One night in Bergamo…

Date of visit : September 2019

Having been invited to join friends in Cyprus, Paphos, at the Elysium hotel (see separate post) we scoured skyscanner for the best connecting flights from Malaga. Nightmare! It was a choice of a 2am flight from Malaga arriving in Athens at 6am then waiting for a flight to Paphos, or flying indirect and stopping over en-route. Not ideal. After hours of searching we discovered the best, and most reasonable flights for us, were on a Ryanair flight to Bergamo in Italy, and an onward connection with them the next day. Bergamo, not somewhere we had thought of, and to be honest we had never booked anyone there during our travel agency years unless they were heading to the ski slopes! 

Our flight landed late afternoon after a rather bumpy journey (thanks to the Mistral winds of France), and we hopped in a taxi to our boutique hotel which we had chosen in the Upper part of Bergamo called Fuori Porta House. Built in 1925, and remodelled into a hotel in 2015, it was comfortable and well equipped and in a fantastic location. To be honest we were unaware there was a lower and upper part to the City until we did our research, but we settled on the historical upper part for our stay. The hotel itself is a lovely small property, with friendly staff. Boasting just six modern and comfortable rooms, and a fantastic location right next to one of the gates leading to the main street, plus a few steps from the Piazza Vecchia, the main square, it suited us perfectly. The San Vigilo funicular railway adjacent to the hotel will whisk you up to the highest point in Bergamo for amazing views and a renowned restaurant We unfortunately didn’t get a chance to go up due to time constrictions, but next time we will for sure…

After settling in we wondered through the old city gates and into the main street. What a surprise! Fantastic little shops selling truffles & organic vegetables, cozy little candlelit restaurants serving delicious Italian cuisine, a fabulous piazza perfect for people watching, and beautiful old buildings. As we were so late arriving we couldn’t gain access to the church but it looked amazing from the outside. Settling on a restaurant for dinner wasn’t easy, but we decided to go with the hotel’s recommendation ‘Mimi’, great choice. 25 euros per head including wine for 3 courses, bargain! We did deviate away from the included wine though after the first glass as it wasn’t quite to our palate! Lovely dinner though in a restaurant full of atmosphere, lots of Italians too, which is a good sign.

Despite our very short time in Bergamo, we would definitely return again. We can recommend the Fuori Porta House for location, service and comfort. Although not 5* deluxe, it was perfect for our short stay, clean, comfortable and with a fantastic powerful shower too, nice and quiet, no disturbance. They have a small restaurant on site that serves pizza if you don’t want to venture out, and a small bar that serves complimentary canapes with drinks early evening, a lovely touch.

Further useful information :

Taxi from Bergamo Airport to Upper Bergamo approx. 17 euros each way

Time zone : GMT +1

Currency : Euro

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•