(Half) Day trips to Cremona, Bergamo and Sirmione (with a toddler)

If you've read this blog for a while, you know I am constantly towing the line between lesser-known places and those that are popular for a reason. I tend to lean to the first, avoiding really touristy areas to find the more hidden gems. This tale of three cities (towns really) are examples on opposite sides of the spectrum, the quiet violin town of Cremona, the more known city of Bergamo, and the very well-known lake town of Sirmione.

Map showing Cremona, Bergamo and Sirmione

While staying in Northern Italy, we wanted to focus on the lake region by Isea, while half-day tripping to some smaller towns and villages in the area. We were traveling with a 3-year-old and needed something relatively close, half-day only (toddler attention span), with something for kids and adults. Usually "something for kids" is as simple as a park and gelato. We picked Cremona, Bergamo, and Sirmione for their proximity to our stay in Lake Iseo and tidbits we found online about them. Here's what I knew going in:

Bergamo - Historic lower and upper city connected by a funicular

Cremona - Historic town known as the birthplace of the violin

Sirmione - Fortified village on the southern end of Lake Garda

Fontana Contarini, Bergamo

Piazza Vecchia, Bergamo

Funicular to Citta Alta

Bergamo

Bergamo is a cute little area with two distinct parks: Città Bassa (lower town) your more modern city and Città Alta the "Upper Town", historic and with awesome views. The fun part is that the cities are connected by a funicular. We drove into Bergamo, parking by the lower town and took the funicular to the upper town. There is usually a line as there are only two funiculars and a lot of demand for an easier ride up. Walking is always an option but our train-obsessed toddler was not leaving without a train ride. Citta Alta is where you want to be and head to Piazza Vecchia, the square that has served as the heart of the Città Alta since Roman times. You will find restaurants and shops, grand palazzos and an 18th-century Contarini fountain.

We walked around for a bit and had lunch in the courtyard, a perfect place for Whitney to run around and play while waiting for food in Italian time. Whitney was happy to play in the courtyard and eat his gelato and this was the perfect way to spend a few hours on our last day in Italy. 

Highlight: If you love history, you can really see it in the old city. We loved the big square where Whitney could run around. The funicular was also a hit.
Lowlight: Expect a long line at the funicular or be prepared to hike up to the Old City

Piazza del Comune - Cremona

Roman style zucchini pizza

Gelato in Cremona

Cremona

Cremona is a small city south of the lake area known as the birthplace of the violin. Antonio Stradivari is the city’s most famous violin maker. On a rainy day, we left Iseo behind and drove into Cremona, parking at one of the garages a short walk to the town square. Piazza del Comune is a great place to grab gelato and coffee before heading out on a walking tour of the town. There are museums galore, violin maker's workshops, and adorable stores. Museo del Violino in Piazza Marconi is a famous museum if you would lik e to learn more about the violin history in the area. While there wasn't a ton to do for Whitney, he was once again happy with gelato and a courtyard to run around in. I did have one of my favorite meals there at this little pizza spot off the square. White pizza with garlicky zucchini that was so good and I will be forever trying to perfect it. 

Highlight: a ton of history, off the beaten path and relatively quiet compared to many touristy towns
Lowlight: you may run into field trips visiting the museums during the week, and I would say this is a great place for older kids

Scaligero Castle - entrance to the center of Sirmione

Scaligero Castle

Coastal walkway - Sirmione

Sirmione

Sirmione was the place I was most excited about, and let me be honest, most disappointed by. I saw images of a castle protected by gorgeous fortified walls on the most beautiful lake. The castle which welcomes you into the historic city center is touted as one of Italy's best-preserved castles and Lake Garda is one of the most beautiful places in northern Italy.

What we actually saw was a glimpse of this seen through the hoards of tourists. Parking was difficult to find (and far) so plan to head there early and have parking lots in mind. Check out this website which shows parking areas on the map with available spots to plan parking ahead of time. We parked at the top of the peninsula by Comolbar and walked all the way down the peninsula and even that parking was filling up fast. In hindsight, this made for a really long day of walking which was hard with a toddler and friend recovering from an injury. Once you make it into the fortified city, you will be amazed to see cars traveling through these roads packed with people as there are hotels and inns inside the fortified city. It was comical to see cars trying to navigate large crowds of people traveling down the same tiny streets. People head to Sirmione because it comes up on most travel guides and to see the Roman villa ruins, Grottoes of Catullus. We walked through Sirmione, never making it to the ruins after a long day of walking, but enjoying the quiet spaces we could find on the extent of the fortified town. 

Highlight: A beautiful place if you can get there early in the morning to explore, lots of shops and restaurants
Lowlight: The crowds were awful and totally ruined the experience for me. The cars trying to navigate through was wild and parking was very hard to come by

There you have it - three Italian cities/fortified town filled with museums, historic squares and gelato. We found all three to be toddler-friendly enough in he sense he had room to roam and plenty of gelato and interesting things to see. If I did it again, I would head to Sirmione EARLY to find close parking and spend some time among the ruins. We loved getting off the beaten path, and reminding ourselves why we typically avoid the very busy places.