Great reviews by the others. I agree 100% with their comments. The tickets are €1.30 each and they are valid :75 minutes between the lower town Città Bassa and Upper Town Città Alta. You purchase the tickets at the funicular booths before you get to the cars. Stamp the ticket in the machine when you board. The lines where not bad when I visited. The funicular is very efficient. The cars can get a little warm in the summer when there are alot of people in the cars and it is hot outside. read more

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This is the quickest and easiest way to get up to citta alta, and does not cost much. Two round trip tickets only cost us 5 euros, and they only take cash. It takes ~5 minutes for the furnicular to take you up/down. You also have the option of walking up these stairs, located on the left side of the furnicular, if you coming from citta bassa, the lower part of town. This would cost you no money but will take about 20-25 mins. It's probably a better option to just take the furnicular since it doesn't cost much, but if you're looking to walk off all the delicious carbs you've eaten, the stairs might not be a bad idea. read more

The Funicular Railways

The lower, modern part of the city of Bergamo has been linked to the historical, older 'Citta Alta' by a funicular railway since 1887. In turn, the ancient village is linked by another funicular to the hilltop settlement of San Vigilio, which was built in 1912. The Citta Alta route was built by Alessandro Ferretti and began at the top of Viale Vittorio Emanuele, finishing at the Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe. It was improved in 1921, again in 1964, and finally in 1987. There are two tracks of 240m overall length, rising 85m at a ruling gradient of 52%. Two coaches can carry a total of 100 passengers. The San Vigilio route operated from 1912-1984, when it closed. In 1987 it was radically restored by Ceretti Tanfani and it reopened in 1991. There is a single track of 630m, rising 90m at a ruling gradient of 22%. The single coach carries up to 55 passengers. Not for those prone to vertigo, the two railways nonetheless provide a spectacular, gravity-defying journey. read more

I was surprised at how lovely this is, it is really well maintained and kept lovely and clean. Best of all you can use it in the price of the day travel ticket around Bergamo, so for just 2.50 you can jump on and off the buses and use the funicular as much as you like for 24 hours, what a bargain. There was only a small queue to go up to Citta Alta so we got straight on, it was a little bit scary bearing in mind the extreme angle at which you travel, but there are seats and plenty of things to hang on to. The views were just stunning, you can see for miles. It is only a short journey, just seven minutes to get to the top, and seven minutes back down again, so we went twice, just to get another look at the wonderful views. It was just a shame the driver was such a grump. read more

Lines CAN be long for Bergamo's two funiculars, especially on weekends in and out of tourist season, but for the first one, from the lower to the upper city, the No. 1 city bus is a great uphill alternative. Along the way you'll pass the line for the funicular, which will give you a good idea of what to expect for the downhill wait, should you choose to ride it. For S. Vigilio, there's no alternative, but its lines are generally shorter. If you choose to walk downhill, it's not that rough a road, and its parklike path offers great views, too. And, don't miss the equally excellent views from atop the tower at La Rocca museum, on the Citta Alta's center-east side, and the interesting Risorgimento museum inside La Rocca, that tells the story of Italy's unification, and pays tribute to its heroes in its Garden of Remembrance. read more