Top 3 experiences for a one-day trip to Bergamo

Bergamo is a city with two souls: a medieval stony heart on the top of a hill “Citta’ Alta” and an elegant modern city at the lower level. Here the top 3 experiences for your one-day trip to Bergamo. Remember also to check our suggestions on the drinks ?

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Sightseeing tours

If you have only a few hours in Bergamo, walking around the Citta’ Alta can be very pleasant and satisfying. Walking is really the best way to enjoy Italian cities, the architecture, the shops, the amazing views.

However, it’s a pity not to stop and enter some of the most important monuments and learn something about the history. That’s why everywhere we go, we always jump on the opportunity of taking a walking tour with a local guide: you get the best out of your limited time ?

It is funny to get to Bergamo Alta with the funicolare: it is also where the walking tours usually starts.

What can’t you miss in your sighseeing?
– The Cattedrale of Sant’Alessandro
– Piazza Vecchia, where you can find Caffe del Tasso since 1476
– Colleoni Chappel
– The Venetian Walls
– And, if you have a child, the mammoth in the Natural History Museum ?

Art – La Carrara and more

Being honest with you, it is not easy to do a day trip and spend half of the time in museums or in churches.
However, you are in Italy and art is such an important part of our history.

Some of these masterpieces are insta-worthy pictures ? that nobody else can take ? So for a one-day trip to Bergamo this is a very nice experience you should consider having.

PS: Few years ago, some paintings from the Accademia were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. A very nice book was written by the director of the MET and the director of the Accademia and presented the works of Tiziano, Bellini and Lotto: if you are a paiting lover, it will be a good resource of education.

Food and aperitivo

This is where you can really have fun. On a one-day trip this is probably the easiest and most rewarding experience you can have! Your palate will thank you ?

Are you a cheese lover? Then Bergamo has something amazing to offer: Taleggio! Don’t consider it similar to brie, because maybe the only similarity is that it melts well… Oh, yes, it is sooooo good on the hot polenta.
Taleggio is a semi soft cheese, a little smelly (but in a good sense), and we are obssesed with it!
The shape is funny: every “wheel” of Taleggio is actually a parallelepiped. You can drink a good red wine or also some sparkling (remember that Franciacorta is not far ?)

You can even try it with a glass of Valcalepio Moscato Passito DOC, which is a sweet red passito wine from 100% Moscato di Scanzo grapes.

Bergamo has also 2 great pasta dishes: Foiade and Casoncelli. This last one is a stuffed pasta: the Bergamasca style uses typically a mixture of bread crumbs, egg, grana padano, ground beef, salami or sausage.

And of course, polenta!!! And a sweet surprise at the end!
Want to have company for lunch and learn about food from Bergamo? A tour could be a good idea: you will also walk a little to help the digestion ?

On a one-day trip to Bergamo, I don’t think you can fit a cooking class experience, maybe to learn how to make Foiade.. But keep in mind that you can learn some local dishes with the Cesarine the next time you come.

Dulcis in fundo*…Gelato!!!

Ok, this might not sound like a unique experience. And yes, you are right in any place in Italy you can enjoy GOOD gelato.
But in Bergamo, it is different, as here is the birthplace of one of the best gelato flavor (personal opinion ?): Stracciatella!!

Straciatella was born in 1961 from the intuition of an “artist” called Enrico Panattoni, owner of the Restaurant La Marianna in Bergamo Alta.
The idea came from the stracciatella romana, a dish that was popular in the restaurant (we would like to know why as we are in Bergamo?!?). The Stracciatella Romana is a light broth soup: during the cooking, raw eggs are poured in the broth and whipped so that they can be shred (Stracciare means to shred).
Enrico decided to try the same process with the gelato, pouring melted dark chocolate into a cream gelato. The icecream machine whipping the gelato was breaking the solidified chocolate in pieces, similar to what happens to the egg in the broth.

Address Largo Colle Aperto, 4
*Dulcis in fundo is Latin and it means The sweet at the end…

Which other experiences would you mention for a one-day trip to Bergamo?

We would like to hear your suggestions. There is a lot to do in the surroudings, but remember that the focus here is the town…