Free Walking Tour Bergamo: Walls, Castle and Città Alta

Ride the funicular up, walk the Venetian Walls out to San Vigilio, then work your way back through Città Alta's squares to the paintings of the Accademia Carrara.

10 Stops 7.6 km ~1 h 55 min walking
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Route map for the Bergamo walking tour
Stop 1 of 10
310 m·4 min
Funicular to Citta Alta
Head north-west toward the Venetian Walls
Ciao, welcome to Bergamo. I'm Alex, and up here, an old curfew still makes itself heard.
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What This Bergamo Walk Covers

Ten stops lead from the Funicular to Citta Alta onto the Venetian Walls, out to Castello di San Vigilio and back through the upper town to the Accademia Carrara: 7.6 km and 1 h 55 min of pure walking, or about seven and a half hours if you go inside everything worth it.

The walls, the castle, Piazza Vecchia and the Cappella Colleoni are free; the funicular has a small fare and five stops charge admission. The GPS route in your browser is free, and the AI Tour Guide can lead the walk if you want company.

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This short shows highlights of the route. All 10 stops follow below.

The Route

Walking Map of Bergamo, from the Funicular to the Carrara

10 stops 7.6 km 1 h 55 min walking
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The 10 stops along this route

  1. Funicular to Citta Alta in Bergamo, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour
    1Funicular to Citta Alta
  2. Venetian Walls in Bergamo, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour
    2Venetian Walls
  3. Castello di San Vigilio in Bergamo, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour
    3Castello di San Vigilio
  4. Campanone (Civic Tower) in Bergamo, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour
    4Campanone (Civic Tower)
  5. Piazza Vecchia in Bergamo, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour
    5Piazza Vecchia
  6. Cappella Colleoni in Bergamo, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour
    6Cappella Colleoni
  7. Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour
    7Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
  8. Rocca di Bergamo, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour
    8Rocca di Bergamo
  9. Palazzo Moroni in Bergamo, stop 9 on the self-guided walking tour
    9Palazzo Moroni
  10. Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, stop 10 on the self-guided walking tour
    10Accademia Carrara
  11. That's the full route.

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Your Bergamo Walking Tour, Walls First and Paintings Last

  1. 1

    Funicular to Citta Alta

    Funicular to Citta Alta in Bergamo, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour

    Bergamo comes in two layers, and this funicular is the hinge between them. It links the città bassa, the lower city where business gets done, with Città Alta, the fortified historic core set up on its hill. The line opened in 1887, and the fare is low, so a few coins are all that separate you from the old town.

    It runs from early morning until late at night, which makes it just as handy for a late return as for an early start.

    From the funicular it is 710 m, about 13 minutes on foot, to the Venetian Walls, where the walk proper begins.

    Local name
    Funicolare di Bergamo Alta
    Hours
    Mon–Wed: 07:00–00:00 | Thu–Sat: 07:00–01:00 | Sun: 07:00–00:00
    Price
    1.70 EUR
  2. 2

    Venetian Walls

    Venetian Walls in Bergamo, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour

    This is the frame of the whole upper town: the 16th-century Venetian Walls, listed by UNESCO, free and open around the clock. There is no gate here that closes in the evening, so you can come back at any hour you like.

    The walls also serve as a promenade, the Sentiero delle Mura, and that is how you use them now: as a path rather than a sight. Of all the stops, this is the one you walk on instead of looking at, and the one people tend to remember. If your day gets tight, drop a museum before you drop this.

    From here the route follows the walls north towards the castle hill: 2440 m, about 41 minutes, the longest single leg of the tour. Set off with water and without a deadline; long sections run under trees. On the way you pass San Vigilio Hill, the rise the castle sits on.

    Hours
    24/7
    Price
    Free
  3. 3

    Castello di San Vigilio

    Castello di San Vigilio in Bergamo, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour

    Castello di San Vigilio stands on the hill that shares its name, at the northern edge of Città Alta. After the long walk out along the walls, this is the turning point of the tour: from here the route heads back into the centre of the upper town.

    Entry is free, so there is nothing to weigh up. Take your time, catch your breath and let the morning's walk settle before the next leg.

