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| Peeking at Lake Lugano through the gate at Parco Ciani. |
Switzerland
Dates of Travel: Saturday, August 27th – Friday, September 2nd, 2022
(Click here to read Part 1: Lucerne and Day Trips)
Our 3-Day Lugano and Ticino Region Itinerary
Day 4: Lugano, Gandria, and Morcote
Andy and I bid a fond farewell to Lucerne early that morning. We boarded the 8:18am train to our next destination, Lugano. Lugano is a city (and a lake) in the Ticino region of Switzerland, which is the Italian-speaking part. They seem to do things a little differently there. For one, there is apparently no accountability on the trains for actually purchasing a ticket. We always had the appropriate tickets (or travel passes) on our person, but no one ever checked. I am sure the occasional random audit is possible, but we never saw it.
During the train journey from Lucerne to Lugano, we passed through the Gotthard Base Tunnel, reputedly the longest railway tunnel in the world. We spent about 20 minutes passing through the tunnel.
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| Eventually we arrived at our destination, the city of Lugano. |
The city of Lugano was only a little bit intriguing to us in and of itself, but we especially chose it as our next base for the sake of a few excursions. In fact, Andy and I struck out almost right away after checking into our Lugano hotel, the Hotel Gabbani. The internet had suggested a hike from Central Lugano all the way to the fishing village of Gandria. This journey was reputed to take about an hour, but it probably actually took closer to 1hr25min. I have to say that this hike was a bit of a letdown. The first part, through the Parco Ciani, was very nice, but it did not need to be included in the hike since the park is so close to our hotel. Once you exit the park, you have about a 25 minute walk, largely uphill, alongside an unscenic and noisy road. The path does not become enjoyable again until you reach the via Cortivo near Castagnola, about 35 minutes into the hike. It would have been better to just take the bus here and hike the trail to Gandria from that point.
That said, the via Cortivo and Sentiero dell’Olivo/Sentiero di Gandria portions were very pleasant. The trail became a bit rustic, and was flanked on one side by a high cliff, and the other by Lake Lugano and its surrounding mountains. A few hotels, restaurants, and sparse olive trees also dotted the path.
Though I was not using bug spray, I was unbothered by mosquitos throughout this entire trip, except for here, in Gandria, where I somehow gathered many, many bites in a very short time.
Andy and I had lunch at the highly recommended Locanda Gandriese. The service was good. The food was pretty good. Coming from the big food city of Chicago, and having travelled to Italy many times, I can be a bit of a food snob and hard to impress. That said, I would like to at least commend the location, as we dined outside on their small balcony just above the lake. However, this was THE defining wasp encounter of the trip, as the wasps here simply would not leave my food alone. I even welled up the courage to swat them away, but they just redoubled their efforts and never left my plate for more than a few seconds. After landing they always decided they didn’t actually like my food, but would return again in under a minute, unmitigated. I think they just liked that my food was red.
After strolling around the small fishing village of Gandria for a little while, we were now ready for some dessert. We stopped by a restaurant near the ferry port. I believe it was called Restaurant Rocabella. Their spacious patio offered a fair bit more breathing room, and the view was just as good as at Locanda Gandriese. Andy and I split their lemon tiramisu, which was light and not too sweet.
Each day there is exactly one boat, scheduled at 2:30pm, that travels fairly directly from Gandria to the other popular fishing village, Morcote. Andy and I made sure to be on that boat. Unfortunately, unlike in Lucerne, the regional pass (here called the Ticino Ticket) does not cover the boats, which are run by a private company.
Following a bit of rain during the boat journey, we found ourselves in Morcote at about 3:15pm.
We were very surprised to encounter the Gandalf Bar!
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| Where the more attractive portion of the path begins. |
Though I was not using bug spray, I was unbothered by mosquitos throughout this entire trip, except for here, in Gandria, where I somehow gathered many, many bites in a very short time.
Andy and I had lunch at the highly recommended Locanda Gandriese. The service was good. The food was pretty good. Coming from the big food city of Chicago, and having travelled to Italy many times, I can be a bit of a food snob and hard to impress. That said, I would like to at least commend the location, as we dined outside on their small balcony just above the lake. However, this was THE defining wasp encounter of the trip, as the wasps here simply would not leave my food alone. I even welled up the courage to swat them away, but they just redoubled their efforts and never left my plate for more than a few seconds. After landing they always decided they didn’t actually like my food, but would return again in under a minute, unmitigated. I think they just liked that my food was red.
After strolling around the small fishing village of Gandria for a little while, we were now ready for some dessert. We stopped by a restaurant near the ferry port. I believe it was called Restaurant Rocabella. Their spacious patio offered a fair bit more breathing room, and the view was just as good as at Locanda Gandriese. Andy and I split their lemon tiramisu, which was light and not too sweet.
