Bergamo in the winter

I don't know how far you want to stretch "the neighborhood", especially when the days are short, but the main rail line south of Bergamo stretches from Milan through Verona, Vicenza and Padua to Venice; I haven't been to Verona but the others are definitely worth visiting, though the travel time would be significant for all other than Milan--definitely too much travel time to head to a time-consuming destination like Venice unless you were willing to break away for a couple of nights.

Bergamo itself is on a secondary line that runs from Milan to Brescia. There are obviously indoor sights in Milan; I haven't been to Brescia, but it's hard to find an Italian town that isn't worth at least a half-day of wandering around, assuming decent weather.

I don't travel to Europe in the winter, so I can't comment on the situation in the Dolomites at that time of year. However, Bolzano (largest), Bressanone and Chiusa-Klausen (smallest) are valley towns/cities along the rail line running north from Verona. They are all attractive. Bolzano has several museums, including the one housing the Ice Man; it's definitely worth a full day. That's an interesting area due to the strong Austrian influence, which extends to the food.

Have you considered asking your family members who actually live there?

Dave, my comment won't help you, but I am planning to be in Bergamo next Fall. I would appreciate hearing back from you if there are some places in or near Bergamo you particularly enjoyed during your trip.

Thanks for the info. My family moved there two days ago, so no help (yet) from that quarter. I'll check out the towns mentioned. The weather will be the great unknown, but I will assume chilly and rainy days...

Hi Dave,
Bergamo itself is worth a visit especially the High town Bergamo Alta, so is the centre of Brescia. The Dolomites are really nowhere near Bergamo so would be a separate destination, have a look at Google maps to get your bearings.
It also depends whether or not you will have a car. If so Lake Iseo is very nice and not far. You could also go to places like Clusone, which makes a good starting point for hikes.
Other places further away are Lake Garda, Verona.
Milan if you like very big cities or even if you don't just for the day if you've never been there.
Also, weather (I live in the mountains above Brescia). There is a vast difference in the weather between January and March. January is very likely to be really cold, damp, possibly foggy, possibly snowy. March is already nearly spring and if you are lucky and hiking above lake Iseo for example you could really enjoy the warm sun. Having said that the climate is getting more and more unpredictable and it has snowed even in March but my advice would be to delay your trip as much as possible in the hope....