    The way back to the Campanone is 2240 m, about 31 minutes. You pass the Bergamo Archaeological Museum and the Bergamo Civic Museum of Natural Sciences on the way before reaching the civic tower.

    Hours
    Mon–Sun 08:00–21:00 (summer: 22 Mar – 22 Sep); Mon–Sun 09:00–17:00 (winter: 23 Sep – 21 Mar); closed Dec 25 & Jan 1
    Price
    Free admission
  4. 4

    Campanone (Civic Tower)

    Campanone (Civic Tower) in Bergamo, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour

    Back in the old centre, the Campanone is Bergamo's civic tower; in the local dialect it is the Campanù. It belongs to the Museo delle storie di Bergamo, the network of history museums run by the Fondazione Bergamo nella storia, which also looks after the museum in the Rocca later on this walk.

    The tower charges admission. It is worth it if you want to know the town's civic landmark from the inside rather than only look up at it; if your budget stretches to one ticket only today, the Accademia Carrara gives you more for it.

    Piazza Vecchia is just 100 m away, a minute on foot through the lanes of Città Alta.

    Hours
    Tue–Fri 10:00–18:00, Sat–Sun & holidays 10:00–19:00, Mon closed
    Price
    9 EUR full, 6 EUR reduced, 2 EUR youth (11-17), free under 11 / disabled
  5. 5

    Piazza Vecchia

    Piazza Vecchia in Bergamo, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour

    For many centuries this square was where Bergamo's political and civic life happened. Its old name was platea magna nova, and in Bergamasco dialect it is the Piassa Ègia.

    It is free and always open, so stay as long as you like. Look for the portico of the Palazzo della Ragione: it is the passage that connects this square with the old platea Sancti Vincentii, the square that became Piazza del Duomo.

    Walk through that portico, 80 m and a minute, and you are standing in front of the Cappella Colleoni.

    Hours
    24/7
    Price
    Free
  6. 6

    Cappella Colleoni

    Cappella Colleoni in Bergamo, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour

    Bartolomeo Colleoni had this chapel built in 1476 as his own mausoleum. Giovanni Antonio Amadeo designed it, it is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, and this Renaissance funerary chapel is set right against the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore on Piazza del Duomo.

    Entry is free, but watch the clock: the chapel closes for a break in the middle of the day.

    The basilica it leans against is 140 m away, about two minutes.

    Hours
    Mar–Oct: daily 09:00–12:30, 14:00–18:30; Nov–Feb: Tue–Sun 09:00–12:30, 14:00–16:30, Mon closed
    Price
    Free admission
  7. 7

    Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

    Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour

    Santa Maria Maggiore went up in the second half of the 12th century. Outside, it keeps its original Romanesque Lombard lines; inside, it was decorated in Baroque style in the 1600s and 1700s. It began as the baptismal church of the cathedral of San Vincenzo, which stood beside the bishop's curia.

    That contrast between the medieval shell and the Baroque interior is the reason to pay for a ticket. Coming straight from the Cappella Colleoni, you see how the two belong together: Colleoni had his tomb built against this church.

    From here it is 550 m, about 9 minutes, to the Rocca di Bergamo.

    Hours
    Daily 09:00–18:00
    Price
    5 EUR full, 2 EUR reduced (14-25 & over 70), free under 14 / residents / disabled
  8. 8

    Rocca di Bergamo

    Rocca di Bergamo, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour

    The Rocca sits on the Colle di Sant'Eufemia in the upper town. To the south it looks out over the lower city and the plain around it; to the north it faces the ring of the Orobie mountains.

    Inside is the Museo dell'Ottocento, the museum of the 19th century, part of the same Museo delle storie network as the Campanone, and it charges admission. If the 1800s are your period, go in; if you came for painting, save your time and budget for the next two stops.

    Palazzo Moroni is 520 m away, about 7 minutes on foot.

    Hours
    Tue–Sun & holidays 11:00–18:00, Mon closed
    Price
    5 EUR full, 3 EUR reduced (18-26 & groups 15+), free under 18 / disabled
  9. 9

    Palazzo Moroni

    Palazzo Moroni in Bergamo, stop 9 on the self-guided walking tour

    At Via Porta Dipinta 12 stands the house of the Moroni counts, and their collection is still inside: objects and paintings by Giovan Battista Moroni, Bernardino Luini and Cesare Tallone, the artistic heritage of the family.