Each day there is exactly one boat, scheduled at 2:30pm, that travels fairly directly from Gandria to the other popular fishing village, Morcote. Andy and I made sure to be on that boat. Unfortunately, unlike in Lucerne, the regional pass (here called the Ticino Ticket) does not cover the boats, which are run by a private company.
Following a bit of rain during the boat journey, we found ourselves in Morcote at about 3:15pm.
We were very surprised to encounter the Gandalf Bar!
In comparison to Gandria, I feel that Morcote was a little more “happening,” and a bit more aesthetically pleasing. Some might argue that Gandria is less touristy, and quieter, and sleepier, and you can decide for yourself if that is a boon or not. But frankly, if you are planning to visit any of the Lake Como villages (as we eventually did), I’m not sure you need to visit either Gandria or Morcote…
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| A view of Parco Scherrer in Morcote. |
Parco Scherrer is one of the big touristic draws in Morcote. It is a rich guy’s former estate converted into a park. Like so many eccentric rich guys, he had done a lot of travelling and accumulated a collection of artwork modelled after various global styles. I had read that admission to Parco Scherrer was free with our Ticino Ticket, but it looked like it was free for everyone during our visit. I am not sure if it was just the day we went, or if it was because they were doing some renovations at the time. In any case, the park was nice for a quick visit. Be prepared to walk uphill, as each tier of the park is essentially situated on multiple terraces/switchbacks weaving up the hillside.
After a well-earned bit of gelato, Andy and I caught the bus back to Lugano. Traffic was pretty bad (rush hour), so I think the journey was at least 40 minutes long.
Once back in Lugano, it was time for another fancy dinner reservation. This time it was at Osteria Trani. Of all our Swiss dinner reservations, this was probably the best meal we had. The tuna tartare was tasty, and the pasta seemed fresh and homemade.
That evening we got even more gelato, this time at Crea. It was pretty good – I recommend it!
Valle Verzasca was one of the excursions that especially drew me to stay in Lugano. Unfortunately, it is not exceedingly easy to get to via public transportation, but it is feasible. Following our breakfast at Hotel Gabbani (included), Andy and I took the train north, to Tenero station. From here, we switched to a bus, and this brought us the rest of the way to the Lavertezzo, Paese stop, where you disembark to visit the Ponte dei Salti (a medieval bridge) and do some hiking. Just FYI, the bus rounds some tight bends, so be forewarned if you are prone to motion sickness (especially if you wind up sitting backwards, as we were).
While travelling this route, the bus passes the famous dam from Goldeneye. Since buses in the area are relatively infrequent, it was not worth us getting out for a better look. We would have needed to wait by the dam another hour or two for the next bus.
Sticking to the plan, we disembarked at Lavetezzo, Paese station. After crossing the bridge and admiring the green water that flowed beneath, Andy and I began our hike alongside the river. The river is actually not very visible for much of the hike, being variously obscured by houses and tall trees. However, it was still a pleasant nature stroll, with moss covered stones and the occasional slug.
At one point the path opened up to an area filled with stones. These stones formed a shore near the river, and also served as the viewpoint for a tall, thin waterfall. Andy and I had this space all to ourselves for a while, and I have to say that it felt pretty magical. I think it might be “Spiaggetta dei Sassi” if you look on Google Maps.
I had read that this hiking trail is designated as an “art walk,” but the art installations were infrequent, and subtle.
Eventually we headed back towards Lavertezzo, Paese to sit by the water and wait for the bus. We enjoyed some ice cream from the little café that is near there. The owner seemed like a friendly guy. I will say that, while in the Ticino region, there were multiple occasions where my ability to speak a little Italian came in handy, and this was one of them.
We were due for a more “relaxed” day at this point, so once Andy and I returned to Lugano early that afternoon, we basically just stayed put and explored the town a bit. This included visits to Via Nassa, Manor, and the city Coop, where we picked up some more souvenirs for people. We also got some of the worst bubble tea we’ve ever had from a stand in the middle of town. It tasted like melted Flavor Ice, if you know what I mean.
For dinner we mixed it up a bit and had some Mexican-fusion sushi from Level Sushi Lugano. At least it had a funkier aesthetic than most of the places we’d been eating.
Oh boy, this was an adventuresome day. I knew it was maybe a little ambitious to travel all the way to Lake Como for only a day, but there were even more unexpected surprises than I’d bargained for. The first decision we had to make was how to get there. There is a bus that supposedly travels from Lugano to the mid-lake town of Menaggio. However, while that would shorten the boat journey between a few of the Lake Como towns considerably, online reports made that bus seem at best, unreliable, and at worst, like an urban legend. Andy and I decided to go with the “sure thing” and just take the train all the way to Como town. From there we could catch a fast ferry to the mid-lake region. We still had a bunch of leftover Euro from our previous trip to Portugal, so this outing even felt a bit “pre-paid.”
