Bellagio to Lugano: Worth the Trip?
My wife and I will be staying in Bellagio for three overnights in early August, and we're considering a daytrip across the Swiss border to Lugano. This will be our second trip to Como's mid-lake region, and we have fond memories of trips to Varenna, Villa Carlotta, and strolling Bellagio's steep backstreets and waterfront. Are there any fellow travelers who've visited Lugano? If so, what were your impressions? Also, would we need to catch a bus to Lugano from Menaggio?
Any sense of necessary departure times from Bellagio, and what time we'd need to leave Lugano? Any insights or tips would be much appreciated. |
My husband and I, along with our son, daughter-in-law and 1 year old grandchild spent 6 days in Bellagio in April and, because we had a car, drove to Lugano. Sorry I can't help you with bus information but we did take the ferry to Menaggio and drove across the border from there: the whole trip, minus the ferry, took about a little over an hour.
Would I do it again ?? No, IMO. While the waterfront was lovely, I found the city bland and without the life and charm of the towns on Lake Como as well as the smaller Italian cities. Just took a look at my journal entry where I noted that the pedestrian shopping streets were filled with luxury (aka super-expensive) shops and MANY MANY banks. The produce stands, also in the pedestrian area, did not compare with those in Italy, either in quality or display. Personally, if I had it to do over, I wish we had driven for the day to Milan, Verona or any of the smaller towns recommended by other Fodorites. By the way, we stayed at the Metropole and had wonderful dinners at Bilacus, Far Out Cafe and, best of all, Trattoria San Giacomo. |
Not in my opinion. I didn't particularly enjoy our daytrip to Lugano - in the end it is a big city and I'd have to agree with ready2travels description of its first impression as "bland". I do think there are likely a ton of interesting things to do in the area(Morcote, Gandria)....but all of that seems a bit tight on only a daytrip and with only 3 nights in Bellagio I would explore elsewhere.
Just my thoughts, Naxos |
Since you've been to Bellagio before, have seen some of the sights and know your way around, you must have an idea of what you want to see on Lake Como on this trip. Villa Balbianello? Lunch on Isola Comacina?
There is bus service between Menaggio and Lugano, and the journey takes about an hour. Make sure you return before the last ferry from Menaggio to Bellagio, and don't forget your passports. Here's the bus timetable: http://www.sptlinea.it/pdf/estivo_2008/C12.pdf And the ferry schedule: http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/com/nlc_ora.html |
Naxos & Ready2,
Thanks so much for writing, although I must confess your less than enthusiastic reviews of Lugano come as a bit of a surprise (The Rough Guide to CH, for example, gushes over Lugano). Still, I appreciate your candor; perhaps it's best to direct our explorations on the Italian side. Ready, I also appreciate your references to Verona and Milan. We'll be staying in Verona for two overnights following our stay in Bellagio. As for Milan, we gave the city much consideration, yet ultimately passed due to the rather lengthy journey it would take to reach Milan and then back to Bellagio. Thanks again to both of you for writing. |
Jean,
Thanks for the links. It's most helpful. We had considered a trip to Comacina which sounds lovely. As for touring Villa B., would we be able to do this on our own at a reasonable cost? If memory serves, someone told me the villa is limited to group tours and can be rather expensive. Thanks again for the information and the relevant links. |
It's not Lugano you should want to visit - it's LAKE Lugano.
Lake Lugano is the most scenic of all The Lakes IMO. It's fjordlike. Its scale is tight, the opposite shore is close. Visit the charming lakeside towns of Gandria and Morcote. Take the funicular ride to the top of Mt Bre and/or San Salvatore and enjoy the panoramic view of the lake and the surrounding mountains. Yes - the town of Lugano is of little interest. But the sights I've mentioned above make it well worth the one hour trip from Menaggio! We spent a week there (halfway up the Mt Bre hillside) and not one hour in downtown Lugano. |
We like Lugano very much. It's still a working city with its own rhythm, not just a tourist mecca. We had family living there so saw it from a different perspective. The city garden by the lake is a wonderful place to relax. It has some very charming hidden away pedestrian streets casual day trippers seem to miss.
