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Arrival, information and accommodation
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The
train station
is right at the end of Bergamo Bassa's central avenue, Viale Giovanni XXIII, which becomes Via Vittorio Emanuele II. To the right are the two
bus stations
: the SAB, serving the northern mountains and valleys, and the Stazione Autolinee, serving all other destinations. Bus #1 runs from the train station to the
funicular station
at the foot of the hill, from where you can make the ascent by cable car to Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe for no extra charge as long as you show your bus ticket - otherwise it costs L1500/a?¬0.78. Alternatively you can get bus #1A from Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, along the central avenue and up to Bergamo Alta.
The tourist office , at Viale Vittorio Emanuele II 20 (Mon-Fri 9am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm; tel 035.210.204, www.bergamo.it ), is a ten-minute walk up from the train station and has maps and information on the town and province; there's also a second office up in Bergamo Alta at Vicolo Aquila Nera 2, off Piazza Vecchia (April-Oct daily 9am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm; tel 035.232.730). Bergamo is not somewhere to arrive on spec, even out of season: itinerant workers based in the new town's factories take up all the cheaper accommodation , and it's not unusual to discover that the only vacancies are in four-star hotels. Help is at hand in the form of the youth hostel (tel & fax 035.361.724; L25,000/a?¬12.91 per person for a family room or a dorm, L35,000/a?¬18.08 per person for a double, triple or single room), which features breakfast included in the price, meals for L14,000/a?¬7.23, bathrooms in every room, balconies, bicycles for hire (L15,000/a?¬7.75 per day), a garden to flop in, and disabled-accessible facilities - there's also a great view of the cittA alta . To get to the hostel, take bus #14 from Porta Nuova, direction S. Colombana, and get off just after the modern church at the stop signposted for the ostello - it's at the top of the rather steep steps on the right. Bergamo's cheaper hotels are in Bergamo Bassa , though with doubles at uninspiring one-star establishments clocking in around the L90,000-120,000/a?¬46.48-61.98 mark, it's all relative. West of the station, ten minutes' walk along Via Bonomelli, are the Quarenghi , Via Quarenghi 33 (tel 035.319.914; L90,000-120,000/a?¬46.48-61.98), a dreary but friendly, family-run hotel that is pricey considering none of the rooms has a private bathroom; and the very shabby two-star San Giorgio , on Via San Giorgio 10, the continuation of Via Paleocapa (tel 035.212.043; L90,000-120,000/a?¬46.48-61.98).
A better option is to dig deeper into your pockets and stay in one of the pleasanter hotels in
Bergamo Alta
: the
Agnello d'Oro
, Via Gombito 22 (tel 035.249.883, fax 035.235.612; L120,000-150,000/a?¬61.98-77.47), and the
Sole
, Via Rivola 2 (tel 035.218.238; L120,000-150,000/a?¬61.98-77.47), are old traditional spots, and both have well-regarded restaurants to boot. There is also the option of the small, wonderfully positioned
San Vigilio
, Via San Vigilio 15 (tel 035.253.179, fax 035.402.081; L150,000-200,000/a?¬77.47-103.29), near the castle at the top of the second funicular or on bus route #21 from Colle Aperto. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Italy,
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