Our train journey to Como town involved a border crossing procedure at Mendrisio station. We had our passports with us, just in case. No one bothered us, but the Guardia di Finanza did board the train, presumably for a random inspection of documents. This process seemed to be taking a very long time. VERY long. It got to about 30 minutes. Again, my Italian came in handy, and I asked the young girl in front of us if it was always this way. She said that it wasn’t, and proceeded to call her family to let them know about the worrisome delay. Passengers started to get agitated, but official communication was non-existent, in any language. People who had alternative recourse began to leave the train.
At some point, some official-looking person boarded and told everyone to get off the train. He only stayed near the door where he entered, so it was the flow of people exiting the train that alerted us to the situation. I went to him and asked what was going on. He said the train was broken. Apparently, it was not a border-crossing issue. We had noticed them turning the lights off and on again, so that does suggest some kind of system reboot attempt. I asked where do we go, we are trying to get to Como San Giovanni Station. He pointed me in the direction of some old Italian train that was parked on the next track over.
Andy and I sat on the old Italian train for a bit, and people were worried here, too, because it had been sitting a while now and nothing had been communicated. People started asking me what was going on. Presumably they had delayed that train so people like us could switch over from our broken train. Thankfully, after about 15 more minutes, we did start moving and finally made it to Como San Giovanni Station. So, a 40 minute train ride became about an hour and a half!
Since we arrived in Como much later than expected, the fast ferry we had planned to take was leaving shortly. In fact, it had already sold out. Luckily there was another fast ferry leaving just an hour later, so Andy and I bought tickets for that one instead. This gave us time to find some lunch in Como town at Panino Buono. We enjoyed some tasty panini and my favorite lemon soda, Lemonsoda. 😊 I also got to meet a 4 month old puppy named Hazel!
We made a casual loop through Como town before returning to the ferry dock. While waiting for our boat, we observed a man who had forgotten his straw hat on another vessel. One of the crew members disembarked and returned it to him. This will be important information later on.
We took the fast ferry to Lenno, with the goal of visiting Villa del Balbianello. The fast ferry is entirely enclosed, with no outer deck, so it was rather hot and stuffy in our N95 masks. I still managed to get some photographs during our journey by standing near the door. In the meantime, I left my hoodie in my seat next to Andy. When we disembarked at Lenno, the hoodie sadly stayed behind…
We realized that my hoodie was missing a short distance down the block from the ferry dock, but it was too late to worry about it by then. It was a hot day, at any rate, so it definitely was not an urgent matter. Andy and I carried on to the water taxi station that would deliver us to the villa. We were lucky enough to catch a water taxi right away, and only had to share our ride with one other passenger. The weather was perfect for visiting the villa, and our relatively short time there was like a dream.
Our wait time for the water taxi BACK to the Lenno dock was considerably longer. We waited at least half an hour – possibly more – and were lucky enough to be near the front of the line for that next taxi. The water taxi can only hold like 12 people and I think there were at least 40 waiting in line. In the meantime, Andy and I chatted with two English girls who were staying in Bellagio. It was fun to trade travel stories and hear about the trials and travails of their Bellagio Airbnb.
After returning to Lenno, we made our way back to the ferry dock with plans to head to Bellagio. We could see the boat was already there, and so Andy ran ahead. Winded, he learned that particular ferry was going back to Como, not Bellagio. The one we wanted was still about 12 minutes away.
This gave me time enough to inquire at the ticket counter about my missing hoodie (also: note that, for some reason, the Lenno ticket counter was cash only?). The man working at the counter was able to understand my basic Italian adequately enough, and I him. He called the boat, who said they had my hoodie. They said they would drop it off at the Como ferry station the next time they were there. Then I could pick it up when we eventually returned later that day. Hooray! I would have written it off completely if I had not seen that man retrieve his straw hat earlier.
Our fast ferry to Bellagio soon arrived. A dog disembarked that ferry and apparently really had to pee. She peed right through the walkway grate and into the lake. There are worse places for her to have gone, and I respect her resolve.
Once Andy and I were in Bellagio, I suggested we should buy our return tickets to Como right away. Even though the fast ferry we wanted was still 3 hours away, it was already sold out, so we bought tickets for the slow ferry instead. We didn’t have any hard plans in Bellagio. We just strolled about, admiring its busy, hilly streets. Naturally, we also stopped for some gelato.
