BERGAMO, need hotel for 10/23/23 maybe in upper town with adequate shuttle to airport

The airport is right at the edge of town, and you only need to be at the airport 2 hours ahead, so 9:15.
A hotel in the "low town" is best, in my opinion. My partner had a great stay at Petronilla last year, but it might be too fancy for just one night.
Otherwise, if you really want an airport hotel, NH Orio al Serio is the closest, but the walk looks unpleasant.

Thank you so much for the speedy reply, and information about not needing to get to the airport so early.

I would love to have a recommendation for a hotel near the train station, as we are coming in from Lake Orta, or even in the upper town if there is an adequate shuttle service.

Hotels having airport shuttles isn't really a thing in Europe.

Caryl,

Here’s a section from my trip report for my trip last year. I arrived by train and took a taxi to my hotel in the upper Citta Alta. When I was leaving, the Gombit Hotel arranged a taxi back to the train station. I wouldn’t skip staying up there; the taxi is only about 10 minutes more to reach this atmospheric location.

“If you’re looking for a nice hotel, I stayed in two different hotels near each other. I specifically stayed at the Gombit Hotel two nights because they had refunded my money on my non-refundable reservation in 2020. I definitely wanted to support them this trip in appreciation! It’s a remodeled glamorous hotel adjacent to the Citta Alta Gombit Tower - a special first class experience and nicer than most of my other hotels. My first night, I also stayed at Hotel Piazza Vecchia. Although more modest, my room was still spacious, and the breakfast was also very good.”

Bergamo’s Citta Alta is wonderful! Here’s a few things I did besides just the enjoyment of walking around all over the upper portion. “My favorite Italian painters at the Accademia Carrara Museum! I arrived early and was the only person viewing each floor! That’s a major reason why I love going to the “less touristy towns” - gorgeous art to enjoy at a leisurely pace with no crowd crazies taking selfies in the museum. That afternoon I had an enjoyable private outdoor sketching class with a very nice, very patient artist – Martin Cambriglia (contact is [email protected]). He & I both sketched the front of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore through an archway, sitting in the shade.

The next morning, Martin, the young man who was yesterday’s art instructor, met with me for his outdoor watercolor class. We both painted the Piazza Vecchio’s main building & clock tower. It included the lion with the wings on the building, and the tall medieval walls around the upper city are also called the Venetian Wall. Martin spent more time with me than I expected, and I really appreciated his care & professional attitude to help me as a beginner. I was glad some people stopped to watch us paint and asked for his business card. I learned so much from him just in those two days and now have two treasured art pieces with wonderful memories for my walls at home!”