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Lombardy · Bergamo

Bergamo

A two-city Lombard capital where a Venetian walled hilltown sits 85 meters above its modern twin on the plain, 45 kilometers northeast of Milan.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
41 min from Brescia
By train
Station in the comune
Population
119,534

Known for

  • VENETIAN WALLS

    Six kilometers of sixteenth-century defenses, UNESCO World Heritage since 2017, that defined the Republic of Venice's western land frontier and ring Città Alta.

  • DONIZETTI

    Gaetano Donizetti, born in Bergamo in 1797, composer of around seventy operas, buried in Santa Maria Maggiore in Città Alta.

  • ACCADEMIA CARRARA

    Picture gallery founded by Count Giacomo Carrara in 1780, holding works by Bellini, Lotto, Mantegna, Botticelli and Raphael.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J8°
  • F11°
  • M14°
  • A17°
  • M21°
  • J26°
  • J29°
  • A29°
  • S23°
  • O18°
  • N12°
  • D8°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Alessandro di Bergamo, 26 August

Why come

Bergamo's upper town occupies a spur of the Bergamasque foothills, and the lower town spreads onto the plain that runs southwest toward Milan. The walls that ring the hilltop cost the old town more than 250 buildings, including the original cathedral of Sant'Alessandro, demolished to clear ground for the defenses. The circuit was built as part of a much larger Venetian project, inscribed together with the fortifications at Peschiera, Palmanova and sites on the Dalmatian coast: one defensive system spread across the Republic's frontier, of which this hilltop was the western anchor.

The two halves of the city keep their own centuries. The walled hilltop holds its medieval and Renaissance fabric inside the fortifications, reached by a funicular that has run the same route since the nineteenth century. The lower city is the newer half, built up through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries on the flat ground below. Bergamo works as a place because that separation stayed intact instead of being built over: a fortified hill town and a modern city sharing one name but occupying two distinct centuries.

The Sunday letter

Bergamo is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Bergamo comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Bergamo in our articles

How to get there

From Milan (BGY), about 13 minutes by car.

Verona (VRN) is about 1h 22m away.

By car from the centre of Brescia 41 minutes.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Milan, Verona or Turin?

Coming by train into Bergamo? Bergamo is about 4 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Milan airport.

Bergamo, photo 1
Bergamo, photo 2

What to see

  • Mura Venete

    Eight bastions and four gates carry the circuit around the ridge of Città Alta, the walkway open along most of its length with views down over the lower town and the plain.

  • Piazza Vecchia

    Ringed by the Palazzo della Ragione, the Campanone tower, the Contarini fountain and the Biblioteca Mai, this is the square at the top of the funicular climb, the meeting point of Città Alta's streets.

  • Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

    The Romanesque exterior gives no hint of the Baroque interior inside, gilded and heavy with stucco, where the composer's tomb sits among the furnishings.

  • Cappella Colleoni

    A polychrome marble façade by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo fronts the funerary chapel of the condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni, built onto the basilica's flank in the late fifteenth century.

  • Accademia Carrara

    The collection sits in the lower town, apart from the churches and squares of the hilltop, and adds Pisanello to the roster of names on its walls.

  • Funicolare Città Alta

    The carriages arrive at Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe, at the gate, after a climb that still uses the original 1887 alignment between the two towns.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Bergamo fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • Villa ElenaRistorante

    Two Michelin stars for Villa Elena, along with two Gambero Rosso forks (86/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300, among other nods.

  • Al CarroponteBistrot

    Al Carroponte has two Gambero Rosso tables and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Lio PellegriniRistorante

    Lio Pellegrini holds a place in L'Espresso's Top 300 and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Osteria Al GiGiancaTrattoria

    Two Gambero Rosso prawns for Osteria Al GiGianca, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Al Chiostro RestaurantBistrot

    Al Chiostro Restaurant holds a Gambero Rosso listing.

  • Al DonizettiWine Bar

    Al Donizetti holds two Gambero Rosso bottles.

  • Baretto di San VigilioRistorante

    Baretto di San Vigilio has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.

  • Caffè Del TassoCaffè

    Caffè Del Tasso holds a place on Italy's historic-locali register.

  • Il Circolino di Città AltaBistrot

    Il Circolino di Città Alta carries one Gambero Rosso table.

  • ImpronteRistorante

    Impronte carries one Michelin star.

  • Osteria Tre GobbiTrattoria

    Osteria Tre Gobbi has one Gambero Rosso prawn to its name.

  • Pasticceria bar Cavour 1880Pasticceria

    Pasticceria bar Cavour 1880 carries a place on Italy's historic-locali register.

  • Roof GardenRistorante

    Roof Garden has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.

  • Taiocchino - Taverna BergamascaTrattoria

    Taiocchino - Taverna Bergamasca has two Gambero Rosso prawns to its name.

  • GombitHotelHotel

    A place in the Michelin hotel guide, at GombitHotel.

Living here

  • Population 119,534
  • A local hubi
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Milan, 13 min drive
  • Regional capital Milano, 51 min drive

Common questions

What is Bergamo known for?
Bergamo is a two-city Lombard capital where a Venetian walled hilltown sits 85 meters above its modern twin on the plain, 45 kilometers northeast of Milan.
Where is Bergamo?
Bergamo is a comune in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, at 249 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Bergamo?
Milan (BGY), about 13 minutes by car.
Can you get to Bergamo without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Brescia to Bergamo?
About 41 minutes by car.
When is the best time to visit Bergamo?
Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 19 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Bergamo?
The town keeps its patron saint's day: Alessandro di Bergamo, 26 August.
Which other towns are like Bergamo?
Sondrio, Domodossola and Foligno.
How many people live in Bergamo?
119,534 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 249 m
  • Population: 119,534
  • Surface area: 40.16 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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