How early is your "early August"? Swiss National Day is on August 1 and we've seen incredible fireworks celebrations over Lake Lugano. I think it's a pleasant day trip, doing the things Tuck suggested. (If it's a really hot day, cool down at the Lugano casino with its near arctic AC system.) |
It's funny, but I've often deliberated just the opposite decision. Would it be worth the effort to do the Menaggio bus daytrip from Ticino. I'm sure it would, and one day I'll actually get around to it.
If you have not made up your mind yet, I'd like to underline Tuck's recommendation of visits to the villages of Morcote and Gandria. And I have to add one more favorite aspect of Lugano: the beautiful rood screen murals of the church of Santa Maria Degli Angioli, just at the end of one of Lugano's more popular (expensive) arcaded shopping streets. Should you be interested, the excellent tourist info office right at the lakeside can direct you. J. |
ExplorerB, a comment on your thought of skipping Milan because of the time needed to get there and back. It would take about the same amount of time to get to Milan as it would to get to Lugano. Not as scenic, but the same amount of time.
You can visit the gardens of Villa Balbianello without a guide. To tour the inside of the villa, you must join a guided group. Whether the fees (separate for gardena and villa) are too much is your call. Here's the website: http://www.fondoambiente.it/en/beni/...propreties.asp |
Greetings Tuck, Jean, JMW, and Btilke:
Thanks so very much for your observations concerning Lugano and beyond. The references to Morcote and Grandia were especially helpful as I was able to dig up some further information concerning excursions to these locales. My Rough Guide provides some good background on boats that ply Lago di Lugano, including a "panoramic two-and-a-half-hour cruise around the lake, with commentary in English..." This cruise departs from Lugano town at 2:40. This trip, along with a funnicular ride up to Monte Bre or San Salvatore, as well as taking a peek at Santa Maria Degli Angioli, has the makings, it would seem, for a fine day trip. Tuck, the Rough Guide contributors appear to share in your enthusiasm for Lake Lugano: "More even than other Swiss lakes," they write, "the idyllic Lago di Lugano merits taking to the water simply for the pleasure of it." That's high praise, especially when one considers the beauty of Switzerland's Lake Brienz. BTilke, I'm afraid we'll miss out on the Aug. 1 celebrations by just a day. Is it more than a one day event? |
A fun thing to do is to walk rom Lugano to (or from, because it's pretty in the evening light) Gandria on an olive tree lined path above the lakeside.
You needn't take an excursion boat - there is routine boat service between towns (as at Lake Como) and you could walk to Gandria and take a boat from there to Morcote. |
I've done the lake cruise a few times. It's quite pleasant. I highly advise you sit INSIDE the boat, grab a windowside table as soon as you board. The windows actually roll down, so you get wonderful views without the very strong Ticino sun beating down on your head.
The last time I took the cruise, some British tourists insisted on sitting outside, they didn't realize the inside windows roll down. I ran into them that same evening at one of the outside cafes on the main square; two of their party had severe sunburns (sun and lake reflection) and one was actually sick from too much sun exposure. (And because of the lake reflection, it pays to wear sunscreen even if you're sitting inside.) If you don't want to do the full cruise then hit the highlights--a short boat ride to Morcote or Gandria (I prefer Morcote) and a funicular to Monte Bre or San Salvatore. The Movenpick restaurant in the city garden has a very good ice cream menu if you want a cool afternoon snack and their food is pretty decent. Good salad bar. |
I was in Bellagio week before last for a week on a special family trip with my 4 sisters; I had gotten advice here on how to do the Lugano trip (thanks again, everyone).
