ITALY - LOMBARDIA: COMO LAKE AND BELLAGIO

After travelling to Rome last year, I have come back to Italy to visit two nice areas of northern Italy: Tuscany and Lombardia. There are really lovely villages in these two provinces of Italy, as well as the beautiful city of Florence.

- Tuscany

• Florence
• San Gimignano
• Siena
• Pisa
• Lucca

- Lombardia

• Milano
• Lago di Como and Bellagio
• Bergamo

In this post I would like o show you some pictures of the day I spent in Como Lake and Bellagio.

The most beautiful of the Italian lakes have water turquoise and sapphire. Its three arms caress the snowcapped peaks of the Alps. For centuries Como Lake has attracted wealthy visitors, who have filled their shores of beautiful villas and gardens.

Attracted by the fame, I wanted to discover the beauty of this lake and some of their villages, such as Bellagio.

I arrived at Como from Milano by train with Lenord railway company (http://www.trenord.it). I catched de train in Piazza Cadorna station (near the Castello Sforzesco) and got off the train in Como Nord Lago after one-hour journey. This stations is near the point where the boat grabs.

To travel by boat on the lake, which is what we did, you can purchase tickets for each ride or purchase a single ticket for several journeys to various villages. More information in:

• www.navigazionelaghi.it

Some of the most interesting places you can visit near Como Lake are:

• El Duomo di Como
• Funicular de Brunate, Como (fantastic views)
• Villa Balbianello, Lenno
• Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio
• Villa Melzi, Bellagio
• Villa Carlotta, Tremezzo

Bellagio is a popular and lovely village of Como Lake which has the Villas Serbelloni and Melzi, a Romanesque church, a harbor filled with cafes and a beautiful maze of medieval streets.

Next you can see some pictures I took during the day I spent in Como Lake and Bellagio. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't nice and it was cloudy.

Lago di Como

A mysterious and romantic view of Como Lake surrounded by the Alps

Arriving at Bellagio, a lovely village next to Como Lake

Grand Hotel Tremezzo, located next to Como Lake

Villa Carlotta is one of the most sumptuous villas of the lake with exquisite gardens

View of Como Lake from Bellagio

Bellagio

One of the typical streets in Bergamo, which leads you from the harbour to the romanesque church

A lovely corner in Bellagio I liked a lot

In this pictures the nice fountain of the previous picture appears again

The  harbor of Bellagio is filled with cafes like the ones of the picture and they are a fantastic choice to admire the views of Como Lake

Typical colourful buildings of Bellagio along a steep stone street

From this point in Bellagio I saw the Como Lake behind somo typical colourful buildings

Flowers in the streets like these ones of the picture gives a colourful look to Bellagio

After an intense day in Como Lake and Bellagio, we came back to Milano. The following day we would visit the beautiful village of Bergamo, the last city we visited in our Tuscany and Lombardia trip.

Finally, you can see more pictures of the days I spent in Rome last year clicking on the next links:

• Pictures of our first day in Rome
• Pictures of our second day in Rome
• Pictures of our third day in Rome
• Pictures of our fourth day in Rome
• Pictures of our fifth and sixth day in Rome

Other great cities and countries I have visited are:

• Barcelona
• Berlin
• New York and Washington
• London
• Dublin in Irleland
• Istanbul in Turkey
• Saint Petersburg
• Rome and The Vatican
• Paris
• Lisboa in Portugal
• Madrid
• Venezia
• Dubrovnik in Croatia

• The Greek Islands and Athens
• Bruges, Ghent and Brussels in Belgium

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco

ITALY - LOMBARDIA: BERGAMO

After travelling to Rome last year, I have come back to Italy to visit two nice areas of northern Italy: Tuscany and Lombardia. There are really lovely villages in these two provinces of Italy, as well as the beautiful city of Florence.

In this post I would like to show you some pictures of Bergamo, our last pleasant surprise of our trip in Tuscany and Lombardia. We visited Bergamo after spending the previous day sailing on the Como Lake and visiting the lovely village of Bellagio.

