When I first visited Bergamo I found myself wondering why I'd never heard of it before. Verona, Bologna, Naples are all of International renown...yet Bergamo has something very special to offer which for me eclipses the beauty of many other cities. Why....well in simple terms, the lack of fame makes it quieter and less tourist infested and in addition it's not a big city so less crowded....but it's more than that ofcourse....

So here are my 5 reasons to visit Bergamo.
1) The walled high town with its castle, University, cable car, cobbled streets, pedestrian area and varied restaurants offering beautiful views out over the plains of Northen Italy
2) The excellent shopping area to be found in the low town.
3) The superb location, 10 mins from Milan Bergamo airport (Ryanair Hub) and 40 mins by train from Milan.
4) The hinterland that includes lakes, mountains and varied activities.
5) It's history and culture rival that of any other Italian town (perhaps with the exception of Milan, Florence and Rome)

I have written a destination guide to Bergamo at --

This is going to be very quick. I speak Italian and love going to Italy, eating their food, drinking their coffee, their wine and speaking their language. Bergamo was a fantastic place to do all this. Not too hot for the Scots, not chilly either, clean air, beautiful scenery, whindow shopping, just a great place for a short break. If you want to be more touristy, there's a train station and, if you can be bothered, you can get to anywhere you like. I was happy to wander around beautiful Bergamo and I would recommend it to anyone who can book a cheap flight through Ryanair.

I stayed at La Castellana (--) and will do so again - my hostess, Irene, was an extremely enthusiastic and welcoming representative for her city.

My first time in Bergamo, but not my last.

Bergamo is a gorgeous city with the old part on top of a hill with glorious views and the modern new part with excellent shopping.
Take a trip to Lovere at Lake Iseo too, it's stunning !
Beware if you take a trip into Milan by train - get your ticket stamped by the yellow machine in the station otherwise you will have to pay another 5 euros to the ticketmaster on the train !

The upper city of Bergamo (Cita Alta) is absolutely wonderful with cobbled streets, old buildings, delicious deli's, restaurants and cafe bars (some, not all, of the eateries being a touch expensive). The two hotels we stayed at in the upper city however were very basic. I think they tended to concentrate more on the restaurant side of their businesses. However, if you dont mind staying in the more commerecial side of the city (lower city) then there are some very good modern hotels.

The surroundings outweighed our disappointment in the accommodation.