The funicular – for people with principles

If you’d prefer not to walk up to the Città Alta, you can hop on the funicolare, Bergamo’s funicular. This is no modern invention for footsore tourists: it has linked the centre with the upper town for over 120 years. By Sigrid Riewe-Scholz

At the top, you emerge right into Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe (Shoe Market Square). The name is no coincidence: as early as 1430, only shoes were sold here. The palace opposite, now home to the funicular’s lower station, was then the headquarters of the shoemakers’ guild.

The journey itself is short, but particularly charming. Two cars travel up through flowering gardens, crossing along the way the historic Venetian city walls once intended to protect Bergamo from enemies. Today, they mainly guard one of the best views of the city.

On a clear day, you can look right over the entire Po Valley to the Apennines. This is not simply an uphill journey by rail, but a brief trip back through time.

How short is “short” anyway? Quite short: in just a few minutes, the funicolare covers a distance of only 240 metres while overcoming an elevation difference of 85 metres. With a maximum gradient of 52 per cent in some parts, that’s quite a climb.

Which leaves us with the question of whether it might not be quicker to walk? Perhaps. But that’s not the point. You’re on holiday. And if you can combine history, views and comfort, then you’re definitely onto a winner.