I have arrived in Milan by train more times than I can count, and the city always greets me the same way: a rush of grey stone, a flash of gold, and the smell of espresso pulled too fast. People…
Supporting Guide
How to See The Last Supper in Milan
I have stood in front of a great many paintings in my life, and very few have made me hold my breath the way Leonardo’s Last Supper did. Fifteen minutes is all you are given, and I spent the first…
Visiting the Milan Duomo and Rooftop Terraces
I have stood in a great many piazzas, and few undo me the way Piazza del Duomo still does. You come up out of the metro, or round the corner from the Galleria, and there it is: a mountain of…
Milan Shopping and Fashion Guide
I have shopped a great many cities, but Milan is the one that taught me the difference between buying clothes and understanding fashion. Here, the two are never separate. A morning on Via Montenapoleone is a lesson in proportion and…
Milan Aperitivo and the Navigli: An Evening Guide
I have never quite got over the civility of the Milanese evening. Somewhere around six, the city loosens its collar. The offices empty, the light goes gold along the tram lines, and a whole population that has spent the day…
Where to Stay in Bergamo
Where you sleep in Bergamo shapes the whole trip, because the city is really two towns stacked on a hill, and each offers a different kind of stay. My short answer is to sleep inside the walls of the upper…
The Best Things to Do in Bergamo
Bergamo rewards the traveller who slows down. The upper town is small enough to cross in fifteen minutes, which fools people into thinking they have seen it, when in fact the whole pleasure is in the lingering. Here is what…
Where to Eat in Bergamo: Food and Wine
Bergamo is a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, and the local cooking is exactly what you want from a place with the Alps at its back: buttery, generous, built on cheese and polenta and slow-cooked meat. This is not delicate coastal…
How to Get to Bergamo
A tourist exiting a train in Bergamo. Getting to Bergamo is refreshingly simple, and it is one of the reasons the city makes such a good base for northern Italy. You can fly almost to its doorstep, or reach it…
The Perfect Bergamo Itinerary: One to Two Days
Bergamo is small, which makes it perfect for a short, unhurried visit. Here is how I would spend a day, and how I would stretch it to two if I had them, keeping the pace gentle and leaving room to…
The Best Time to Visit Bergamo
Bergamo is a city for all seasons, sheltered a little from the extremes by its position between the Lombard plain and the Alpine foothills. But some months are lovelier than others, and the right timing can turn a good visit…
The Best Photo Spots in Bergamo
Bergamo is one of those cities that seems designed to be photographed: a walled town on a hill, honey-coloured stone, long views over the plain, and a great square that has been admired for centuries. The trick is less finding…
