Photos from a weekend in Bergamo, Italy

Recently, I shared my strategies for finding cheap flights.

And one of those strategies is this: flexible departure locations.

Sometimes the best and cheapest flight is from the airport down the street. Other times it’s one that’s a little farther out but worth the extra travel. And here’s the bonus: flying from a new place also means getting to explore the new place.

I’ve done this a number of times over the years, including a whirlwind weekend trip to Bergamo, Italy, a place I’d always wanted to see and never gotten around to. But because of cheap airline tickets, I ended up boarding a train and having a perfect couple winter days.

Without that strategy, not only would we have spend hundreds more on airfare, but I’d have missed out on everything below: