Need a suggestion for a beach/lake area to stay for two nights in July. Posting for a friend. Any suggestions? They will be coming from Switzerland.

What about Lugano - which is actually Swiss but very Italian in flavor being in the Ticino. It had a sandy beach in an amazing setting.

How are they traveling "from Switzerland"?

Good point, Jean. They will rent a car in Zurich. They fly in and out of Zurich, so they will need to return the car there as well.

Toni do you have any recommendations on where to stay in Lugano?

The public beach in Ascona is very nice.

We stayed at Hotel Lugano Dante, just at the base of the funiculare from the train station. I highly recommend it. Wonderful room with a small view of the lake but a charming setting over the piazza where we could listen to wandering musicians from our room. The staff were very pleasant. It was convenient to what we wanted to see and do. But the most amazing thing was the breakfast!!! The tables groaned from the amount and selection of food. You could stand a spoon up in a cup of hot chocolate. The only thing I can't help you with is parking. Your friends would have to check with the hotel.

Lugano is always a good idea but I would train there and get my car in Lugano. From there I would day trip to Lago Como one day and the Val Verzasca the other. Do not expect to swim---these are alpine lakes and very cold.

Thank you to all who responded. I will pass your comments on to my friends.

I can second the Dante in Lugano and its amazing breakfast. The hotel has parking, but I don't know what the parking fees are like. The hotel, however, is not on the lake if that matters.

Absolutely loved the Hotel Federale in Lugano. Get a high room, and you will have an amazing view of the old town, the cathedral, and the lake. Terrific breakfast in a lovely dining room.

I'll second Ascona. Nice public beach, plus other stuff to do. For more fun, go up the river a few miles to a place where the water flows over large rocks and makes neat swimming holes. It was very different and my kids favorite place. A local wlould be able to guide you to the spot.

Does the Dante Lugano have a website?

You might want to pick a hotel with a pool in case they do want to swim...for example, the Belvedere in Bellagio, or the Delfino in Lugano (the latter has a nice pool and excellent lake views).
Some people DO swim in the shallow parts of the lakes...we stayed at a lakeside hotel on lake Lugano in the small town of Caslano, the hotel had a private beach and people were swimming. Still a little too cold for my taste, but there are hardy souls out there. And during the heat wave of 2003, people were definitely going into the water by mid July.

The website is
http://www.hotel-luganodante.com/
It has an English version available in the upper left corner; I didn't want to have any overly long link in the message.