For my sisters, none of whom had been to Switzerland (for one this was a first trip outside the US), it was worth it to go to another country, though they were disappointed not to get their passports stamped! The town itself was, as has been noted here, a little disappointing with regard to sights or to getting a strong sense of "Switzerland," but it made for a pleasant day trip, we did see a Swiss town, banks and all, and the lake is indeed lovely as are the views driving over to the lake. Were I on my own, instead I would have gone for a side trip to Bergamo or spent more time in Varenna or another lake town. BTW we did take the boat to Mennagio and then the bus to Lugano and it worked fine. |
Thanks for keeping this thread up and running. The information is so very helpful. I look forward to making the trip from Bellagio, over to Menaggio, and then via bus to Lugano.
BTilke, I got a kick out of your reference to Movenpick. I first came upon this surprisingly tasty chain while traveling a Swiss highway somewhere near Geneva. What a concept: highway food that is fresh and appealing. I only wonder why we can't import this formula to U.S. highways. Thanks again for the input. |
ExplorerB, Your mention of Brienzersee caught my eye. I think the contrast between that lake and Lugano's is noteworthy. Both are beautiful, but as someone mentioned in a posting above, if one is looking for stereotypical Switzerland by crossing the border, they will be disappointed. At the risk of being gauche, I find Ticino to be the perfect marriage of Swiss and Italian charms.
Have you checked to see the hours of the busride along the Menaggio--Lugano route? (apologies if you've mentioned it already). Adding your ferry at the beginning and end will give you an idea of how much time you actually have to allocate to exploring Lugano's lake. I think there's only one bus in each direction per day, but I could be mistaken. J. |
jmw,
Thanks for the offering. Frankly, I've not yet looked into the bus schedule to and from Lugano. While it's never safe to assume, I trust we'll be able to make the day trip over the Swiss border with little trouble as regards transportation. Indeed, Jean (earlier in this thread) provided me with the bus and ferry schedule. Thanks again for writing, and thanks, too, to Jean. |
You shouldn't have a problem doing this as a day trip, but frankly, if it were my trip, and I only had two full days, I'd stay on Lake Como. There's something about that watching-the-clock thing that bugs me, and, as lovely as Lake Lugano is, I think the mountain scenery on Lake Como is more beautiful. Morcote is very nice but feels more Italian than Swiss, at least to me. I found Gandria pretty but less interesting. We really enjoyed the funicular to the top of San Salvatore, but we liked the view from the castle ruins above Varenna better.
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Jean,
You've raised a good point about "watching-the-clock." I, too, like to steer clear of it while on holiday. Thanks for the note about Varenna's castle. While I have fond memories of relaxing in Varenna, a trip to the castle is something I've yet to do. As to the prospects for a day-trip to Lugano, it's best to leave it as a possibility. A post-holiday trip report will undoubtedly reveal my final decision. |
I've been contemplating a lot of the same things raised in this thread. I (sadly) have only 1 day to spend in the lakes. We were thinking of spending the whole day between Varenna and Bellagio, but then my parents told me about their day trip to Lugano years ago so now I'm reconsidering. Is it worth it to spend a solid 6 hours on Lake Como, then take the bus to Lugano to take the funicular up to Bre and have a relaxing dinner in Lugano before returning in the evening to Milan? (last train is at 10:30pm) I was thinking we'd get to Lugano around 4 or 5, and go up the funicular and watch the sunset over the lake. Or should we plan to just spend the whole day at Lake Como and have dinner in Varenna? We'll be in Milan for 2 days Aug 24-25 when most of Milan is shut down so we feel 1 day in Milan will be more then enough. (I know many people will say this is too much, to stop and smell the roses: Bear in mind we're pretty fast-paced on the go travelers in our 20s who like to see a lot - and the idea of spending a little time, though very brief, in Switzerland really interests us.) Thanks!
Explorer B, I hope you post a trip report before I leave Aug 15. Happy and safe travels! |
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