Bergamo is a city in two parts, High city (Città alta) which is the old town, and new Bergamo, Low city (Città bassa).

If you are arriving by car, park by the station at the Parcheggio Ex Gasometro off Via San Giovanni Bosco and head to the train station.

As you come out of the train station the tourist office is on your right and the bus station is on your left. There is a 20 minute walk from here to the funicular, alternatively you can catch the bus from here. Head to the bus station ticket office where you can purchase your tourist pass at the bus station ticket office. A tourist ticket day pass ticket for about 4 Euro which will allow you to ride the bus up to the old town, as well as take 2 funiculars.

You will need to catch the T1 Line Stazione – Porta Nuova – (Roma) – (Vitt Emanuele) – Funicolare. Buses leave every 5-10 mint

Porta Nuova

Bergamo, Porta Nuova
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Van Loon

From the train station walk down Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII (Pope John XXIII) to the Porta Nuova (8mins).


The first thing you will see of the Porta Nuova are a pair of colonnaded, neoclassical buildings dating from the 1830s. These were old customs houses by the city gate into the lower town of Bergamo.

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Take a ride up Bergamo's funicular

Bergamo Funicular
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Geobia

Carry on straight down the via Roma to the Bergamo funicula (11 mins).


Take the most impressive means of transport into the old city. The Lower Funicular has been connecting the centre of Bergamo with the Upper Town (“Città Alta”) for more than 120 years, more precisely with Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe, where many business activities used to be carried out. The square (whose name means “shoes market square”) was used as a shoes market since 1430, while the building overlooking the square used to be the headquarter of the shoemakers’ guild and it currently hosts the funicular station.

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Rocca Museum

Bergamo Rocca
CC BY-SA 4.0 / Lauramagri712

From the Stazione superiore funicolare (Funicular upper station), you come out into the Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe. Go directly opposite and up the Via Alla Rocca, following it to the right.


The Rocca Museum is an imposing 14th-c. stronghold with a tower offering panoramic views & a museum of Bergamo’s history.

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Torre di Gombito

Torre del Gombito
CC BY-SA 4.0 / Lauramagri712

Head back to Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe. Go directly opposite and walk up Via Gombito for about 1 minutes and you will reach the tourist office and Torre di Gombito.


You used to be able to climb the 263 steps to the top of the 12th-century Gombito Tower, this is not possible for the foreseeable future.

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Piazza Vecchia

Bergamo, Piazza Vecchia
CC BY-SA 2.0 / Steffen Schmitz

Carry on up the Via Gombito to reach Piazza Vecchia.


Piazza Vecchia the core of Città Alta. As you enter it on your left is the Palazzo Nuovo or New Palace, which served as Bergamo’s Town Hall until 1873. Today it is the seat of the Angelo Mai Library. Its incredible collection includes ancient and precious books: incunabula, books from the 1500s, engravings, manuscripts and other inestimable artefacts making it one of the most outstanding libraries in Italy. Directly opposite this is the Palazzo della Ragione, the oldest municipal seat in Lombardy. In the northwest side of Piazza Vecchia, the fresco-dappled Palazzo del Podestà was traditionally home to Venice’s representative in Bergamo. Today, the medieval building houses a small imaginative museum with audiovisual and interactive displays that tell the story of Bergamo’s Venetian age. Admission also includes access to the Torre del Campanone, with superb views over Bergamo.

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Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

Basilica Of Santa Maria Maggiore, 12th 14th Centuries, Bergamo
CC BY-SA 2.0 / Prof. Mortel

Walk directly behind the Palazzo della Ragione to reach the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square).


On your right you will see the octagonal Battistero di Bergamo, directly in front of you the Cappella Colleoni a 15th-century funerary chapel with its coloured marble exterior & frescoed ceiling inside. To the left and behind the Cappella Colleoni is the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore built in 1137  and to its right with its  neo-classical facade the Cathedral of Sant’Alessandro, built in 1459.

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Museo di Scienze Naturali e Archeologico, Bergamo

Museo Di Scienze Naturali

Head back to the Piazza Vecchia and leave by the north west alley into Via Bartolomeo Colleoni. As you come out into the open in front of you is the impressive Cittadella


Read more about Museo di Scienze Naturali e Archeologico, Bergamo

Torre Castello San Vigilio

Il Castello Di Berganmo In San Vigilio
CC BY-SA 4.0 / Ambrosio2004

Head diagonally across the Piazza della Cittadella and through the arch. With the views on your left walk 50 meters and you will see some brown signs pointing to the left towards the Funicular San Vigilio and the Castello San Vigilio. You need to pass through Porta Sant’Alessandro to be back within the city walls. Catch the Funicolare S. Vigilio to the top of the hill.


Parco Del Castello Di San Vigilio is clearly visible symbol of power, the Castle of San Vigilio has for centuries been the residence Bergamo rulers for centuries. It is located 496 meters above the sea level, on top of the hill that gives it its name, overlooking the Città Alta: that’s why it used to have a strategic role in case of attacks.

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Venetian Walls, Bergamo

Venetian Walls, Bergamo
CC BY-SA 4.0 / Zairon

Head back down the funicular and through the Porta Sant’Alessandro. bear left and walk down the Viale delle Mura. The Cittadella is the first lage building bloack on your right, the second being the Episcopal Seminary Giovanni XXIII. As the road turns sharply to the left you come to the Parco di San Giovanni or Park of St John.
.


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Porta San Giacomo

Porta San Giacomo Bergamo
CC BY-SA 4.0 / Moahim

Follow the wall of the city around until you come to the Porta San Giacomo.


Landmark white marble gate & stone viaduct overlooking the plain, preserved from a ruined city wall. 

from here either take the Via S. Giacomo to the funicular, which yo catch to get to the bottom, or walk down the ramp and head left to catch the bus back to the station.

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Tours and Activities from Bergamo