Gatorman

My family stayed at the Hotel Villa Nizza in the Paradiso section of Lugano (on the foot of Monte San Salvatore). It's a small, family run place, but a little pricey (it was rated at 4 stars). I would recommend it highly as a quiet place where you are treated a little more special than normal. The biggest downside is that it's a 15 minute walk to the heart of downtown Lugano.

Gatorman

On the road from Bellinzona to Locarno there is valley called Valle Verzasca. There is a road that drives up to the end of the valley to a little village call Sorogno. It's a little touristy, but it's a stunning little valley that takes you back a couple hundred years. All the houses are build from stone - even the roofs. There is one little village you can see that must be a 3-4 hour hike from the road.

I can't to the place justice by describing it - just go!

bobthenavigator

Hmmm-Gatorman. Villa Nizza and Val Versasca--I could not have said it as well. Did I have something to do with that originally?

bobthenavigator

Italyss, Stresa is just fine. Go and enjoy ! The bus from Menaggio to Lugano takes about an hour.

Gatorman

bobthenavigator,

I went to high school in Lugano, so I know the area pretty well. As far as the Villa Nizza goes, I just stumbled onto in on the internet, and got lucky....

italyss

You are all so kind, and I have duly noted all your ideas. Thank you, again.

Madison

Could it be because George Clooney has a villa there? Sorry, I just couldn't resist putting my 2 cents worth in.

cmt

Italyss: I don't think EVERYone is so down on Stresa. Some people really like it, and maybe you will, too. It's just that some of us definitely found it less than charming, to put it mildly.

bobthenavigator

Wow--high school in Lugano--you lucky stiff. I fantasize building my European home on the side of Mt. Bre--what do you think?

Gatorman

I miss living in Lugano very much. I would love to live there again. My high school was on the far opposite side of Lugano from Mte Bre, so I don't know the area too well, but it looks as though you'd have a hard time finding a house that didn't have a beautiful view. The roads must be very windy on that mountain, though - not an easy drive.

jmw44

I don't know if isabel is still around, but just to continue this good thread with its variety of perspectives, I'll ask if you think that one of the three lakes may be cooler in the summer than the other two (grasping at straws or rather grasping for breezes). Maggiore in June was wonderfully 'laid back' as a poster near the top mentioned, and I think that is a really good point of contrast with Lugano and Como. But it was very warm, and when I ventured into one of the 'valleys', I felt like the sun was sitting on my head. J.

isabel

Actually I still need help with this. I've decided they all sound nice so I'd go with which ever one or two was easiest to get to. I had directions for how to get from MXP to Como, and when I went to the trentalia site I got a schedule of times - basically every hour or half hour in both directions, total trip about an hour to 90 minutes. So that's fine. But when I plugged in Stresa it essentially said I had to go all the way to Milan and back north to Stresa, plus change train stations in Milan, total of more than 2 hours each way. And for Lugano it said I had to go to Como, change train stations there, then on to Lugano; total time about 2 hours. So if all that is true, then it looks like it will be Como I go to. But I fully realize I could be missing something here, plugging in the wrong name of stations, etc.

So the question - anyone know how to get effeciently from MXP to Stresa or Lugano by public transportation? (GAC are you around?)

isabel

Well I just found an old message from GAC (back in April when I was first looking into this) telling me how to get to and from Lugano by bus. The site is all in Italian and is a little confusing but GAC's directions are very explicit so that is back in the running. Now I just need to know about Stresa (which is mentioned on that site: aeroportimilano.it, but no schedules or prices).

cmt

There's some info posted somewhere on this forum, I think by GAC, but possibly by Steve James, re easy inexpensive transportation between Stresa and Malpensa. This special direct service is seasonal and ended a little before my stay in Stresa, so I can't help you with it, except to tell you that the info is hidden somewhere on this site.

francophile03

I will agree with the others who recommend going to Lugano. On my Globus tour 2 decades ago we had a very brief stop here at the lake. However, that is one great memory as it is beautiful. I have always wanted to revisit Lugano and to stay there next time.

SydneySteve

We have booked three days in September at the Belvedere in Bellagio and are considering moving our three days scheduled in Cinque Terra to another lakeside location in the Northern italian/Swiss region. I like the sound of walks around the lake and bicycle riding as we need some excercise to compensate for the long lunches, hyper-relaxation and good living. Does anyone know of any great bicycle rides or walks around the Lakes ?

cmt

When you're walking around Lake Como, you need to be aware that at some points, the pedestrian path disappears and you may have to walk right along the edge of the road, squeezed against a wall, with trucks speeding by. That happened to me when I set out to walk from Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo to Ossuccio, in erarch of a view that I'd seen on the cover of a guidebook in the Villa Carlotta museum shop. It was not a particularly long walk at all, but at one point it got rather dangerous. It had never occurred to me to be concerned about that, since I started out with plenty of space to walk. I ended up getting a ride from a nice woman in Lenno who told methe next little stretch that I planned to walk was very hazardous.

A very nice walk that you might like is from the main part of Varenna up to the ruins of the castle on top of the hill. The views are worth the climb.