The slow ferry ride back was actually very pleasant. We managed to get great seats outside on the front deck. The billowing clouds made for some very dramatic rays of sunshine, and equally dramatic photographs. Eventually these clouds gave way to some serious rain, and we had to spend a good portion of our two hour journey back inside.
The rain ceased a short while before we docked at Como. I was successfully able to reunite with my hoodie at the ticket counter. There were plenty of trains going back to Lugano well into the evening, so we were not rushed. We decided to have dinner in Como town at Bistrot Muralto. Finally, we got some more gelato just around the corner at Gelateria Rosetti Como. It may just be because this was the last gelato of the trip, but I think this was the best gelato we had.
We decided to catch the 8:23pm train back to Lugano. The Ticino Ticket would cover the Swiss portion of this journey, but for the very small Italian portion we were technically supposed to buy another ticket. We went to the ticket counter and were able to do so. I think it cost like €1.30/ticket.
The next morning we took one last farewell stroll to Parco Ciani and around central Lugano. Some kind of small farmers’ market was being set up, along with a car and boat show.
Taxis in Switzerland are prohibitively expensive and there is no Uber (mostly). It would have cost us at least 200-300 CHF for private transportation to Milano Malpensa Airport (MXP). Thus, it was time for one more lengthy train ride. Again, the Ticino Ticket should’ve covered the Swiss portion of the journey. However, the ticket counter at the Lugano train station was like being at the DMV. It felt like 100 people were waiting, and each one had a number like at the deli. We decided not to wait, and just paid the full fare for the journey at one of the electronic kiosks.
This was a very strange train. The train was scheduled to split into two separate trains once we reached Mendrisio station; the front cars would carry on to Como San Giovanni Station, while the rear cars would go to the airport. Thus, you needed to be mindful of where exactly on the platform you were waiting, and what destination your specific train car was billed for. The train did also sit at Mendrisio station for about 4 minutes, so you had enough time to switch to a different car, in case you got it wrong at first or didn’t notice. I have never seen a train setup like this before.
Luckily we did not encounter any trouble at the border this time, or otherwise. We took the 11:06am train from Lugano and arrived at MXP at 12:41pm for our 3:10pm flight. This was plenty of time to check our bags, get something quick to eat, and go through security. We made it to our gate about 30 minutes ahead of boarding time.
You may have caught me ragging on the food in Switzerland throughout this report, but the fact of the matter is we didn’t come here for the food. We came here for stunning natural scenery, and on that front Switzerland delivered every time. The mountains, the waterfalls, the gorge, and the lakes were all simply magnificent. It was also so fun to go on a boat trip almost every single day. The sheer expense and a few other factors will make Switzerland a hard place for us to revisit again (at least, as its own vacation), but I am so glad we were able to make it here and experience this captivating variety of scenery.
Travel Passes
On our first morning in Lucerne, we made a point to stop at the Lucerne Tourism Office to pick up our Tell Passes. The Tell Pass is a travel pass that allows you to use all trains, buses, boats, trams, etc., in the Lucerne area, and throughout much of central Switzerland. Since we were staying in a Lucerne hotel, this entitled us to a 2-for-1 deal on the pass. It was still really expensive, like 220 CHF for a 3-day pass, but with our specific plans it was still more economical than buying tickets for each journey. The pass covered the Golden Round Trip to Mount Pilatus, as well as most of our Brienz day trip (the boat ride on Lake Brienz being the exception).
To get the 2-for-1 deal on the Tell Pass, you must contact your Lucerne hotel in advance, requesting that they reserve the pass for you with the tourism office.
While in Lugano, our hotel was able to issue us the Ticino region’s travel pass directly. That pass is called the Ticino Ticket. This pass was completely free, unlike the Tell Pass. It allowed us to use trains and buses throughout the region, BUT, unlike in Lucerne, the boats on Lake Lugano were not covered by the pass.
Free Citywide WiFi in Lucerne!
If you stay in a central Lucerne hotel, you are given an access code for free citywide WiFi. I had an eSIM on my phone, so free WiFi was only a little bit valuable to me, but it was immensely valuable for my husband, who was completely reliant upon free WiFi. In any case, the free WiFi allowed us to video call the folks back home while wandering about town, thus taking them on a bit of a virtual sightseeing tour. Convenient!
Restaurants
While travel planning, it is common to make a list of the most popular/most recommended restaurants to hit up. That wasn’t really a good plan for us here in Switzerland. To start, and to be blunt, Swiss cuisine is just “okay” in my book, and nothing I am craving now that I’m back at home. But moreover, all of the top recommended restaurants are very similar, offering very similar cuisine, in a very similar fine dining setting. I am not much for that scene, and I certainly did not need to relive it again and again. And of course, it is very expensive, and it hardly ever felt worth it.
