Lots of people land on a small Orio al Serio International Airport in Bergamo, just to hop into train or bus and drive towards Milan. Oh boy, those people miss a lot! Bergamo is a beautiful city with charming Citta Alta - upper district with narrow, cobblestone medieval streets, surrounded by 5km Venetian wall.
Before you enter the maze of adorable streets looking for perfect pizza, stop by the iconic pastry shop La Marianna. They serve the best ice cream in town! Did you know that they invented the straciatella gelato? It’s traditional ice cream with little chocolate pieces. You can also find polenta di osei there - a traditional pastry from Bergamo. It’s really sweet, contains marzipan and a characteristic chocolate dove on top.
After long walk and a obligatory photo shoot sit in a cafe and enjoy Aperol Spritz and the view. If you’re lucky to be in any restaurant/bistro/cafe after 6 pm, enjoy the aperitivo - complimentary snacks that go along with your cocktail.
You’re still hungry? No problem - you can always choose one of the lovely pizza places. My favourite is Campanella. It’s cozy and open even during siesta.
After romantic dinner, it’s time for sunset and the views, walking along the Venetian walls - after all Citta Alta is located above the new district of Bergamo, Citta Bassa.
I was super happy to went through your post. Some months ago I was “forced” to land in Bergamo, as there were no direct flight to my city, and I had the chance to explore it a bit. The city is surprisingly nice and it has lot of nice spots to visit that are not so advertised. About polenta and osei I have to tell you a fan fact. You tried the sweet version, but actually there is also a salty one as polenta is originally a plate made with corn flour, and osei are the dialectal version for “birds”. Have you visited other cities in the North of Italy?
Thank you for your reply. The fact that many flights are landing there definitely helped to improve the popularity of Bergamo and the area around it. If next time you rent a car it’s super easy to reach Verona from there, or even Bologna. They are cities full of history and especially amazing food, so if you need some advise before programming your trip there feel free to ask me for any suggestion.
