Bellagio or Lugano/Morcote
 

We are staying 2 nights in Lugano. On our open day, we don't know whether to stay and see Lugano, Morcote, and Gandria, or try to travel for the day to Lake Como and Bellagio. Is Bellagio MUCH prettier than the Lugano/Mocote area and be worth the extra time and expense to get there?

Are you driving?
If not, I would stay home and see Lago Lugano well.

Click my name above to see my trip report and pics from Como/Lugano last Sep.

No, we are not driving, and the bus schedules will not work. It will take some time and quite a bit of extra expense to get over to Bellagio, but have heard so much about its beauty that I didn't know if it was well worth it.

Without a rental car, I also would say 'keep it at Lake Lugano'.
I have heard that the village of Gandria on Lake Lugano is a good destination altho' I don't think that Gandria has the size and the shopping that Bellagio does.

We much preferred Morcote over Gandria, but both are very small so I wouldn't plan on spending a day at either one. I think we strolled around both in less than a day with more time at Morcote than Gandria.

If it's a choice between Lugano/Morcote/Gandria and Menaggio/Bellagio/Varenna, I pick Lake Como (with emphasis on Bellagio and Varenna) and wouldn't day-trip from Lugano. I think the scenery at Lake Como is more dramatic and beautiful. The shopping is probably better in Lugano.

But where are you coming from and where will you go after either Lugano or Bellagio?

We are travelling from Lucerne down to Rome and have already purchased rail tickets in and out of Lugano. We thought, since it's not that far, that we could day trip over to Bellagio but now have found out it's not that easy.

It is an easy day trip, but you only have one full day on Lake Lugano. IMO, it's just a choice between two places. You can spend your two nights in Lugano and have a lovely day exploring Lugano, Morcote and Gandria, traveling by ferry. Or you can go all the way to Lake Como and spend one full day exploring Bellagio, Varenna and perhaps Menaggio before making your way to Rome. It's just up to you, but I wouldn't stay in Lugano to spend the day in Bellagio.

To get from Lugano to Lake Como, assuming you went straight there after arriving from Lucerne, take a bus from the Lugano Nord station to Menaggio and a short ferry from Menaggio to Bellagio or Varenna. When you depart for Rome, you'd need to go to the Varenna station (buying train tickets in the town), connect in Milan for a direct train to Rome. (FYI, the train from Lugano to Rome also involves a connection in Milan. Some train options from Varenna to Rome take less overall time.)

You can go to the Swiss railway site to find the bus info. Search the timetable from Lucerne to Menaggio via Lugano.

http://www.sbb.ch/en/

The Lake Como ferry schedule (currently displaying the schedule through May, but service only increases in the summer):

http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/com/nlc_ora.html

The Italian railway site to search for trains from Varenna Esino (use full name) to Rome:

http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html

Thank you! Since we have already purchased the train in and out of Lugano, I guess we will spend our time there. I'm a tiny bit disappointed at not seeing Bellagio as I have heard it's "the most beautiful town in Europe". I'm sure Lugano is very beautiful also--right?

Take the boat to Gandria and walk back to Lugano. It's a nice 2hour stroll.