Base near Lake Lugano
 

I'm planning a trip for my husband and myself in September 2014. We'd like to spend 2-3 nights around Lugano after taking the Bernini Express from Chur. Originally I figured we'd just stay in Lugano, but my research has turned up several other options, e.g. Gandria, Morcote, Campione.

Which location is preferable in regards to fewer tourists, reasonable lodging and meals, etc.? We would have some sort of train pass and don't mind walking short distances (15 min.) to town from our lodging.

What did you want to do/see while you're there? None of the three towns have train service, so you'd be relying on ferries and buses to get around. Check those timetables to see how easy and/or time-consuming that might be.

FWIW, I haven't stayed in any of the three towns. I didn't find Campione attractive, mostly because of the ginormous casino in the middle of town.

http://didierruef.photoshelter.com/i...000.epT__lQ5MI

Gandria was picturesque but awfully quiet when we were there, however, it's close enough to walk to Lugano and it's on the bus line to Menaggio on Lake Como. We liked Morcote a lot. It has a nice lakeside promenade.

We would have some sort of train pass and don't mind walking short distances (15 min.) to town from our lodging.>

If you have a Swiss Pass it would cover in full any buses or boats like from Campione to Lugano and then postal buses from Lugano up into the hills - a wonderful day out that I did recently.

For lots on Swiss trains and Swiss Passes (if traveling in Switzerland just a few days a Swiss Pass can make sense) I always spotlight these IMO superb sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html and www.ricksteves.com. If you are traveling in other countries and may have a Eurailpass then it would cover the Bernina Express or regular trains in full and the bus to Lugano but not buses, etc around Lugano and maybe not even the lake boats - Swiss Pass much more useful for Switzerland than a Eurailpass (though that could be perfectly fine depending on what you are doing).

campione is actually in Italy so it may be cheaper than very pricey Switzerland - it is also full of day trippers coming to buy cheaper tobacco and booze (or used to be at least) and to gamble in its casino - so a very different type place but right on the lake with wonderful views and a smaller town feeling and a weird bit of Italy surrounded by Switzerland!

Well we're not into casinos so I think Campione is off the table. I think we'd be leaning towards a Swiss Pass, but I have to study other options to determine the best deal. A Eurailpass probably doesn't make sense because if we stop in Italy, it would only be for 2-3 nights either at the beginning or end of the trip.

One of my favs---great food as well. Halfway between Menaggio and Luganno.

http://www.stelladitalia.com/htm_us/fr0_index.htm

Looks pretty nice Bob...will have to put that on the list for consideration. What's the best way to get from Tirano to the Stella hotel?

Via Sondrio and the north end of Lago Como and down to Menaggio. Takes about 2 hours.

e if we stop in Italy, it would only be for 2-3 nights either at the beginning or end of the trip.>

plus with a Eurailpass in Italy you still must pay 10 euros supplement for mandated seat reservations - www.trenitalia.com also has discounts if you are willing to lock your train in stone weeks ahead of time to get these limited in number tickets.

If you want to move a bit around, San Mamete may not be the best choice. Whenever you want to go to a place in Switzerland, you will have to take the local bus to Lugano Cassarate and to change there to a citybus to either Lugano city center, railway station, bus terminal or boat's pier. This operation takes about 1 hr. Last departure back from Lugano city center around 6pm.
Many Lake Lugano boats from Lugano to Gandria, Campione, Morcote, etc, but only 1 single boat (in the middle of the afternoon) to San Mamete.
http://www.lugano-tourism.ch/en/32/t...formation.aspx
http://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/29/monte-generoso.aspx
http://www.mendrisiottoturismo.ch/en...he-region.html
http://www.bellinzonaturismo.ch/en/city.aspx

I assume you are driving.

Actually we were planning to take trains, boats, etc. So I guess San Mamete is out. Oh well...Stella looked very nice!

@Jean...finally looked at link and that casino is hideous!

@neck...thanks for the links; I have them saved for later study

@bob...I think we've decided to make this trip strictly Switzerland

Now I just have to look at the various rail options...they are SOOOOOO confusing! I don't yet have a firm itinerary, so it's difficult to do comparisons!

@Jean...finally looked at link and that casino is hideous!

@neck...thanks for the links; I have them saved for later study

@bob...I think we've decided to make this trip strictly Switzerland

Now I just have to look at the various rail options...they are SOOOOOO confusing! I don't yet have a firm itinerary, so it's difficult to do comparisons!

I don't quite understand why you don't want to stay in or near Lugano itself. If you choose not to stay in the city, you could be in nearby Castagnola. You'd be an easy walk into town but removed from the city itself.

We go to Lugano several times a year and usually stay in the city -- if you're not staying along the main lakeside road or next to a nightclub, it's not noisy. You have a variety of hotel options from the classic, perennial number 1 Tripadvisor choice, the Hotel Dante Lugano or a rising star like the Hotel Gabbani (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_R...wiss_Alps.html ), or a little hidden B&B like the Guesthouse Castagnola

For years, we stayed at a hotel in Caslano, near the Ponte Tresa bridge to Italy. The hotel had a kitchenette, always handy, and was within an easy walk to the tram to Lugano train station (it's not a scenic ride but it is fairly frequent and efficient) and for us, we chose it because my husband's aunt and uncle lived a few blocks away. After they moved to the Appenzell region, we opted to stay in Lugano itself and have never regretted making the city our Ticino base.

Thanks for the info Weisser...I didn't mean to give the impression that we wanted to avoid Lugano. I just thought I should explore additional options since I read somewhere (who knows where at this point) that Lugano is a little touristy. I'm not sure if that is really true.

I had actually already looked at Hotel Gabbani and it does look like a good option. It's nice to know you would recommend it. I will also check out the B&B, as we prefer smaller inns and B&Bs to large or resorty type accommodations.

Another vote for staying in the outskirts of Lugano. Castagnola is perfect IMO.

The B&B looks fantastic!

We did a daytrip to Lugano from Lake Como (Bellagio) in 2010. Didn't find it touristy at all. (Especially in comparison to Bellagio.) Beautiful city.

If you get a hankering for McDonalds (I know...a travesty), there is an astonishingly gorgeous one in the center of town, just up from the park by the lake. We'd been in Italy for a month and we stopped for lunch. Their version of a Big Mac came with gruyere cheese and was way better than anything you might expect. I think it cost about $12 for the combo with fries and a Coke. The interior was also quite posh.

oops. wrong on the date, it was 2011, not 2010.

I realized I actually looked at this B&B once before. However, I don't like the idea of sending a deposit in cash.