During my trip planning, I tried to get a gauge on whether or not meal reservations were necessary in Switzerland. While visiting Hawaii, and to a lesser degree, Portugal, reservations were very much required. When I asked online, I was advised to make reservations in Switzerland as well, but I found they were not really necessary to the same degree. If there is a place you 100% must go to, then a reservation can be wise, but if you just want somewhere decent to eat you should be able to find something without a reservation. I would say that maintaining sightseeing flexibility is more valuable than having a strict schedule of meal reservations, in the case of Switzerland.
Fashion
I felt like I was constantly underdressed for a business meeting where the dress code was business casual to formal. Even while hiking on Mount Pilatus, we saw people in their hiking boots and their suit blazers. In Italy they are also into dressing well, but while their outfits always feel very intentional, their attire is also more diverse, and trendy. In Switzerland it generally felt more buttoned up and conventional.
Toilets
Some of the best in Europe! Even the off-the-beaten-path places that seemed harrowing at first glance always had all of the necessities (functioning toilet, toilet seat, toilet paper, soap, water, drying implement). They were always basically clean, too. I am someone who needs a toilet often, but somehow I never wound up having to pay for one. It helps that the long-haul trains and boats all had toilets, and we certainly spent a lot of our time travelling on them.
Weather
During the lead up to this trip the weather reports were very dire. We checked various weather apps, such as AccuWeather, but also the highly recommended MeteoSwiss and Blue Meteo weather apps. All of them said the same thing – that we would encounter rain and thunderstorms all day, every day throughout our entire trip. I considered changing up the itinerary, but the whole of Switzerland, and even northern Italy, showed this same unfavorable weather forecast each and every day. I briefly considered cancelling/rescheduling the trip entirely, but I am glad we went through with it, since conditions never wound up being so dire. The mornings tended to be gray and overcast, but by 2pm it was generally warm and sunny. We encountered a little bit of rain on the boat ride from Gandria to Morcote, and again while returning to Como town by boat. There were a few loud thunderclaps while we hiked to Gandria, but luckily nothing came of it. Finally, we saw a bit of lightning atop a mountain in Lugano, but again, this did not affect us.
Cultural Stereotypes
While researching travel destinations, there is often advice and forewarning about various cultural differences/conventions. In the case of Switzerland, we were told that no one jaywalks, that waiters and waitresses do not check to see how your meal is going (typical for Europe), that people are very quiet on public transportation, and that everyone politely waits for others to disembark before boarding. The first bit about the jaywalking was a little bit true. The rest were ALL LIES. Or at least, not rigid truths. At pretty much every restaurant meal, someone stopped by our table to make sure all was well, just like in the USA. There were a bunch of German-speaking old men who were ESPECIALLY loud on one of our train rides – maybe the rules change when you are old. 😉 Finally, no one waited politely for anyone while queuing, and everyone tried to force their way onto trains, elevators, boats, whatever, as soon as the doors opened.
Lines/Queues
I have already detailed one example of an egregious line-jumper while describing my journey up Mount Pilatus. Generally speaking, showing up first anywhere in Switzerland did not entitle you to anything. You had to guard your position vehemently, as any gaps or signs of weakness would quickly be noted and exploited. I did not enjoy the sort of vigilance this behavior required, but we generally persevered. I have never experienced this sort of behavior so prevalently anywhere else before. I have since found multiple accounts online sharing this same observation, so it is definitely not just an idiosyncrasy of our personal experience.
Baby-themed Housing Décor
While travelling by train throughout Switzerland, we took notice of a peculiar sort of housing decoration. Many homes featured wooden signs with a baby’s name and date of birth displayed, alongside a cutesy animal, or cartoon baby, or something like that. I learned that when a baby is going to be born, the family, a friend, or village organization arranges to hang these decorations in honor of the birth. The goal is to have the decoration(s) in place for when mom and baby come home. I read that typically these decorations would be taken down after a few months, but we observed many homes whose babies were born years ago, but the decorations remained.
Public Transportation
Travelling around Switzerland by public transportation is a fascinating experience. It is like a clockwork country, with trains, boats, buses, and funiculars all interconnecting across the land, water, and mountains. Pretty much anywhere you’d want to go, there is at least a theoretical public transportation route that can take you there.
