Bergamo Transportation

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Very, very easy to get to Bergamo from Orio al Serio airport.

The frequent 1airport bus (it has a little icon of a plane next to the 1) runs from just outside Arrivals to Bergamo railway station (from where you can catch bus 1A to the rest of Citta Bassa and Citta Alta).

The fare in June 2011 was 2 euro, but it's a god idea to by a bigletto turisto. For 7 euro you get unlimited travel on all Bergamo buses and funiculars, including to and from the airport, for 3 days from first validation.

Bergamo has its own railway station, in Citta Bassa. From there bus 1A runs regularly and frequently to Citta Alta, so the whole town is easily accessible.

So it's entirely possible to get to Bergamo by train from anywhere in Europe.

From Milan it's from around 50 minutes, from Verona just under 2 hours, from Venice around 3 hours.

As mentioned above, there is no real need to book tickets in advance online unless you are making a journey which involves a sleeper/couchette.

Use the official Trenitalia website below to find train times, details and fares in English. Don't use Raileurope: it's only a ticketing agency, does not list all departures and charges commission on fares.

You can fly into Orio al Serio airport, which is just a fifteen minute bus ride from Bergamo itself. It's served by budget airlines from all over Europe.

Or you can fly into Milan Linate or Milan Malpensa. Both have excellent connections to Milan Centrale, from where you can get on of the frequent trains to Bergamo.

Verona airport is also a possibility, as are Venice Treviso and Venice Marco Polo. Italian trains are safe, comfortable, reasonably-priced and have an extensive network. No need to buy tickets in advance online; ticket machines have English language options and are easy to use, although it's best to use cash (imo) rather than a 'foreign' card.

www.skyscanner.net is an excellent website for finding all carriers for a route, and will usually give you cheapest fares for your dates. It's best, imo, to book on the airline's own website.

Recently this new sightseeing bus service started in Bergamo as well:

http://www.bergamo.city-sightseeing.it/eng/index.htm

Bergamo is not such a big city, but I think you can appreciate this tour to have a general look at it.
In the website you can see the itinerary and the timetable.
The price is 13 euros for adults and 6 euros for children between 5 and 15 years old.

Some road distances from Bergamo to:
- Milano: 53 kms.
- Amsterdam (Holland): 1.119 kms.
- Madrid (Spain): 1.635 kms.
- Moscow (Russia): 2.768 kms.

Checking the website, you can find more road distances together with driving times and the best routes.

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There are two funiculars in Bergamo:

- One of them links the Città Bassa/Lower City with the Città Alta/Upper City. The stop in the Lower City is on Viale Vittorio Emanuele II (pics first and second).

- The other funicular links the Città Alta/Upper City with the Castello San Vigilio (pics third to fifth).

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Milan Central Station is 45 minutes from Bergamo by train- there are several trains throughout the day and into the night. (Approximately hourly Monday to Friday - less often at weekends) We didn't pre-book- instead we just turned up and took our chance. It is possible to book tickets on-line http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

When purchasing your tickets check which of Milans stations you arrive at/depart from - Milano Centrale, Milano Porta Garibaldi or Milano Lambrate - (they are all linked by metro)

We bought our return tickets easily at the ticket counter (I think we paid about 9 Euros each (2009), then as we had just missed a train, adjourned to a nearby cafe for coffee/tea to wait for the next train.

The train arrived on time. Before boarding, we each validated our tickets (pic 3). This has to be done before boarding. It is illegal to travel without validating your ticket, and inspectors issue heavy fines. If you do have to board before validating your ticket, let the inspectors know as soon as possible. This happened to me when I travelled from Peschiera to Venice. My train was pulling upto the platform. There was only one machine, and there was a small queue. I decided to 'risk it', rather than have to wait for the next train. Of course, there was a ticket inspection! I explained what had happened, and luckily I wasn't fined.

The train carriage was clean and comfortable, and the journey went by very quickly.

We were all impressed by the Grandeur of Milan's Central Station.

After a few hours in Milan, we returned to catch our train back to Bergamo.

As our hotel was so near, we could walk. A local bus service (ATB) operates half hourly from Bergamo Orio al Serio to Bergamo train station (a 10 minute journey) which then continues through the lower city, to the funicular stop, and onto the upper city. Tickets cost 1.65 Euros (2009) and is valid for 90 minutes (this includes the funicular if taken within this time limit)

Trains also leave Bergamo for Brescia, which is the recommended station for getting from Bergamo to Lake Garda, Verona or Venice etc.

To reach Bologna, Florence, Rome or the Tuscan coast from Bergamo, transfer at Milan.

Disabled assistance Call Center
Daily 07.00 - 21.00
Telephone 199.30.30.60

approx 2.65 cents/min - subject to variation.

By bus is an odyssey!

One choice is reach Bergamo railway station from Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport: about that search "ATB" on website "http://www.sacbo.it/" (you will find a link on the left "Orioshuttle, click and bus!").
From Bergamo railway station you need to arrive in Verona by train (search your favourite time on http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/).
Remember to obliterate your train ticket to avoid nasty fines!

A second choice is rent a car in Bergamo Airport and take A4 highway (Venice direction) till Verona.