Bergamo is one of the stunning jewels of northern Italy with a great medieval charming. I really liked the medieval look of Bergamo, with its well preserved city wall, its pedestrian streets, its charming squares and Palazzos, its beautiful churches and its funicular to arrive at La Città Alta (the old city of Bergamo).

Bergamo can be reached easily by train from Milano. To get La Città Alta from Bergamo train station you can take the bus 1 or 1A and make free transfer to Bergamo Alta Funicolare.

Next you have the most interesting places we visited in Bergamo, without any doubt, a really beautiful village perfect to spend a fantastic day.

• City Walls
• Piazza del Mercato
• San Giacomo Gate
• Via Colleoni and Via Gombito
• Piazza Vecchia and Contarini fountain
• Palazzo della Ragione
• Palazzo del Podestà
• Piazza del Duomo
• Duomo and Baptistery
• Colleoni Chapel
• Santa Maria Maggiore

City Walls

The venetian city wall of Bergamo is really well preserved and there is a promenade along the wall which lets you get a fantastic view of the city

Piazza del Mercato

Piazza del Mercato is a lively place in Bergamo. It's the first place you see in Bergamo because the Funicolare station is here

San Giacomo Gate

After a walk along the city walls of Bergamo from Piazza del Mercato we arrived at San Giacomo Gate

Via Colleoni

Via Colleoni is the main street of Bergamo, perfect for a quiet walk along its shops, medieval palaces and squares

Piazza Vecchia and Palazzo della Ragione

 

La Piazza Vecchia is, for me, the most beautiful place in Bergamo. The Palazzos which enclose this square gives a nice medieval look to this square

Children playing next to la Fontana Contarini, located in the middle of La Piazza Vecchia de Bergamo. Behind the fountain, El Palazzo della Ragione

A closer view of la Fontana Contarini and El Palazzo della Ragione in Bergamo

Palazzo del Podestà

Torre del Campanone belongs to El Palazzo del Podestà, now the city hall of Bergamo

The staircase of El Palazzo del Podestà in Bergamo is quite beautiful and the views of La Piazza Vecchia and La Piazza del Duomo from here are fantastic

Palazzo Nuovo, next to La Piazza Vecchia in Bergamo. You can also see the Contarini fountain in the middle of the square

Piazza del Duomo

La Piazza del Duomo together with La Piazza Vecchia are the heart of Bergamo

On the left you can see the entrance to Santa Maria Maggiore church and, next to it, the impressive Colleoni chapel, the building of Bergamo I liked the most

Duomo

Inside the Duomo of Bergamo

Colleoni Chapel

The Colleoni chapel, which appear behind El Palazzo della Ragione, is the most interesting building of Bergamo

A closer view of the rose window of the Colleoni chapel in Bergamo

Santa Maria Maggiore

Baroque look of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, which I found more interesting than the Duomo

Unfortunately our trip in Tuscany and Lombardia ended here. We enjoyed a lot all the fantastic places we could visit in this beautiful area of Italy, so I strongly recommend spending some days in its villages and cities.

Below you can see the places I visited in Tuscany during this trip

- Tuscany

• Florence
• San Gimignano
• Siena
• Pisa
• Lucca

- Lombardia

• Milano
• Lago di Como and Bellagio
• Bergamo

Of course, another impressive city of Italy is Rome and the Vatican, which I could visit last year. Below you can see more pictures of the days I spent in Rome clicking on the next links:

• Pictures of our first day in Rome
• Pictures of our second day in Rome
• Pictures of our third day in Rome
• Pictures of our fourth day in Rome
• Pictures of our fifth and sixth day in Rome

Other great cities and countries I have visited are:

• Barcelona
• Berlin
• New York and Washington
• London
• Dublin in Irleland
• Istanbul in Turkey
• Saint Petersburg
• Rome and The Vatican
• Paris
• Lisboa in Portugal
• Madrid
• Venezia
• Dubrovnik in Croatia

• The Greek Islands and Athens
• Bruges, Ghent and Brussels in Belgium

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco

ITALY - LOMBARDIA: MILANO

After travelling to Rome last year, I have come back to Italy to visit two nice areas of northern Italy: Tuscany and Lombardia. There are really lovely villages in these two provinces of Italy, as well as the beautiful city of Florence.

