Things to Do in Bergamo: The Città Alta and the Best Hill Town Near Milan

Bergamo is one of the best day trips from Milan (45 minutes by train) and a far more rewarding overnight base than most visitors expect. The city divides into the Città Bassa (Lower City, a 19th-century commercial and residential town) and the Città Alta (Upper City, a hilltop medieval city surrounded by Venetian walls) — connected by a funicular and separated by enough altitude to feel genuinely distinct. The Città Alta is one of the finest medieval-Renaissance urban environments in northern Italy.

The Città Alta and the Venetian walls

The Upper City sits on a hill at 380m, enclosed by Venetian walls built 1561–1588 — 6km of walls with towers and bastions, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The cable car (funicolare) from Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe in the lower city arrives at Piazza del Mercato delle Scarpe in the upper; alternatively, walk up through the Porta Sant’Alessandro.

Within the walls, the streets are intact medieval urban fabric. The central Piazza Vecchia — described by Le Corbusier as the most beautiful square in Europe — is framed by the 12th-century Torre Civica, the Palazzo della Ragione (1198, with an external staircase), and the Biblioteca Angelo Mai.

Cappella Colleoni

The most ornate building in Bergamo. The funerary chapel of Bartolomeo Colleoni, the Venetian condottiere (mercenary commander), built 1472–1476 by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. The facade — polychrome marble, carved reliefs, and decorative detail — is the finest example of the Lombard Renaissance in northern Italy. The interior contains the equestrian monument of Colleoni and the elaborate sarcophagi of Colleoni and his daughter.

Cathedral of Bergamo and Santa Maria Maggiore

The Cathedral and Santa Maria Maggiore share a square in the centre of the Città Alta. Santa Maria Maggiore is the more interesting — Romanesque exterior (12th century) with an ornate porch; the interior was redesigned in the 16th century with Flemish tapestries and the intarsia woodwork choir stalls (1522–1555) by Lorenzo Lotto. Gaetano Donizetti, the opera composer who was born in Bergamo, is buried here.

Accademia Carrara

The finest art collection in Lombardy outside Milan, and one of the undervalued museums in northern Italy. Established in 1794 from the collection of Count Giacomo Carrara, it holds Raphael, Botticelli, Mantegna, Lotto, Pisanello, and the complete Bergamasque school. The recently restored 19th-century building is in the Città Bassa, 10 minutes’ walk from the lower funicular station. €10 entry; book ahead on busy days.

Funicular to San Vigilio

A second funicular runs from the Città Alta up to the hill of San Vigilio (522m) — with a small castle (14th century), gardens, a restaurant, and the best views over the city, the Lombardy plain, and, on clear days, the Alps. The castle gardens are a good picnic spot.

Bergamo from Milan: practical notes

By train: From Milano Centrale or Milano Garibaldi to Bergamo (45–55 minutes, trains every 30 minutes, ~€5). The station is in the Città Bassa; take bus no. 1 or walk 15 minutes to the lower funicular station.

By air: Bergamo’s Orio al Serio airport (BGY) is a major Ryanair hub, 5km from the city. The airport bus connects to Bergamo station and to Milan.

Food

Bergamo has its own food culture distinct from Milanese cooking:

• Casoncelli alla bergamasca — pasta parcels filled with sausage, bread, raisins, and pear — typically served with butter, sage, and crispy pancetta
• Polenta — cornmeal, the staple of the Bergamasque diet, served soft with game, or grilled and sliced
• Branzi cheese — a semi-fat cheese from the Val Brembana, used in casoncelli filling