That said, the public transportation route is sometimes much longer than the driving route. Moreover, some modes of transportation are fairly infrequent. In Chicago, we have the CTA trains (the “L”) and the Metra trains. If I am taking the L, I don’t worry about schedules as there is a train every 4 minutes or so. If you are travelling very, very late at night, you may wind up waiting 20 minutes. It’s not enough to worry about. However, the Metra requires more planning. Service is much less frequent, with trains arriving every hour or two. In Switzerland, I felt like I was constantly taking the Metra. Yes, the Swiss trains are sleek, modern, and equipped with bathrooms (sort of like the Metra trains), but sometimes you are willing to take the relatively trashier L train just for the convenience.
Any time we travelled very far afield, I felt like I was visiting with a tour group, because I had to keep my eye on the clock to make sure we didn’t miss our ride back. This was especially a problem when boats were necessary, as there were usually only six or fewer boats a day.
The availability of (affordable) transportation was simply not assured at all hours. There is basically no Uber (except in the city downtown, where you don’t need it), and therefore no easy escape rope in case you mess up the schedule and miss your ride. I literally made an Excel Workbook for this trip with different tabs for the different days, showing the various travel times that would be possible/necessary for our various journeys. I like to plan, but I do not like to feel quite that restricted. If you choose to do less in a day than we did, or not travel as far out, this is less of a problem. Incidentally, the Excel Workbook did work out really well, and was easily accessed on my cell phone.
Should you rent a car?
There is always a debate online as to whether or not renting a car is worth it. The rental and driving expense, along with the stress of driving in Switzerland, meant we weren’t considering it. We could get everywhere we wanted to go via public transportation – as long as we faithfully adhered to that schedule. That said, if someone has the means and the disposition to rent a car, they would be freed from the constraints of the public transportation timetable.
SBB App
SBB is the Swiss public transportation service. If you are going to be travelling by public transportation in Switzerland, you NEED to download the SBB app to your phone. It was all around useful for navigating, understanding the idiosyncrasies of the timetables, and so on. Do not rely on Google Maps alone. GMaps will show you where the train or bus is projected to be based on the posted schedule. The SBB app will show you where the train or bus actually IS, live, which is especially important if things go awry. Moreover, the SBB app will show you routes and connections Google will not – especially true if a route involves a boat, cable car, etc.
After a well-earned bit of gelato, Andy and I caught the bus back to Lugano. Traffic was pretty bad (rush hour), so I think the journey was at least 40 minutes long.
Once back in Lugano, it was time for another fancy dinner reservation. This time it was at Osteria Trani. Of all our Swiss dinner reservations, this was probably the best meal we had. The tuna tartare was tasty, and the pasta seemed fresh and homemade.
That evening we got even more gelato, this time at Crea. It was pretty good – I recommend it!
Day 5: Valle Verzasca
Valle Verzasca was one of the excursions that especially drew me to stay in Lugano. Unfortunately, it is not exceedingly easy to get to via public transportation, but it is feasible. Following our breakfast at Hotel Gabbani (included), Andy and I took the train north, to Tenero station. From here, we switched to a bus, and this brought us the rest of the way to the Lavertezzo, Paese stop, where you disembark to visit the Ponte dei Salti (a medieval bridge) and do some hiking. Just FYI, the bus rounds some tight bends, so be forewarned if you are prone to motion sickness (especially if you wind up sitting backwards, as we were).
While travelling this route, the bus passes the famous dam from Goldeneye. Since buses in the area are relatively infrequent, it was not worth us getting out for a better look. We would have needed to wait by the dam another hour or two for the next bus.
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| Ponte dei Salti |
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| Green river water. |
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| Our slug buddy. |
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| Though thin, it was an impressive waterfall. |
Eventually we headed back towards Lavertezzo, Paese to sit by the water and wait for the bus. We enjoyed some ice cream from the little café that is near there. The owner seemed like a friendly guy. I will say that, while in the Ticino region, there were multiple occasions where my ability to speak a little Italian came in handy, and this was one of them.
We were due for a more “relaxed” day at this point, so once Andy and I returned to Lugano early that afternoon, we basically just stayed put and explored the town a bit. This included visits to Via Nassa, Manor, and the city Coop, where we picked up some more souvenirs for people. We also got some of the worst bubble tea we’ve ever had from a stand in the middle of town. It tasted like melted Flavor Ice, if you know what I mean.
For dinner we mixed it up a bit and had some Mexican-fusion sushi from Level Sushi Lugano. At least it had a funkier aesthetic than most of the places we’d been eating.
Day 6: Lake Como
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| Sailing on beautiful Lake Como. |
Our train journey to Como town involved a border crossing procedure at Mendrisio station. We had our passports with us, just in case. No one bothered us, but the Guardia di Finanza did board the train, presumably for a random inspection of documents. This process seemed to be taking a very long time. VERY long. It got to about 30 minutes. Again, my Italian came in handy, and I asked the young girl in front of us if it was always this way. She said that it wasn’t, and proceeded to call her family to let them know about the worrisome delay. Passengers started to get agitated, but official communication was non-existent, in any language. People who had alternative recourse began to leave the train.
