We will be staying in June in Lugano. One day we plan to take the bus to Menaggio and then ferry to Varena and Bellagio. If we arrive in Varena about 9:30 and have to take the return ferry out of Bellagio at 4:00, does this give us enough time for both places?

Any lunch recommendations?

Bellagio is tiny - very tiny - how can you spend more than a few hours in what even starting in June is one of Europe's most hectic elbow to elbow tourist venues?

Bellagio's name has cache and i guess without the tourist hoardes it could be - well would be quaint. An hour in that plastic place was more than enough for me.

They are a short ferry ride from each othere andboth are smal towns.In Bellagio, make sure you walk up ot the top of the town, away from the waterfront, to see the church and the small food shops.
You can walk out to the point for a beautiful view of the lake with varenna to the side.
Both towns have nice gardens to see but you can still see them both in a day.

You should have no problem seeing both in one day. If you have time for another day trip from Lugano I would recommend
taking the train (or your car)to Locarno, enjoy some time there and then take one of the boats for the short ride over
to Ascona. It will not take long to see Ascona either, but it is very artsy, has a lakeside promenade and is worth a visit. We stayed at the Hotel Dante Swiss in Lugano and the funicular up to the rail station was right outside the hotel door which made the trip very easy. Happy travels!!!

Hi Seb,

We spent about 1/2 day in Bellagio.

Even with the tourists, it is a not unpleasant place.

I had an excellent meal at Silvio in Bellagio. It is about a 20 minute walk from the town center. I described it here, in the post dated October 26:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-much-else.cfm

If you do not want to scroll through my entire report, here is the restaurant website; it is out of the tourist fray and has a lovely view and great food:

http://www.bellagiosilvio.com/Ristor...DMN1=3&IDMN2=0