58. Lake Lugano, Switzerland to Bellagio and Como on Lake Como Italy.
In this episode we are taking you on a day trip from Como on Lake Como, to Lugano, Switzerland on Lake Lugano.
We tell you about the crazy, anxiety inducing bus trip to get to Switzerland, plus one of the craziest things we have ever seen on a road.
Lake Lugano was utterly gorgeous and I share our walk around the lake to the beach area where I made Lyle see how cold the water was. Lyle is pretty proud of himself as he shares a very interesting fact he found about Lugano.
Next, we go back into Italy and catch a ferry on the narrowest part of Lake Como to Bellagio. We share why this is everyone’s favourite place on Lake Como and how we managed to snag a great spot for lunch right on the lake, even with all the crowds and we give you a tip as to how you can do the same.
Lastly, we take a ferry ride all the way from Bellagio, zigzagging our way slowly back to Como. We tell you all about the towns we stop at and of course some of the famous villas we see on the way.
Keep listening to the end to find out which fancy hotel, close to Bellagio that the rich and famous stay at, and how much the Russian Oligarch’s villa is on the market for, just in case you are looking for your own villa on Lake Como.
Show notes and pictures below
Our day trip from Como to Lugano in Switzerland started in the middle of Como. We met up with our tour guide and other day trippers and boarded a nice bus that took us across the Swiss border into the gorgeous city of Lugano. The town centre is located right on the lake. The Lake is surrounded by mountains and as you can see is absolutely stunning. 67% of the lake is in Switzerland with the remaining 33% being in Italy.
We walked around Parco Ciani which is huge - 63,000 square metres. It is free to enter and there is a gorgeous walkway all around the edge of the lake through the park. The trees, flower beds, statues and fountains are stunning on their own, but when you have all of those on the edge of the most beautiful lake - it is SPECTACULAR.
We had time to explore a little in the main square and the surrounding streets. The shops and and streetscapes were also beautiful. It was very quiet compared to Como and Bellagio and we enjoyed a spritz in one of the many plazas. In Lugano you can pay with either Swiss francs or euros - but you will pay more if you use euro.
If you don’t want to do a day trip you can reach Lugano by train from Como. There are numerous trains each day and take from 35 (direct) to 45 minutes.
Back on the bus and we headed back, through many long tunnels, to the shores of Lake Como in Italy. We crossed the lake at it’s narrowest point and arrived in Bellagio. Now, it was extremely busy in Bellagio - but you can understand why as it is so beautiful. If you walk a bit out of the main area you can generally find somewhere with a nice lake view, but you will have to order food. The restaurants keep their best tables for people who are eating, not just having a drink.
There a lots of cobblestone alleys, elegant buildings and an18th century terraced garden of Villa Ser Belloni to explore.
After lunch and a quick look around Bellagio, we then boarded the ferry for the slow zig zag ride on Lake Como, back to our starting point at Como.
We stopped at many towns to let people off and on the ferry. The first stop was Tremezzo where all the rich and famous stay in the famous Tremezzo hotel (picture 3 above). The ferry ride is lovely - especially on a nice day. You will see towns like Lenno, Menaggio, Varenna, Moltrano and Cernobbio.
Some of the other highlights you will see on a Lake Como cruise is the little town of Nesso with its old bridge and waterfall (picture one above). There are many famous and gorgeous villas along the edge of the lake. Each town has it’s one church and unique buidings to see as well. And, of course, there is George Clooney’s villa - picture 3.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day trip and would recommend the tour. You can see the details of the tour here - Day trip to Lake Lugano and Bellagio
If you would like to learn about the other places in Italy we have podcasted and written about then click the button below. All the podcast episodes have photos and maps and links to any relevant tours and accommodation etc.