At some point, some official-looking person boarded and told everyone to get off the train. He only stayed near the door where he entered, so it was the flow of people exiting the train that alerted us to the situation. I went to him and asked what was going on. He said the train was broken. Apparently, it was not a border-crossing issue. We had noticed them turning the lights off and on again, so that does suggest some kind of system reboot attempt. I asked where do we go, we are trying to get to Como San Giovanni Station. He pointed me in the direction of some old Italian train that was parked on the next track over.
Andy and I sat on the old Italian train for a bit, and people were worried here, too, because it had been sitting a while now and nothing had been communicated. People started asking me what was going on. Presumably they had delayed that train so people like us could switch over from our broken train. Thankfully, after about 15 more minutes, we did start moving and finally made it to Como San Giovanni Station. So, a 40 minute train ride became about an hour and a half!
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| A quieter street in Como town. |
We made a casual loop through Como town before returning to the ferry dock. While waiting for our boat, we observed a man who had forgotten his straw hat on another vessel. One of the crew members disembarked and returned it to him. This will be important information later on.
We took the fast ferry to Lenno, with the goal of visiting Villa del Balbianello. The fast ferry is entirely enclosed, with no outer deck, so it was rather hot and stuffy in our N95 masks. I still managed to get some photographs during our journey by standing near the door. In the meantime, I left my hoodie in my seat next to Andy. When we disembarked at Lenno, the hoodie sadly stayed behind…
We realized that my hoodie was missing a short distance down the block from the ferry dock, but it was too late to worry about it by then. It was a hot day, at any rate, so it definitely was not an urgent matter. Andy and I carried on to the water taxi station that would deliver us to the villa. We were lucky enough to catch a water taxi right away, and only had to share our ride with one other passenger. The weather was perfect for visiting the villa, and our relatively short time there was like a dream.
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| A view during our water taxi's approach to the villa. |
Our wait time for the water taxi BACK to the Lenno dock was considerably longer. We waited at least half an hour – possibly more – and were lucky enough to be near the front of the line for that next taxi. The water taxi can only hold like 12 people and I think there were at least 40 waiting in line. In the meantime, Andy and I chatted with two English girls who were staying in Bellagio. It was fun to trade travel stories and hear about the trials and travails of their Bellagio Airbnb.
After returning to Lenno, we made our way back to the ferry dock with plans to head to Bellagio. We could see the boat was already there, and so Andy ran ahead. Winded, he learned that particular ferry was going back to Como, not Bellagio. The one we wanted was still about 12 minutes away.
This gave me time enough to inquire at the ticket counter about my missing hoodie (also: note that, for some reason, the Lenno ticket counter was cash only?). The man working at the counter was able to understand my basic Italian adequately enough, and I him. He called the boat, who said they had my hoodie. They said they would drop it off at the Como ferry station the next time they were there. Then I could pick it up when we eventually returned later that day. Hooray! I would have written it off completely if I had not seen that man retrieve his straw hat earlier.
Our fast ferry to Bellagio soon arrived. A dog disembarked that ferry and apparently really had to pee. She peed right through the walkway grate and into the lake. There are worse places for her to have gone, and I respect her resolve.
Once Andy and I were in Bellagio, I suggested we should buy our return tickets to Como right away. Even though the fast ferry we wanted was still 3 hours away, it was already sold out, so we bought tickets for the slow ferry instead. We didn’t have any hard plans in Bellagio. We just strolled about, admiring its busy, hilly streets. Naturally, we also stopped for some gelato.
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| Dramatic sun rays. |
We decided to catch the 8:23pm train back to Lugano. The Ticino Ticket would cover the Swiss portion of this journey, but for the very small Italian portion we were technically supposed to buy another ticket. We went to the ticket counter and were able to do so. I think it cost like €1.30/ticket.
Day 7: Departure
The next morning we took one last farewell stroll to Parco Ciani and around central Lugano. Some kind of small farmers’ market was being set up, along with a car and boat show.
Taxis in Switzerland are prohibitively expensive and there is no Uber (mostly). It would have cost us at least 200-300 CHF for private transportation to Milano Malpensa Airport (MXP). Thus, it was time for one more lengthy train ride. Again, the Ticino Ticket should’ve covered the Swiss portion of the journey. However, the ticket counter at the Lugano train station was like being at the DMV. It felt like 100 people were waiting, and each one had a number like at the deli. We decided not to wait, and just paid the full fare for the journey at one of the electronic kiosks.