    After Count Antonio Moroni died in 2009, the palazzo passed as a gift to the foundation that runs the museum, and since 2020 it has been one of the properties of FAI.

    The palazzo charges admission, with reduced tickets and a family ticket for two adults with their children. It is worth it if you like seeing paintings in the house where a family actually kept them, and it sets you up for the last stop, where Moroni's work appears again.

    The final leg is 780 m, about 10 minutes, past the Church of San Michele al Pozzo Bianco to the Accademia Carrara.

    Hours
    Wed–Sun 10:00–18:00 (also Mon 10:00–18:00 from 6 Apr to 26 Oct); Tue closed; last admission 17:00
    Price
    12 EUR full, 5 EUR reduced (6-18 & students 19-25), 30 EUR family (2 adults + kids), free FAI members / disabled
  10. 10

    Accademia Carrara

    Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, stop 10 on the self-guided walking tour

    Giacomo Carrara founded this picture gallery in 1796. It is regarded as the museum of Italian collecting and a collection of European rank, housed in the palazzo of the same name on Piazza Giacomo Carrara, once known as Via Pignolo.

    The display, reworked in 2023, shows more than 300 works across five centuries, from the early 1400s to the late 1800s: Pisanello, Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Lotto and Giovan Battista Moroni among them. Fresh from Palazzo Moroni, look for Moroni here and see him in far bigger company.

    The gallery charges admission, with reduced tickets for young visitors. If you pay for only one interior on this walk, make it this one, and give it an hour and a half.

    This is where the walk ends. If you want to get back to the funicular, the GPS navigation in your browser leads you there.

    Hours
    Mon 10:00–19:00, Wed–Sun & holidays 10:00–19:00, Tue closed
    Price
    10 EUR full, 8 EUR reduced, 5 EUR special reduced (18-25), free under 18 / disabled
Walking tour route map of Bergamo Route loaded
Funicular to Citta AltaVenetian WallsCastello di San VigilioCampanone (Civic Tower)+6
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AI Tour Guide

From the walls to the Carrara, now with a guide in your ear

Press start wherever you are, even hundreds of kilometres from Bergamo, and the guide begins telling its stories right away. In the city, pick any of the 10 stops to start from: it leads you there, then talks with you the whole route, asking, listening, remembering, and shaping the tour around your answers.

10stops 7.6km 1 h 55 minwalking 13languages
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Shorter Ways to Walk Bergamo

Not everyone wants the full day. These three sections of the route each work on their own.

Walls and castle hill

Stops: 1, 2, 3

For a morning outdoors without tickets: the funicular, the Venetian Walls and Castello di San Vigilio. 54 minutes on foot, and the only cost is the funicular fare.

The heart of Città Alta

Stops: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

If time is short: the civic tower, the old square, the Colleoni chapel, the basilica and the Rocca, with only 13 minutes of walking between them. The Campanone, the basilica and the Rocca charge admission; Piazza Vecchia and the chapel are free.

Painters and collectors

Stops: 8, 9, 10

For an afternoon of art: the Rocca, Palazzo Moroni and the Accademia Carrara, 17 minutes of walking. All three charge admission, so pick a day when all of them are open.

How Long This Bergamo Tour Takes, Walking and Museums

Almost all of the walking comes in the first half: 13 minutes to the walls, 41 along them to the castle, 31 back to the Campanone. After that the stops sit close together, and the tickets you buy set the pace more than your feet do.

With the interiors that are worth it (half an hour each in the Campanone and the basilica, 40 minutes in the Rocca, an hour at Palazzo Moroni and an hour and a half in the Accademia Carrara), start at 09:00 at the funicular. You reach the castle around 10:20, the Campanone around 11:10 once it has opened, the Cappella Colleoni before its midday break and the Accademia Carrara just before 15:00, finishing around 16:30 before any breaks you add.