- Tuscany

• Florence
• San Gimignano
• Siena
• Pisa
• Lucca

- Lombardia

• Milano
• Lago di Como and Bellagio
• Bergamo

After spending five fantastic days in Florence and Tuscany, we arrived at Milano to visit this important city of Italy and to enjoy two lovely days sailing on Como Lake and walking along the streets of the medieval town of Bergamo.

The proximity of the Como Lake, the Maggiore Lake and Bergamo are actually  additional reasons to spend one day in Milano.

Although Milano is the second largest city in Italy after Rome and the capital city of the region of Lombardy, I think that one day is enough to discover the most interesting places in Milano, which in my opinion are:

• Duomo
• Piazza del Duomo
• Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
• Castello Sforzesco
• Parco Sempione
• Santa Maria delle Grazie (The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci)
• Sant Ambrogio
• Quadrilatero d'Oro (Via Manzoni, Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga)
• I Navigli

In the evening we went to I Navigli to enjoy an aperitivo. Milanesi people are known as good "aperitivo" masters - every evening from about 6 pm to 9 pm there's a Happy Hour in all the bars and restaurants in Milano - all you need to do is choose the place you like, choose the drink you like, pay the fixed amount (usually less than 9 euroes) and you can take and eat everything what you see in the buffet of the bar. An advice - choose the place with a rich buffet... and not only those who look trendy.

Next I would like to show you some pictures of these places:

Duomo

The largest and most important example of Gothic architecture in Italy, the Milan Cathedral, is the fourth largest cathedral in the world after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Cathedral of Seville and a new cathedral in the Ivory Coast

We really enjoy walking through the forest of Gothic sculpture that decorates the roof of Milan Cathedral and going under the flying buttresses and eaves

It's worth climbing the steep roof of the Duomo to enjoy fantastic views of Milano

Velasca Tower from the roof of the Duomo of Milano

Piazza del Duomo

I realized the hugeness of La Piazza del Duomo when I looked at it from the roof of the Duomo

Impressive gothic facade of the Duomo of Milano. On the left you can see the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Next to La Piazza del Duomo, Italian elegance is reflected in this four-storey shopping arcade with vaulted ceilings of glass amd steel

Castello Sforzesco

A fountain in front of the Castello Sforzesco in Milano

Parco Sempione

Sempione Park is a large public park in Milano, situated between the Castello Sforzesco and the Peace Arch, near Piazza Sempione. I strongly recommend walking along this park because of its beauty and the calmness you can feel inside

Santa Maria delle Grazie

The extraordinary fresco of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci adorns the wall of the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie and, of course, is the main attraction of this church. What I like the most of this convent was its cloister. I couldn't visit the masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci because you have to buy the tickets four or five months before

Sant Ambrogio

Sant'Ambrogio is the second of the great churches of Milano after the Duomo and one of the finest ones. I really liked the cloister at the entrance, which you can see in this picture

Of course, Milano is a fantastic shopping city. Milano's main upscale fashion district is the quadrilatero della moda (literally, "fashion quadrilateral"), where the city's most prestigious shopping streets (Via Monte Napoleone, Via della Spiga, Via Sant'Andrea, Via Manzoni and Corso Venezia) are held. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the Piazza del Duomo, Via Dante and Corso Buenos Aires are other important shopping streets and squares.

Quadrilatero d'Oro (or della Moda)

Via della Spiga, a pedestrian street, is the street of Il Quadrilatero d'Oro I like the most 

Pen shown in a Montblanc shop window in Via Montenapoleone in Milano

I Navigli

Today I Navigli is the most lively and bohemian area of Milano. The old warehouses now house modern apartments. Along the canals you can find a lot of restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shops. Every night, the streets are full of young people in and out of bars and restaurants

After an interesting day in Milano, the following day we would sail on Como Lake and visit the beautiful village of Bellagio.

Finally, you can see more pictures of the days I spent in Rome last year clicking on the next links:

• Pictures of our first day in Rome
• Pictures of our second day in Rome
• Pictures of our third day in Rome
• Pictures of our fourth day in Rome
• Pictures of our fifth and sixth day in Rome

Other great cities I have visited are:

• Barcelona
• Berlin
• New York and Washington
• London
• Dublin in Irleland
• Istanbul in Turkey
• Saint Petersburg
• Rome and The Vatican
• Paris
• Lisboa in Portugal
• Madrid
• Venezia
• Dubrovnik in Croatia

• The Greek Islands and Athens
• Bruges, Ghent and Brussels in Belgium

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco

ITALY - TUSCANY: LUCCA

After travelling to Rome last year, I have come back to Italy to visit two nice areas of northern Italy: Tuscany and Lombardia. There are really lovely villages in these two provinces of Italy, as well as the beautiful city of Florence.

After visiting Pisa and its Leaning Tower in El Campo dei Miracoli, we went to Lucca by train, where we spent a lovely afternoon. Lucca isn't actually a famous town in Tuscany. However I strongly recommend visiting it.

I really liked its Pisan-Romanesque churches, its colourful buildings, its quiet streets and, especially, I was surprised by the Lucca city walls and the promenade along it.

Lucca has more than 4 km of walls surrounded by a green carpet of grass. The walls are like a huge park around the city where citizens can walk or cycling or just enjoy this charming environment.

Overview of Lucca city walls are surrounded by a green carpet of grass

San Frediano church in Lucca from Guinigi Tower. From this tower the views were nice

Colourful building in Piazza Anfiteatro. Lucca's Roman amphitheatre was long ago mined for building stone but its oval remained as a base for medieval houses

Piazza Anfiteatro in Lucca is now a quiet piazza, with ancient arches embedded in house walls

From the Lucca city walls I enjoyed this view of Pfanner gardens in front of San Frediano

I really liked this view of Pfanner gardens with its fountain from the Lucca city walls

An interesting activity you can do in Lucca is to rent a bicycle and climb onto the city walls

However I chose to stroll the Lucca city walls on foot

In Lucca, buildings have usually colourful façades, what gives Lucca a bright look

San Michele in Foro was also built in Pisan-Romanesque style. Its arcades are stacked even higher than the Duomo's

Piazza Napoleone in Lucca is large square surrounded by colourful buildings

San Martino, the Duomo of Lucca

Main façade of San Martino where you can see Pisan-Romanesque arcades over a portico of Romanesque carvings

Nice green area in front of the Lucca city walls

Walking along the Lucca city walls is one of the most pleasant activities you can do in Lucca

As you can see, we enjoyed an intense day, so we came back to Florence a bit tired but really happy. The next day we visited the Uffizi and, afterwards, we took a train to Milano.


Below you have the places we visited in Tuscany and Lombardia:

- Tuscany

• Florence
• San Gimignano
• Siena
• Pisa
• Lucca

- Lombardia

• Milano
• Lago di Como and Bellagio
• Bergamo

Finally, you can see more pictures of the days I spent in Rome last year clicking on the next links:

• Pictures of our first day in Rome
• Pictures of our second day in Rome
• Pictures of our third day in Rome
• Pictures of our fourth day in Rome
• Pictures of our fifth and sixth day in Rome

Other great cities and countries I have visited are:

• Barcelona
• Berlin
• New York and Washington
• London
• Dublin in Irleland
• Istanbul in Turkey
• Saint Petersburg
• Rome and The Vatican
• Paris
• Lisboa in Portugal
• Madrid
• Venezia
• Dubrovnik in Croatia

• The Greek Islands and Athens
• Bruges, Ghent and Brussels in Belgium

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco