City trip Bergamo

DAY 1: WITH A PRIVATE GUIDE THROUGH THE UPPER TOWN

Today you will discover the upper town "Bergamo Alta," the historic center. An enthusiastic guide will travel with you through the city's history, telling you about its historical figures and its life through the centuries. She explains why Bergamo is the way it is today and takes you along cobblestone streets and beautiful squares. One such square is the Piazza Vecchia, surrounded by magnificent buildings, such as the Palazzo della Ragione and the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, with stunning interiors. Here you can climb the 53-meter-high Campanone for sweeping views. At 10 p.m., the bell of this tower strikes no less than a hundred times. This used to be a warning that the city gates were closing. If you wanted to get out of the city, you had exactly one hundred strikes. You will discover the richly decorated Cappella Colleoni, a 15th-century chapel and mausoleum built especially for Bartolomeo Colleoni. All roads lead to the charming Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe. The square is named after the former Guild of Shoemakers, which had headquarters here in a 14th-century palazzo, whose facade is still preserved.

DAY 2: FOOD TOUR AND WALK ON THE CITY WALLS

Today you will discover the city's culinary delights, a feast for foodies. With a small group of people and a local "foodie" you will taste all kinds of specialties and share stories about food, in a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere. You will enjoy a typical aperitivo, taste the local pasta varieties Casoncelli and Foiade and learn about an ancient polenta recipe and local culinary traditions. A must eat is a delicious stracciatella ice cream. More than that, you taste the ice cream at the gelateria La Marianna, which invented the flavor in the 1960s. To digest all that deliciousness, you can take a walk on the old city walls, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You will pass by the four ancient city gates, including the beautiful Porta San Giacomo. The gates are a reminder of Venetian rule in the 15th century. During the 6km walk you can admire the bastions, guard posts and powder magazines. Your walk ends at the ruins of the castle of San Vigilio. Here you will be rewarded with breathtaking views.

DAY 3: EXPLORATION OF THE LOWER TOWN

Today you will visit the lower town, which developed between the 19th and 20th centuries. Here you can start your visit with a coffee at the historic Café Balzer on the 'Sentierone', a stately tree-lined promenade where you can stroll and store to your heart's content. On this beautiful avenue is the 'Quadriportico,' a monumental building with arcades ('portici') and with Piazza Dante Alighieri in the middle. Nearby, in Via Torquato Tasso, flaunts the Santi Bartolomeo e Stefano Church, where you can admire a masterpiece by Lorenzo Lotto. Opposite the church is the memorial to Gaetano Donizetti, a famous opera composer who was born in Bergamo and for whom the theater is also named. If you are a cheese lover, you should definitely pop into the Bu Cheese Bar. Of the 25 Italian cheeses with protected designation of origin, no fewer than nine come from Bergamo and its surroundings.

DAY 4: Back home

Got a late return flight? Then you can visit the renovated Accademia Carrara. The magnificent museum is named after Count Giacomo Carrara, a notorious art lover who donated his collection of works of art to the city after his death. The collection was gradually supplemented by other donations and targeted purchases. The result is one of the most representative collections of Italian painting from the 15th to the 19th century. Today the museum has 1800 works. Important masters of the Renaissance, including Pisanello, Mantegna and Botticelli are represented here. But also other protagonists of Italian painting such as Raphael, Titian, Canaletto, Lotto and Tiepolo are not missing from the list. Would you rather stay a few nights longer? Or would you like to combine this city trip with another Italian region? We are happy to help you further.