What is the Bergamo Old Town self-guided walking tour?
The Bergamo Old Town self-guided walking tour is an audio walk that runs entirely on your phone: the World City Trail app leads you from stop to stop, and at each one a narrator tells you what you are looking at and why it matters. The whole thing takes about 3 hours, yet only 22 minutes of that is walking, spread over 1.4 km and 10 stops. The walled upper town is compact and the walking short, though some lanes climb, so most of the time goes on Venetian walls, medieval squares and the stories behind them.
At Porta San Giacomo the narration explains the lion of Saint Mark on the gate and the walls Venice began in 1561, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2017. Santa Maria Maggiore brings a basilica with no main façade on a square, entered through porches guarded by stone lions, and the tomb of Gaetano Donizetti inside. Under the arcades of Palazzo della Ragione you hear about the sundial line set into the pavement, and at the Campanone why its great bell still rings 100 times every evening at 10 pm. The walk ends at La Marianna, where Enrico Panattoni created stracciatella ice cream in 1961, said to have been inspired by an egg soup of the same name.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 22 min · 1.4 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What happens along the route
At each stop
The narration opens with the facts and moves on to the people, the local legends and the odd details that turn a building into a story. Every chapter can also be read as text on screen.
Between stops
Google Maps guides you along the 1.4 km of the route, about 22 minutes on foot in total, and you set the speed.
Whenever you need a break
Stop for lunch, a coffee or a museum visit, and the narration waits where you left it, for later the same day or another day.
Your route, your order
The app points you to local food and shops along the way, and if another starting point is more convenient, you can switch to it or reorder the stops.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the audio walk suits
A few days in Bergamo
The walk ties the main sights together and gives each one its background, so even a short visit feels complete.
People who like their own pace
No group to wait for and no fixed start: you linger where something catches your eye and walk on when you feel like it.
Families and couples
Legends for the children, history for the adults and a pause button for everyone.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
From the funicular to Colle Aperto: the stops in order
10 stops · about 22 min walking · start: Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe · finish: La Marianna
Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe, the old shoe market square, is the first stop, and a short stretch leads out to Porta San Giacomo, one of the four gates in the Venetian walls. Back inside, Santa Maria Maggiore and the cathedral stand close together around Piazza Duomo, and the arcades of Palazzo della Ragione lead you past the Campanone into Piazza Vecchia. The route then runs west past the University of Bergamo to Piazza della Cittadella and through the passage under its tower to La Marianna on Colle Aperto, the last stop. Some lanes are steep, the app lets you change the order, and no stop needs a ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Piazza Mercato delle ScarpeStart
This small square at the top of the funicular from the lower town takes its name from the shoe market once held here. The funicular has climbed the hill to its upper station on the square since 1887. From here Via Gombito and Via Rocca lead into the medieval lanes of the Città Alta.
Read the full story →
2Porta San Giacomo
Porta San Giacomo is one of the four gates in the Venetian walls that the Republic of Venice built around the upper town from 1561. Its pale stone front carries the lion of Saint Mark, and a stone bridge leads up to it from the road below. Since 2017 the walls have been a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Read the full story →
3Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
Begun in 1137, this Romanesque basilica has no main façade on a square, so you enter through side porches guarded by stone lions. Its interior was later richly decorated in baroque style and holds the tomb of the composer Gaetano Donizetti, who was born in Bergamo. The Colleoni Chapel, built in the 1470s, stands right beside it.
4Bergamo Cathedral
The cathedral on Piazza Duomo is dedicated to Saint Alexander, a Roman soldier who according to tradition was martyred in Bergamo and became its patron saint. The church was rebuilt several times from the 15th century onwards, and its white façade was only completed in the 19th century. Beside it stands the octagonal Baptistery.
5Palazzo della Ragione
Built in the 12th century, this is one of the oldest town halls in Italy, raised on open arcades that link Piazza Vecchia with Piazza Duomo. The lion of Saint Mark on the façade recalls Venetian rule from 1428 to 1797. Under the arcades, look for the long sundial line set into the pavement.
6Campanone
The Campanone, the civic tower, rises about 52 metres beside Palazzo della Ragione and began life as a medieval tower house before the city took it over. Every evening at 10 pm its great bell still rings 100 times, a tradition that once announced the closing of the city gates.
Read the full story →
7Piazza Vecchia
Piazza Vecchia is the old civic centre of the upper town, with Palazzo della Ragione on one side and the white Palazzo Nuovo, home of the Angelo Mai Library, opposite. In the middle stands the Contarini Fountain, a gift from the Venetian governor Alvise Contarini in 1780. Le Corbusier is said to have called it one of the most beautiful squares in Europe.
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8University of Bergamo
The University of Bergamo was founded in 1968 and uses several historic buildings in the upper town as well as newer sites below. During term, students fill these lanes, so the Città Alta is a lived-in neighbourhood rather than an open-air museum.
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9Piazza della Cittadella
The Cittadella was built in the 14th century by the Visconti, lords of Milan, as a fortified stronghold on the western edge of the upper town. Its quiet square is now lined by the Natural History Museum and the Archaeological Museum. A passage under the tower leads on to Colle Aperto.
10La MariannaFinish
On Colle Aperto, just inside Porta Sant'Alessandro, stands the café and pastry shop La Marianna, where Enrico Panattoni created stracciatella ice cream in 1961. The flavour, milk ice cream with flakes of dark chocolate, is said to have been inspired by the egg soup of the same name.
Read the full story →
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Anne Sophie– Belgium –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nice, interresting but short
Alicja– Poland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
The app is pretty cool. Would love to read more fun facts, but I loved the simplicity of it.