A day trip to Bergamo Città Alta. A Panoramic view from the bell tower.
Our day trip to Bergamo Città Alta after landing in Milan
My last blog post was about visiting hilltop towns in Italy. Local-Italy-Visit a hilltop town. To stay true to my advice, we visited the absolutely wonderful hilltop town of Bergamo Città Alta.
Like many of the places I write about, this town can be visited in a few hours. Bergamo is a perfect stop on the way to lago d’Iseo (more on this lake town later) Lago d’Garda, Verona, and Venice. We planned our day trip to Bergamo as part of our longer 4 day trip to Lago d’Iseo and Franciacorta. After grabbing our luggage, and knocking back a couple of espresso, we hopped into our little european car and headed streight to Bergamo
The Funicolare
The first thing you must do when you arrive in Bergamo is take the funicolare (a small uphill cable car) up to Città Alta.
Click here for funicolare info.
The funicolare will takes you to the Citta Alta.
There is only one stop…The top!
Visiting Bergamo Città Alta.
The medieval town of Bergamo Alta is the original part of the city. Back in the 1500s, many towns were built on hilltops for protection and strategic advantage. Now that the barbarians are no longer storming the castle, we get to visit this picturesque city with a fabulous view of the larger city below.This town is made for walking.
After you get off the cable car and take a walk up the hill to Piazza Vecchia, you will find a medieval village of Bergamo Alta. This town is filled with beautiful churches, museums, cafes, and restaurants. You will not find any stressful tourist stuff here. All you are obliged to do is soak in the beauty of this quaint little town. Visit the main square and the small historical museums and take the elevator or if you are feeling frisky, walk up the bell tower. You won’t need more than a couple of hours to see everything and have lunch or an apertivo.Helpful Links:
6 hours in Bergamo Città Alta Nessi Bakery (where you will find polente e OSEI and other yummy things)
Things to do:
Visit the churches in Piazza Vecchia
Climb the tower (with incredible views) and visit the history museum. Don’t Worry! You can climb the stairs or take an elevator to the top of the tower.
explore the little back streets.
You should Eat a Polenta e Osei pastry 😋 See images below.
This pastry BLEW MY MIND!!! It is only made in Bergamo so don’t expect to find it anywhere else!. It is delicate and light. This pastry is a sponge cake filled with hazelnut, chocolate cream, and maraschino covered with an almond paste. It is made to look like a scoop of polenta. If you do ONE thing in Bergamo, you MUST eat this! Afer you eat this yummy dessert, send me an email to say thank you! 😉
