Hi,

We will be staying on Lake Como for a few days and are considering a day trip to Bellinzona to view its three castles. Has anyone been? It sounds like one of the three is open for viewing, one houses temp exhibits and one you can only view the grounds.

Good choice for a day trip? I wonder if it will be quite a pain to pick up Swiss francs in either Varenna or Mennagio.

Thanks,

Naxos

I think there are better options. To the north see St. Moritz and the pristine village of Soglio. To the west, see Lugano and Locarno but do not miss Val Verzasca just north of Locarno. Have fun !

I really liked Bellinzona. I thought it was lovely.

By car? Val Verzasca is more stunning.

By train? Bellinzona
The grounds are wonderful and we enjoyed walking down the fortress wall and going up into the towers. The town is also nice to stroll about.

If you have time to fit in Lugano, do so. It has a lovely old town and the views from the lake are stunning.

It depends on what you want to do. The castles aren't the most impressive on their own, but they have an interesting setting. If you like walking, you can catch a taxi up to the smallest castle, enjoy the spectacular view, and walk back down to town. They used to hold open air opera performances at CastelGrande, one of the castles in town, but I don't know if they're still doing that.
IMO, with only a few days, I would concentrate on the beautiful villas around Lake Como, and head over to Lugano for a day trip (if you want to put a toe in Switzerland) and either take a boat trip or a funicular up Monte Bre or San Salvatore.

Good suggestions thank you. Soglio looks lovely, but may be too far for this day trip (by train).

I think we may play it by ear - we would like to hit Lugano, perhaps we'll see if we can stroll Bellinzona in the morning then Lugano in the afternoon.

Thanks,

Naxos