From Bergamo to Cagliari… Five Serie A Destinations Under the Radar

With one round of fixtures left to play, most of the issues in Serie A are settled. We know Inter Milan are champions again while Pisa and Verona will be back in Serie B, soon to be joined by Lecce or Cremonese.

Venezia and Frosinone are making the step up and the second-tier play-offs will decide who follows them.

With that in mind, it is never too early to start planning a trip for 2026-27, and here’s five destinations you might not have considered.

Torino

As the biggest team in the country Juventus is usually the main draw in Turin, but the other side of town should be high on any list. 

Juve do, of course, play in one of Serie A’s most modern arenas, with nice seating, restaurants, bars and all the trimmings. But going watch Torino is a wonderful experience, more viscerally raw than seeing The Old Lady.

Moreover, visiting the Granata is actually easier. Juve’s stadium is on the outskirts of town while the Stadio Olimpico Grande is situated in the south of the city and easily accessible by bus, tram or on foot. 

Turin itself is an underrated city and often overlooked by tourists who opt for Milan, Rome, Florence or Naples. Yet, with its museums, Fiat, chocolate, exquisite food such as agnolotti, bagna cauda and bonet, drinks such as bicerin and sweet vermouth, not to mention Europe’s largest open-air market in Porta Palazzo, there is plenty to keep you entertained over a weekend.

Tickets to Torino games are easier to attain as well, the prices are cheaper and the atmosphere is more raucous than their loftier and more successful neighbours. 

Genoa

The port city’s popularity is on the rise but it remains an under-appreciated and under-visited part of the boot. Around 3.5 million people flocked to Genoa in 2025, a seven percent growth that meant a record-breaking year for the Ligurian capital, yet it still is far behind the usual cultural hotspots. And this is a good thing. 

Genoa still feels unexplored. There isn’t the mass queues you find in Rome or Florence, therefore visiting museums such as the Maritime Strada Nuova or the National Museum of the Royal Palace is always a pleasant experience. Historical sites such as the Lighthouse, the house of Christopher Columbus and the Porta Soprana feel somewhat untouched by mass tourism.

An absolute must on any trip to Genoa is a visit to the small and idyllic Boccadasse. Formerly a fisherman’s village, it’s just 20 minutes east of the city, and gaining traction due to its quaint bars, traditional restaurants and perfectly-coloured houses.

You can easily spend the day at the small beach before making your way back to the hustle and bustle of Genoa, with a taxi taking no more than 15 minutes. 

Of course when it comes to game day, the Stadio Luigi Ferraris remains one of the best cathedrals in calcio and with Genoa and Sampdoria in different divisions it is possible to catch both at home on the same weekend.

The iconic stadium is in dire need of a lick of paint, but the atmosphere generated by fans is worth the entry fee alone. With the ground built like an old-school English stadium, there isn’t a bad seat in the house.

If you feel like getting your steps in pre or post-game, you can always try the mammoth Scalinata Montaldo behind the Marassi, a long staircase of 270 steps that gives great views over the city once at the top.

Udinese

The city of Udine is certainly off the beaten path. Due to its location in the north-east corner, Udinese don’t get a lot in the way of tourists at the Bluenergy Stadium. However, the trek is very much worth it.

Tucked away in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Udine combines a rich history with stunning architecture and art. Despite it’s relatively small size (the city ranks as the 46th-largest in the country), there is plenty to do.

Piazza della Liberta is the massive square in the middle of the town. Built in the Venetian-Gothic style and featuring the majestic Loggia di San Giovanni building, the piazza is the place to go if you like to enjoy a gelato or coffee and watch the world go by.

The castle (Castello di Udine) looms over the town and is absolutely worth a visit. Built in the stone age on a man-made hill, it offers a splendid vista over the city, with magnificent views of the Julian Alps in the distance.

Udine’s cathedral, with it’s baroque interior featuring local art, is also worth a wander once back in the centre of town, as is Piazza San Giacomo with its colourful buildings and laid-back vibe.

Yet the beauty of Udine is undoubtedly the refreshing lack of tourists. You will see some but the density is nowhere near comparable to the obvious choices and this means you can take your visit a little slower.

Udinese’s stadium is another one of the more modern grounds in the country. Renovated as recently as 2016, the removal of the running track has brought the stands closer to the pitch, creating a more tight-knit atmosphere. Pubic transport to and from the stadium is not quite at the same level of the major towns and teams, but all it takes is a bit of careful planning.

This is a pocket of Italy that, while not neglected, flies under the radar and definitely deserves your attention. 

Atalanta

Bergamo has been on the rise in recent years, in part due to Atalanta. Gian Piero Gasperini embedded them in the upper echelons of Serie A during his nine years in charge, with the club losing their ‘yo-yo’ image of prior decades.

His style of play drew in visitors from all over the world, intoxicated by Atalanta’s high intensity, man-for-man marking system that was unique in Italy. Their Europa League success in 2024 only garnered more attention, and with the New Balance Arena being completely refurbished between 2019 and 2024, the club has had plenty of momentum.

Bergamo, also known as the City of the Thousand due to the large number of people who joined Giuseppe Garibaldi’s Expedition of the Thousand that played a role in the country’s unification in 1861, is another gem living in the shadow of bigger, more popular neighbours.

This is despite many visitors from the UK landing in Bergamo, as the airport is served by Ryanair. From there, tourists flock to Milan.

La Citta Alta is an UNESCO World Heritage site, surrounded by Venetian Walls. Perched on a hill and meaning ‘upper town’ in English, it is full of charming little shops, gorgeous restaurants, and is home to one of the oldest coffee shops in Italy: Caffe del Tasso.

A weekend in Bergamo is time well spent. Between walking through the old town, visiting Piazza Vecchia, taking the funicular railway that ferries passengers from the lower part of the city up towards Citta Alta or higher again to San Vigilio, or taking a wander down to the lower part of the city to explore art galleries and Rocca di Bergamo, you will never be short of things to do.

As for the New Balance Arena, it is a superb place to watch football. The stands are so tight to the pitch you can’t fail to secure a superb view from one of the 23,000 seats. Atalanta have some of the loudest fans in the country and, despite Gasperini’s departure in 2025, they remain a potent force in Serie A.

Cagliari

The capital of Sardinia is well known for its coastal beauty, with Poetto, the main beach, stretching to eight kilometres of crystal-clear Mediterranean Sea and paper-white sand. 

The island’s top football team has often been a yo-yo club but they have remained steady in the top flight over the past couple of years.

This is a popular destination all-year round, with summer the high season and great for water sports, while volleyball is insanely popular on the island.

The jewel in Cagliari’s crown is the Castello district. An ancient hilltop quarter that was fortified in the 13th century by Pisans, the area is famous for it’s white limestone walls, narrow cobbled streets and panoramic views over the rest of the city. It is here you will find Torre dell’Elefante, Bastione di Saint Remy – with it’s superb staircase – and Cattedrale di Santa Maria. 

If in Cagliari, you simply need to sample one of Sardinia’s most famous dishes, su porceddu, which is a suckling pig slow-roasted over wood fire. Head to Su Cumbidu right in the heart of the city to give it a try.

Cagliari’s Unipol Domus isn’t the biggest of stadiums, yet it’s always full. With 97% occupancy, aside from Juventus no team in Serie A has a better rate than the Rossoblu in recent seasons. But you can get tickets.

Sitting right beside the decaying Stadio Sant’Elia, the Unipol Domus was built as a temporary solution, while the club hopes to build a new structure on the ashes of the old ground. With red tape holding progress back, they remain where they are, yet the combination of a packed house and tight space means a loud atmosphere is always guaranteed, no matter the opponent.

If Cagliari isn’t on your list for next season, it should be.