How to Spend 24 Hours in Bergamo, Italy

Last updated on January 5, 2025

What to do in Bergamo

Bergamo is a city so rich in culture and activities, it’s hard to know where to start. While there’s more to do here than one could possibly fit into a single visit, I’ll share the highlights and personal favourites from what I managed to explore in just one day.

Cappella Colleoni

After you’ve soaked up the views from the walls, head back to Piazza Duomo to take in the city’s churches. First on the list is the Cappella Colleoni – it’s so magnificent, you might mistake it for Bergamo’s main cathedral! This eye-catching chapel, with its striking red and white marble facade, really steals the show, showcasing some of the finest Renaissance art and architecture. Just a stone’s throw away, you’ll find the real deal, the Duomo di Bergamo (Bergamo Cathedral), a bit more understated but no less impressive.

And while you’re here, you can’t miss the Campanone, the big old bell tower that’s been keeping an eye on Bergamo since the 12th century. Inside, you can find the biggest bell in Lombardy. Back in the day, it would chime 100 times at 10 pm to signal that the city gates were closing. Fast forward to today, and they’re still keeping this tradition alive. At 10 pm sharp, the bell kicks off its nightly routine, ringing out 100 times. So, if you find yourself out and about in the Città Alta at night and hear a bell going into overdrive, just remember, it’s not an alarm – just Bergamo sticking to its centuries-old ritual!

During the day, you also have a chance to climb the tower for a small fee of €5 for 360-degree panoramic views of the city.

Try some polenta

Up until this trip, I’ve always associated polenta with savoury dishes – mostly in the form of polenta chips. That all changed when I discovered that one of the most popular Lombard dishes, Polenta e Osei, comes in two flavours: savoury and sweet. And in Bergamo, it’s the sweet version that’s the big hit!

This traditional Bergamo dessert is a sponge cake filled with hazelnut cream, maraschino, covered with almond paste and chocolate. One of the places that came highly recommended to try it was Nessi, a pasticceria that has been making and decorating these by hand since 1946. You could buy Polenta e Osei in the form of a monoportion for €4.50 or a larger cake to share, starting at €10.90. Personally, I found it really addictive – while it was a little too rich for my taste, I just couldn’t stop.

You absolutely must try this local specialty when in Bergamo, but perhaps hold off on ordering coffee until you come to this next place…

Enjoy a cup of coffee at Bugan Coffee Lab

It wouldn’t be a complete Into the Bloom guide without a café recommendation, would it? If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll know I’m always on the lookout for the best specialty coffee shops around Europe. In Bergamo, this search led me to Bugan Coffee Lab.

Before we get stuck in, there’s something I’ve got to set straight – if you’re the sort who likes a spoonful of sugar in your coffee, this place might not hit the spot (though, if you’re popping in after having polenta, you might not even miss the sweet stuff 😉). Their motto is quite literally “no sugar in my coffee”, and you’d be surprised how many people end up leaving over the lack of sweet brews on offer. But, if you choose to stay, I promise you won’t regret it!

While you’re sipping on your coffee, don’t miss the chance to check out the coffee-making equipment on display, or strike up a chat with the barista. He’s super friendly and was keen to answer any questions we threw at him. We ended up splashing out on the priciest bag of coffee beans they had, which had me a bit nervous at first – but it turned out to be a great decision. Easily one of the best coffees we’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting!

I have to admit I sometimes struggle when ordering coffee in Italy. I’m not much for espresso, and the cappuccinos are often either too small or too strong for my taste. But this spot? It ticks all the right boxes. I would highly recommend to any coffee lovers visiting Bergamo!

Eat a slice of pizza at Il Fornaio

Recommending pizza in Italy might sound as obvious as suggesting you breathe air while you’re there, but hear me out. Il Fornaio takes the pizza game to a whole new level with its pizza al taglio – a style born in Rome that’s all about enjoying your pizza by the slice.

Here’s how it works: you grab a ticket at the door and wait for your turn. This spot’s always packed, so brace yourself for a bit of a wait. Personally, I saw this as a bit of a silver lining – it gave me plenty of time to decide after drooling over all the pizza choices on display! When your number finally gets called, you place an order and watch as they snip your pizza into slices with scissors right before your eyes.

But here’s where you need to pay attention – they charge you by weight, so those tempting slices topped with creamy burrata can quickly add up, leaving you to pay more than you might have expected. I ended up shelling out €7.70 for just two slices, and that’s without going near the burrata. The good thing is that they’re absolutely huge, so they filled me right up for the rest of the day!

Have a scoop of stracciatella ice cream

But, of course, I had to leave some room for one last dessert 😉 You simply cannot leave Bergamo without having some stracciatella gelato, especially when you’re in the city where this delightful treat was born! And there’s no better place to experience it than La Marianna, the very spot where stracciatella ice cream was invented back in 1961.

The whole thing started when they found themselves with leftover dark chocolate from Easter eggs. Taking a leaf out of the book of a classic Roman soup called Stracciatella, which involves dropping an egg into boiling broth to cook, they began to play around with new ideas. They discovered that when you drizzle melted chocolate into a cold gelato base, it instantly hardens and shatters into tiny shards… and the rest is history!

It’s not exactly a bargain at €2.50 for a single scoop, but splashing out on some genuine stracciatella ice cream right where it was invented is definitely worth the treat!

If you happen to have some free time, I highly recommend popping over to the Lorenzo Rota Botanical Garden nearby, which is completely free to enter. Sadly, we had to head to the airport for our next flight, which just means we’ve got another reason to come back to Bergamo.

But, as they say, all’s well that ends well. On our way back, we stumbled upon two donkeys, just grazing away, literally down the street from La Marianna. It was a win in itself, a quirky and charming end to our Bergamo adventure that left us smiling all the way to the airport!

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Are there any other ‘stopover’ cities many travellers overlook that you’d recommend visiting?