.
This country is famous for its medieval hill towns, and one of the best is Bergamo, the ideal town with piazzas and pedestrian lanes lined with shops and restaurants, fountains, outdoor bars and cafes and a wonderful setting.
The Old Town is up on a hill surrounded by fortified walls, a relatively small place just about a kilometer wide, but filled with little lanes and fascinating sights, located in the north of Italy near the Alps.
Bergamo is two towns, lower and upper. Bergamo’s modern district is down below in the lower town, Città Bassa, and quite lovely, but not the main focus of a visit. Instead, you'll want to spend your time in Bergamo’s Città Alta, the upper town, with origins that go back more than 2000 years. This ancient town on the hill is filled with little pedestrian lanes and ancient buildings, surrounded by massive fortified walls that the Venetians built in the middle of the 16th century, so majestic and well-preserved they are a UNESCO a World Heritage site.
Quite a few of those old buildings still survive from the Middle Ages. Especially dramatic are the towers that had been fortified homes of the wealthy families. With all of its grand history, churches and monuments, the little pedestrian lanes and piazzas are some of the city's most attractive features, the places you'll spend most of your time, just wandering around, enjoying the sights, with a little shopping, eating and drinking.
The primary activities of our visit are walking through the heart of the Old Town on the main street, with an extended look at the piazza and churches, then continuing all the way around in a big circle route, then walking other routes through the different side lanes.
The train is an excellent way to get here. Bergamo has impressive train connections to many national and regional destinations. For example, you could get a direct train from Rome that would take 5 hours or a direct train from Milan in just 50 minutes. The trains are comfortable, inexpensive, and usually have beautiful scenery outside the window as they bring you to your next travel adventure.
The station is in the modern city, with a busy station and frequent service, but it is located about a kilometer and a half from the Old Town, so take the local bus to reach Bergamo Alta. Start with a visit to the Tourist Information Office opposite the train station and pick up some free brochures about the city. They could help you find a hotel room, and explain how to use the city bus. Bergamo's visitor webite also has an excellent website packed with all kinds of practical and historic information. There are many links in this website to them, providing more details about the various topics.
Take bus number 1-A directly up to the Old Town, especially useful if you're going to be spending a night or two and are traveling with luggage -- you don't want to walk that kilometer and a half. Or if you're visiting on a day trip, you might not want to spend that time and energy walking through the new town, which does have some attractive places you can see through the bus window, and maybe walk down there later to have a look, as we'll describe at the end.
The bus drives through one of the four massive gates in the wall, then continues alongside the wall in a preview of the walk we will take later. The bus stop is nicely located on the edge of the Old Town. Donkeys at this piazza give you some indication we're not in a modern city anymore.
There is an alternate way to reach the upper town, and that's take the funicular, which goes from the bottom of the hill and up through the old wall to Bergamo Alta, riding this cable car that's 128 years old. It still performs beautifully, going back and forth every day, up that 52% slope, with friendly service that's typical of the warm greetings that you will get throughout town. Upon reaching the top, you enter into a lovely station with cafes and newsstands, right on a little piazza, which we'll show you more of later on the main walking tour.
If you come in the summer it can get very crowded and it might be hot. In high season you might be waiting on line to get up on the funicular, and have trouble getting room at a hotel or space at a restaurant. So the off-season, shoulder season, spring and fall, is definitely the way to go. My visit was during October, and it was quite peaceful, with perfect weather.
There are dozens of excellent places to eat, ranging from take away pizza to gourmet fine dining. You will find enough good choices in the upper town, so there will be no need to venture to the lower town to eat, although they also have many fine possibilities. Ask around with shop clerks and other locals for suggestions. My favorite tip is, if you see many people at a restaurant sitting with no food, waiting for service, the service is slow, so go somewhere else. On the other hand, if a place is packed, but with food on the tables, this is your best choice. Don’t be afraid to ask to take a look around, always happily granted, to sniff it out.
You could visit Bergamo on a day trip from Milan, just 45 minutes away by direct train. However, there is so much here to see, as you've already noticed, it's worth spending at least one, better yet, two nights. That way you can venture beyond the main squares and discover Bergamo's hidden gems, get lost in those charming labyrinth of narrow streets, showcasing hidden piazzas, artisan shops and unique cafes tucked away, with promise of a delightful experience.
The first known settlement was a tribe of Ligurians, about 800 B.C. Then the Celtics from the Alps moved in 400 B.C. The Romans arrived in 49 B.C. and built a town that expanded with 10,000 people. After the collapse of Rome, the Lombards came in (we are still in Lombardy). Charlemagne conquered in the eighth century. Then Bergamo enjoyed several centuries of independence, but was taken over by the Lords of Milan in the 13th century. Venice arrived in 1428, as described in other pages. The French under Napoleon took control in 1797. Austrian Hapsburgs ruled briefly. Then Garibaldi conquered Bergamo in 1859, leading to unification with Italy. Now it's a thriving modern city with about 120,000 residents.
View the video in dedicated video page.
| Hotels in Bergamo Alta | Website | Address | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Casa Mia B&B | http://www.bbacasamiabergamo.it/ | bbacasamia@gmail.com | Via Degli Orti, 1 |
| B&B la Torre Bergamo | http://www.bblatorrebergamo.it/ | info@bblatorrebergamo.it | Via S. Lorenzo, 2 |
| Casa Legami | https://casalegami.it/en/ | granpanoramabergamo@gmail.com | Via della Fara, 13 |
| Casa Mario Lupo | http://www.casamariolupo.it/ | info@casamariolupo.it | Via Mario Lupo, 12 |
| Foresteria di Palazzo Radici | https://palazzoradici.com/ | info@palazzoradici.com | Via Porta Dipinta, 25 |
| Fuoriporta House & Suites | http://www.fuoriportahouse.it/ | reservation@fuoriportahouse.it | Largo di Porta S. Alessandro, 1 |
| GombitHotel | https://www.gombithotel.com/en/ | info@gombithotel.it | Via Mario Lupo, 6 |
| Hotel Piazza Vecchia | https://www.hotelpiazzavecchia.it/ | info@hotelpiazzavecchia.it | Via Bartolomeo Colleoni, 3 |
| Le Funi | https://www.lefunihotel.it/ | info.lefunihotel.it | Via S. Vigilio, 1 |
| Locanda Cavour | https://www.cavour1880.com/locanda.html | cavour@davittorio.com | Via Gombito, 7/A |
| Locanda Mimmo | https://damimmoelina.com/locanda-mimmo/ | locandamimmo@damimmoelina.com | Via Bartolomeo Colleoni, 17 |
| Palazzo Rivola B&B | http://www.rivolagroup.com/palazzo-rivola | info@palazzorivola.com | Via Tassis, 21 |
| Relais San Vigilio | http://www.relaissanvigilio.it/ | info@relaissanvigilio.it | Via al Castello, 7 |
| Il Sole | http://www.ilsolebergamo.com/ | info.ilsolebergamo.com | Via Colleoni 1 |