Keep to the free stops and look at the paid ones from outside, and the day shrinks to close to four hours. The shorter variants take 54 minutes of walking for the walls and the castle, 13 minutes through the heart of Città Alta and 17 minutes for the three museums at the end.

Before You Set Off in Bergamo

  • Start and finish: The recommended start is the Funicular to Citta Alta, but you can join at any stop. The walk ends at the Accademia Carrara, and the GPS navigation in your browser can lead you back to the start.
  • Best day and time: The paid interiors are not all open on the same days, so pick a day when the ones you care about are open. Start around 09:00 so the Campanone has opened when you arrive and you reach the chapel before its midday break.
  • Costs: The route is free, and so are the walls, the castle, Piazza Vecchia and the Cappella Colleoni. You pay admission for the Campanone, the basilica, the Rocca, Palazzo Moroni and the Accademia Carrara, plus a ticket for the funicular.

Day Trips from Bergamo to Nearby Cities

Out in the morning, back by night. Every route here fits in one full day.

Bergamo to Milan day trip Milan in a day 48-55 min each way Bergamo to Brescia day trip Brescia in a day 57 min nonstop Bergamo to Verona day trip Verona in a day 1h25 nonstop
Walking tour route map of Bergamo
AI Tour Guide

Your Bergamo guide is ready when you are

Press start and a voice AI Tour Guide takes it from here: leading the route through Bergamo, telling the stories, and turning your walk into a real back-and-forth conversation. No app or download is needed; it runs in your browser.

10stops 7.6km 1 h 55 minwalking 13languages
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What the AI Tour Guide Adds Between the Walls and the Paintings

On this route the walking comes early and the stories pile up late. The AI Tour Guide uses the long stretch along the walls to find out what you came for, remembers it and shapes the rest of the day around it: more about Bartolomeo Colleoni if people interest you, more about the Moroni family and their painter if the museums are your thing. Ask what Colleoni did before he built his tomb, or why Giacomo Carrara started collecting, and interrupt whenever you like. You start with 100 free credits; after that it is €19.99 for this tour with no time limit, or €5 per hour.

A Real Conversation A voice AI Tour Guide greets you, leads the whole route, and tells the stories and facts as you walk, asking what you want to see and keeping a real conversation going. Not a recording you press play on.
Map Navigation Follow the route on the map and walk at your own pace. You choose where to start and when to move to the next stop.
Ask Anything Curious about a building you pass? Ask your AI Tour Guide on the spot and the conversation carries on.
13 Languages Switch language anytime. No separate tour needed.
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Common Questions Before Walking Bergamo

Is there also a funicular up to San Vigilio?

Yes. Bergamo has two funicular lines: the one to Città Alta that starts this walk, and a second one serving San Vigilio. This route walks out to the castle along the walls instead.

Is Castello di San Vigilio open all year?

Yes, apart from a couple of holidays, with longer hours in summer than in winter. Entry is free either way.

Do children, students and seniors pay less?

Yes. Children get in free at the Campanone, the basilica, the Rocca and the Accademia Carrara, and older young people pay a reduced price at most of them. The basilica also reduces its price for seniors, and Palazzo Moroni has reduced tickets for children and students.

Is the tour really free?

Yes. The whole tour is free: the route, the interactive map and the navigation cost you nothing. Only the voice AI Tour Guide is optional and paid: you test it with 100 free credits, then you pay either €5 per hour or €19.99 for this whole tour, with no time limit. Admission to 5 of the 10 stops is not included: Campanone (Civic Tower), Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Rocca di Bergamo, Palazzo Moroni and Accademia Carrara charge their own entry fees.

Do I need to download an app?

No. Everything runs in your phone browser. Open the route and start walking, no download and no sign-up required.

Do I need to book the walking tour in advance?

No booking needed. This self-guided tour is available anytime. Open the route in your browser and start walking. The AI Tour Guide works instantly, no app, no reservation required.

What languages is the AI Tour Guide available in?

The AI Tour Guide speaks 13 languages, so you take the tour in your own language and can switch at any time.

Can I skip stops or change the route?

Yes. Skip any stop, spend extra time at places you like, or start the route from any point. It is your walk, you set the pace.
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