Travel: Bergamo & small Italian towns

August 28, 2024

Travel: Bergamo & small Italian towns

If Bergamo, northern Italy was warmer in winter it would be a lovely place to stay for a few months as one would be in the Alps and close to Switzerland. But it is pretty miserable, like Lago di Como, no snow in recent years, 7 degrees and grey. Though a guide told me this, i should double check during winter as it can’t be as bad as northern Europa with continual grey. In Bergamo we stayed in a small Italian local hotel in D’Alme owned by two sisters as it was fairly close to the lakes and cheaper than on Maggiore. The room balcony had a nice view of mountains and the river but the town itself little else.

Bergamo ~ Ville D’Alme below

Later we moved onto a bigger hotel closer to Milan and Venice, Abano Terme. It too was a boring little town, nothing like Montecatini Terme in Tuscany, but it was close to Padua, a university town like Bolongna a little further south. However, Albano Terme is obviously where all Milanos and Venetians go on holiday as every hotel is grand, with thermal spas and swimming pools. So nice after all the site seeing to take a few days of rest and lounging around water. A water town with fountains at almost every roundabout. And of course boutique shopping, with every colour and kind of Italian moccasin on sale. Quite remarkable were the entire shopping streets being flagstone pavements. Shopping hours though are as in Spain 9-12 then 17-21pm . The heat just keeps people inside

All spa and wellness hotels

A park and below the flagstone pavements

Some lovely Italian villas in between the hotels.

As promised in Lago de Como blog, here a few photos of the actual city Como on the lake, synonymous with its name. A cute small little place with nice shops and a main square with its Duomo. It is right at the south of the western part of the lake, kind of first town you encounter. The rest along the lake line are villages. (If you remember the map!)