Travel Journal - BERGAMO, ITALY

As I said in a previous post, I was lucky enough to find a cheap ticket (80€) to go to Milan and the north of Italy this month, and a first experience for me in Italy (!). 

                     

However, I was not as lucky with the weather as I was about the price of the tickets (thanks Easyjet by the way!). I had left Spain and more precisely Granada, in the hope of leaving behind me the torrents of rain which were on the verge of falling upon my current homecity. Tough luck! As soon as I arrived, the clouds caught up with me and with Lombardia.

                         

But I had a wildcard in my hand: going to Bergamo, 30km north-west of Milan, where the rain had not yet completely arrived and I was also very lucky to find there a nice Couchsurfer ready to host me! (Which proved in Milan completely impossible by contrast).

Bergamo proved a charming mid-size city, with - like everything in Italy - a huge and interesting history. Its position at the foot of the first Alpines hills, overlooking the plains of the Po river. Of course, this is when you have a crystal clear view during a sunny day. Again, tough luck!

However, Bergamo's old town, perched on its hill, called Citta Alta, is really worth the visit. Moreover, you can easily do it all in one day, and enjoy a stroll through its streets, filled with shops of art and craft, typical food, or restaurants, including the mandatory pizzas ....

...and of course, one must never fear from losing its way among the streets because they all lead back to the highlight of the Old town, the Piazza Vecchia, with its old townhall, its fountain...

... and just behind it, you will find the cathedral of Bergamo, seconded by the chapel built by and for the condottiere Colleoni :

It took me all afternoon to canvas all these little streets, enjoying as many cannolis and capuccinos and pizzas and polentas as my stomach could, before to head back down to the "new town" where I was to meet my Couchsurfer host. 

But I would without hesitation recommend Bergamo to anyone who happens to pass by Milan: one-way ticket by train cost 5,5€! And if you are really cheeky and a bit skint, you may even forget to pay: i was not controlled on neither way.

(c) ALL PHOTOS ON THIS POST WERE TAKEN BY ME.