- From Jersey:
There are very reasonably priced flights from Jersey
via Southampton to Bergamo's airport, Orio al Serio, with Flybe.
Flights leave Jersey daily at 9.50am arriving at Bergamo at 2.40pm. The
return flight departs from Bergamo at 3.20pm and arrives in Jersey at
20.35pm (after a 3 hour stop in Southampton). If you book via
the
flybe website, you need to book the
Jersey-Southampton-Jersey and Southampton-Milan Bergamo-Southampton as two
separate return flights. The total cost at time of writing is £115 return
including taxes. Book early to get this price. If you miss out on flybe, the other option is to fly via Gatwick
to Milan with British Airways or Alitalia,
but prices are considerably higher and then you need to get the bus from
the airport (Malpensa or Linate) to Milan Central station and the train
into Bergamo. Ryanair
do cheap flights from Stansted to Bergamo Orio al Serio, but getting to Stansted is the problem
from Jersey. The best way of getting there is to fly to London City with flybe,
catch the bus to Liverpool Street Station from outside the arrivals hall
(£12 return), then take the Stansted Express from Liverpool Street to
Stansted Airport(£23 return).
- From the UK (and Brussels): Ryanair fly direct to Bergamo's airport, Orio al Serio, from Stansted, Luton and Brussels Charleroi. Flybe fly direct from Southampton and Birmingham. Both are low-cost airlines. The advantage with these, apart from the cost, is that they fly direct to Bergamo. Alternatively, several airlines, including British Airways and Alitalia, fly to Milan's airports (Malpensa and Linate). Both airports are a little out of town and you will have to get a bus into Milano Centrale, then a train to Bergamo (EUR 7.50 return). These trains leave more or less hourly; the journey takes between 45 minutes and an hour, depending on whether you get the 'Diretto' (almost direct) or the 'Regionale' (which stops at every station). If you cannot find a reasonably priced flight to Bergamo or Milan, try Verona or Bologna airports (Ryanair fly to both).
- By car: If you decide to travel by car, choose the route that best suits you. Take care after you cross the border into Italy, as the Italians drive like maniacs. You might want to avoid arriving at the Milan bypass at rush hour! The Italians drive on the right and stop when the traffic light turns red (sometimes). Give way to traffic from the right and proceed with caution! The Italian government has recently introduced a points system (they deduct points from your licence for speeding, passing through red lights etc. The only way to regain a clean licence is to pay for a course of driving lessons). This has caused panic and uproar amongst Italians, who seem to think that it is impossible to stick to speed limits and stop at red lights and therefore inevitable that they will have points deducted! It has been decided that points can be deducted from foreign licences too ...
- By train: When travelling by train in Italy, remember to stamp (convalidare) your ticket in the yellow boxes by the platform before getting on the train. If you don't do this, you could be fined. Bergamo train station is at the bottom end of the lower town. As you come out of the train station, you will see the main road ahead leading to the upper (old) town. The Church is along this main road, closer to the top end. For train timetables in Italy, click here.
- From Bergamo Orio al Serio airport: There is a regular bus service to the town centre from outside the arrivals hall. As you clear customs, there is a ticket booth directly in front of you where you can buy these bus tickets. This will take you to the bus/train station in the town centre. This is in the lower town. If you turn your back to the train station and look down the main road (Viale Papà Giovanni XXIII, which becomes Viale Roma, which becomes Viale Vittorio Emanuele II), you will see Città Alta (the upper (old) town).
- To the Castello di Clanezzo:
If you are travelling by car from the motorway, take the exit for Dalmine and follow this road through Treviolo, Mozzo and Paladina until you reach Almé. Here, turn left off the main road towards Almenno San Salvatore and Almenno San Bartolomeo. After Almenno San Salvatore, you will see a sign indicating Ubiale Clanezzo and the castle. Just before you get to the Castello di Clanezzo, there is a car park next to a narrow bridge. Unless you have a huge car, go over the bridge as there is parking in the grounds of the castle.
If you do not have the luxury of a car, there are buses from the central bus station (with your back to the train station, the bus station is ahead on the right). Buy tickets from the SAB ticket booth. If you think you might get the bus on the way back, buy a return from here (andata e ritorno) as you may not be able to buy tickets in Clanezzo and you can't buy tickets on the bus. The bus goes to Zogno / Piazza Brembana / Val Brembana - ask the driver where you need to get off for Clanezzo. When you get off, you need to cross the bridge and walk up to the castle. Tickets cost €1.40 one way and buses leave every hour. A taxi from the centre to the castle would cost about 25-30 euros (or 35-40 from the airport to the castle). If there are a few of you, it might be easier just to get a taxi.