The valleys and lakes around Bergamo give you a string of easy escapes, most of them an hour or less from the city.
Head north up the Brembana Valley for Alpine scenery, mountain cheeses, and walking trails. Partway up, San Pellegrino Terme is a faded Belle Époque spa town with a casino, a river beach, and the famous mineral water that bears its name — about 40 minutes by bus. Deeper into the valley lie the car-free medieval hamlets of Cornello dei Tasso and Oneta, tied to the origins of both the European postal system and the Harlequin character. At the head of the valley, the Passo di San Marco climbs to nearly 2,000 metres before dropping toward the Valtellina — a classic mountain drive, open in summer only.
For water, Lake Iseo is about an hour away by car and far less crowded than Como or Garda, with car-free Monte Isola at its centre. Smaller and quieter still, Lake Endine in the Val Cavallina is the place to go when you want a lake to yourself.
Further afield, the shores of Lago di Garda, about an hour to the east, hold the highest concentration of theme parks in Italy — Gardaland chief among them — alongside the lake's own resort towns. And Milan is just 50 minutes by train if you need a proper city fix.
