Bergamo Transportation

The creation of Orio al Serio airport has caused a major increase in tourism in this region. The budget flights operator 'Ryanair' flies to this airport and is very handy for those looking to visit not only Milan - which is an hour away by train - or even the northern lakes.

It appears to be quite a modern airport. Everything seemed to be dealt with very quickly on the way through. There are a few shops to visit if you have to wait for your flight, although the duty free is tiny!

I flew from Glasgow Prestwick to Orio al Serio and thought that it was quite a nice wee airport. Very handy if you are looking to go to Italy on a very cheap fare!

I did find that the train system in Italy is very good (at least for tourists!). The train prices are also relatively cheap and I got to Venice (3 hours away) for just €11 one way (much cheaper than the UK would ever be!).

I spent quite a lot of my time sitting in Bergamo train station waiting to go to my next destination. This train station seems to be quite a hub of activity in the North Italian transport world. The people at the ticket counter generally speak a little english, and if not then a few Italian words and lots of gesticulating seems to get you there in the end!

I got into trouble on a train one day. The ticket inspector asked me for my ticket, and then started shouting at me in Italian. Totally confused I asked 'Parla Englesee' (or something to that effect) at which point he asked me why I had not stamped my ticket. I was completely lost. As it turns out, there are little ticket machines on the platforms which you push your ticket into and it stamps the date and time on it which validates it. Luckily I got away with it that time, but I always made sure I stamped it after that!

here you can find the map of the buses in the town:
http://www.atb.bergamo.it/sito2005/Cartinalinee2006.pdf

the bus company's site is
http://www.atb.bergamo.it
but unfortunately it's only in italian.

Even if buses in Bergamo aren't so cheap, it's quite impossible to park in the "città alta", so if you plan to visit it, you can choose between buses and your own legs.
You can also buy a daily ticket for 2,5 euros or a 3 days ticket.

There is an AVIS rent a car office at Bergamo Bassa, located very close to main hotels, just a few metres from Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII. It's an interesting option, if you don't want to go to the airport to rent a car, but their opening hours are very limited, so, I think it's useful to have them:
Monday: 09:00 - 12:00 Hrs 15:00 - 18:00 Hrs
Tuesday: 09:00 - 12:00 Hrs 15:00 - 18:00 Hrs
Wednesday: 09:00 - 12:00 Hrs 15:00 - 18:00 Hrs
Thursday: 09:00 - 12:00 Hrs 15:00 - 18:00 Hrs
Friday: 09:00 - 12:00 Hrs 15:00 - 18:00 Hrs
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed

1 more image

After my trip to Italy I have faced my fear of heights time and time again. The best way to get to the Old Town is by ( you quessed ) CABLE CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yikessssssssss But to be fair this is a safer cable as it runs on tracks and not in the air. I think they call this a funicular. You will find this just through the gateway as seen in second picture.

I found on
www.Ferrovie.it
one interesting page about "la funicolare di città alta" - it's all in italian, but may be interesting, there are also some pictures.

please find here only some of the text - on the website - see link below - You can fin the complete page with pictures:

Funicolare Cittа alta
Caratteristiche tecniche
Linea di... Sinistra Destra
Lunghezza 234 240
Quota inferiore 271
Quota superiore 356
Dislivello 85
Pendenza max 52%
Pendenza media 36.32% 35.42%
Posti (di cui a sedere) 50 (12)
Scartamento 1000mm

...
L’inaugurazione avvenne il 20 settembre 1887, ma la festa venne guastata da un banale intoppo meccanico: il blocco di una ruota costrinse i numerosi viaggiatori saliti per l’occasione sul colle a ridiscendere a piedi. Dopo questo inizio burrascoso non ci furono ulteriori fatti degni di nota e l’esercizio proseguì regolarmente.
Allo scadere della concessione, nel 1907, a seguito di un referendum popolare, la gestione dell’impianto venne rilevata dall’amministrazione comunale che creò un’apposita società: la Azienda Municipalizzata Funicolari e Tranvie Elettriche (AMFTE).
Nel 1921 l’impianto venne completamente rinnovato sostituendo le due vetture con altre realizzate dalla Stigler di Milano. Inoltre fu realizzato un importante rimaneggiamento delle due stazioni.
...
Infine nel 1987, in occasione del centenario dell’inaugurazione, l’impianto è stato completamente rimodernato a cura della Ceretti Tanfani di Milano con l’adozione di avanzati sistemi di sicurezza in linea con le normative vigenti.
..
Da un punto di vista tecnico la funicolare di Bergamo presenta, nella configurazione attuale, la particolarità di non avere le cabine vincolate fra di loro e quindi manca del classico movimento a va e vieni con incrocio in un punto centrale della linea.
Ogni cabina si muove su un binario dedicato ed è vincolata ad un contrappeso che si muove all’interno di un pozzo.

Bergamo local airport has given fortune to our town in the last years. It has become the leading airport for low cost flights in Italy and has grown impressively. More, it's located really close to the town center (just 6 kilometers). Many airlines fly from it, especially Ryanair, Transavia, WizzAir, AirBerlin and Sterling.

I haven’t seen them driving around that much, actually less then I would have expected.
Yet they can be a nice alternative for a car if you want more freedom to move around the city.
The best options are of course the bus or the funicular, but then you are bound to their schedule. With a scooter you can leave when you want too.
A bicycle, that is more environmental friendly, will ask for quite some good physical condition to get you up the hill.

The scooters have their own parking spots as you can see at the picture.