Bergamo, Lombardia

When I tell people that I was born and raised in Milan, they assume that I have seen all the places surrounding this beautiful city, but in fact, I did not. I have visited Bergamo for the first time this past winter break and some of my friends could not believe it.

"How is it possible that you have never been there? ". I mean, technically I did go there but only to fly in an out of its famous airport Orio Al Serio, where a flight to Hamburg only cost me nine euros. But anyway, back to the topic.

Bergamo is a beautiful city and I would highly recommend it to people that want to spend Sunday afternoon somewhere else than their own hometown. I do not know if it has different vibes throughout the rest of the year, but during Christmas time this place is alive and full of spirit. Kids drag their mothers throughout the Christmas markets in search of typical foods and toys, the smell of the bakeries is something amazing, and the view over the mountain is just something else.

Bergamo is divided into Bergamo Bassa and Bergamo Alta. The first area is the modern one, with the train station and all the shops. The second is the ancient part of town and it is called Alta because it is literally above the other part of town (Alta in Italian means tall).

There are three ways to get to the top part of the town. The first is by bus, which saves you time as you can get one from the train station. The second option is by taking the cable car. So from the train station, assuming that is where you arrive to, you walk down Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII until you see the Funicolare, which is the cable car station. The ticket costs the same as the bus and gets you to the top in five minutes. The third option is the free one: you can walk.

I personally decided to walk down the avenue and take the cable car because it was more fun than the bus, and then on my way back I decided to walk.

Bergamo Alta is where everything is preserved. The architecture of the buildings is amazing. The Christmas lights make the little alleys shine. The bakeries serve pandoro and panettone every few meters. It is just so cute.

Fun facts about Bergamo:

• Its airport is one of the Ryanair hubs so the city is well connected with other national and international destinations within the European Union;
• The University of Bergamo is the ninety-fourth youngest institute according to the 2018 statistics of The World University Rankings and is one of the top Universities in Italy;
• Call Me By Your Name was partially filmed here.

I will now leave here some of the pictures I took while I was roaming around this Italian gem that most tourists do not know about.

- Cristian

Photo gallery