The sophistication of Bergamo (Italy).

I want to tell you my story about a family trip to Europe in December 2023. Friends from Italy and Spain have been inviting us to visit for a long time, so when the opportunity arose for work, they asked «Koradius kelionės» specialists to make us a route to visit Italy, Spain and France, pick up flights and book hotels. Our children study well, so there were no problems with teachers at school – they were quietly allowed to travel during their studies. The youngest daughter is learning French, and has long dreamed of seeing the Eiffel Tower, so we decided to surprise her and additionally visit Paris during the trip (she found out about this just before flying to Paris, at the airport in Spain))). In general, there were a lot of emotions and impressions during the trip, both positive and negative – in Paris, the scammers managed to deceive us and extort money. But about everything in order…
Bergamo, Italy.
Our trip took place in early December, as a family of 4 people, we took a direct flight from Vilnius to Bergamo. The flight time was 2 hours and 35 minutes, and the distance from the airport to Milan is approximately 50 km. We planned to meet with friends in Milan, but we booked a hotel room in the center of Bergamo, since hotel prices here are cheaper than in Milan, and Milan can be reached by train in 50 minutes (by the way, train tickets cost 6 euros per person). And for one thing, we decided to spend the day in Bergamo, walk around the city, visit local attractions and have a delicious meal. And we did not regret it – Bergamo exceeded all our expectations!

The air temperature in Italy at the beginning of December in the afternoon was about +9C and the weather was quite comfortable for walking around the city. At a time when it was freezing in Vilnius -10 C, we walked around sunny Bergamo in autumn jackets and enjoyed the beauty of nature and architecture.

In general, winter is an ideal time to travel, because at this time the prices of air tickets and hotel rooms are decreasing and there is a great opportunity to learn more about the culture and history of the country, visit the sights, get to those places that are difficult to visit in summer due to the large influx of tourists. In early December, Christmas markets were already in full swing and the city was decorated with festive lights

To get to the historical part of Bergamo (upper town), we bought a funicular ticket (tickets for 4 people cost 6.80 euros for all round trips). We went upstairs in about 1.5 minutes

However, they realized that it was better to go back down the stairs, because the place is very picturesque and you can continue to admire the scenery and take a lot of beautiful photos along the way.

In the old part of the city there are such attractions as Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Piazza Vecchia, Piazza Duomo, Cappella Colleoni, we strongly recommend visiting them. It is very beautiful and informative!

From the walls of the upper town there are excellent views of the new part of Bergamo (lower town).

Dinner at the pizzeria for the whole family cost 65.50 euros. It is not accepted to pay tips in Italian cafes, since the bill immediately includes the cost of service, depending on the number of people (in our case, this amount was 12 euros). As our friends from Milan told us, this tradition began during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, when profits at cafes and restaurants dropped sharply, and after the end of the pandemic, this tradition remained. Italian Gelato ice cream in the tourist part of the city cost 4.5tevros apiece. In general, food prices in shops and restaurants are comparable to prices in Vilnius. Pasta, pizza, coffee and local desserts are divine!

In the lower (new) part of the city, in the central Piazza Matteotti, there is a Christmas market, carousels for children and a Ferris wheel from which you can admire the beauty of the evening Bergamo. The price of a Ferris wheel ticket is 7 euros per person.