This was a very strange train. The train was scheduled to split into two separate trains once we reached Mendrisio station; the front cars would carry on to Como San Giovanni Station, while the rear cars would go to the airport. Thus, you needed to be mindful of where exactly on the platform you were waiting, and what destination your specific train car was billed for. The train did also sit at Mendrisio station for about 4 minutes, so you had enough time to switch to a different car, in case you got it wrong at first or didn’t notice. I have never seen a train setup like this before.
Luckily we did not encounter any trouble at the border this time, or otherwise. We took the 11:06am train from Lugano and arrived at MXP at 12:41pm for our 3:10pm flight. This was plenty of time to check our bags, get something quick to eat, and go through security. We made it to our gate about 30 minutes ahead of boarding time.
Closing Thoughts
You may have caught me ragging on the food in Switzerland throughout this report, but the fact of the matter is we didn’t come here for the food. We came here for stunning natural scenery, and on that front Switzerland delivered every time. The mountains, the waterfalls, the gorge, and the lakes were all simply magnificent. It was also so fun to go on a boat trip almost every single day. The sheer expense and a few other factors will make Switzerland a hard place for us to revisit again (at least, as its own vacation), but I am so glad we were able to make it here and experience this captivating variety of scenery.
Hints, Tips, and Stray Thoughts
Travel Passes
On our first morning in Lucerne, we made a point to stop at the Lucerne Tourism Office to pick up our Tell Passes. The Tell Pass is a travel pass that allows you to use all trains, buses, boats, trams, etc., in the Lucerne area, and throughout much of central Switzerland. Since we were staying in a Lucerne hotel, this entitled us to a 2-for-1 deal on the pass. It was still really expensive, like 220 CHF for a 3-day pass, but with our specific plans it was still more economical than buying tickets for each journey. The pass covered the Golden Round Trip to Mount Pilatus, as well as most of our Brienz day trip (the boat ride on Lake Brienz being the exception).
To get the 2-for-1 deal on the Tell Pass, you must contact your Lucerne hotel in advance, requesting that they reserve the pass for you with the tourism office.
While in Lugano, our hotel was able to issue us the Ticino region’s travel pass directly. That pass is called the Ticino Ticket. This pass was completely free, unlike the Tell Pass. It allowed us to use trains and buses throughout the region, BUT, unlike in Lucerne, the boats on Lake Lugano were not covered by the pass.
Free Citywide WiFi in Lucerne!
If you stay in a central Lucerne hotel, you are given an access code for free citywide WiFi. I had an eSIM on my phone, so free WiFi was only a little bit valuable to me, but it was immensely valuable for my husband, who was completely reliant upon free WiFi. In any case, the free WiFi allowed us to video call the folks back home while wandering about town, thus taking them on a bit of a virtual sightseeing tour. Convenient!
Restaurants
While travel planning, it is common to make a list of the most popular/most recommended restaurants to hit up. That wasn’t really a good plan for us here in Switzerland. To start, and to be blunt, Swiss cuisine is just “okay” in my book, and nothing I am craving now that I’m back at home. But moreover, all of the top recommended restaurants are very similar, offering very similar cuisine, in a very similar fine dining setting. I am not much for that scene, and I certainly did not need to relive it again and again. And of course, it is very expensive, and it hardly ever felt worth it.
During my trip planning, I tried to get a gauge on whether or not meal reservations were necessary in Switzerland. While visiting Hawaii, and to a lesser degree, Portugal, reservations were very much required. When I asked online, I was advised to make reservations in Switzerland as well, but I found they were not really necessary to the same degree. If there is a place you 100% must go to, then a reservation can be wise, but if you just want somewhere decent to eat you should be able to find something without a reservation. I would say that maintaining sightseeing flexibility is more valuable than having a strict schedule of meal reservations, in the case of Switzerland.
Fashion
I felt like I was constantly underdressed for a business meeting where the dress code was business casual to formal. Even while hiking on Mount Pilatus, we saw people in their hiking boots and their suit blazers. In Italy they are also into dressing well, but while their outfits always feel very intentional, their attire is also more diverse, and trendy. In Switzerland it generally felt more buttoned up and conventional.
Toilets
Some of the best in Europe! Even the off-the-beaten-path places that seemed harrowing at first glance always had all of the necessities (functioning toilet, toilet seat, toilet paper, soap, water, drying implement). They were always basically clean, too. I am someone who needs a toilet often, but somehow I never wound up having to pay for one. It helps that the long-haul trains and boats all had toilets, and we certainly spent a lot of our time travelling on them.
Weather
During the lead up to this trip the weather reports were very dire. We checked various weather apps, such as AccuWeather, but also the highly recommended MeteoSwiss and Blue Meteo weather apps. All of them said the same thing – that we would encounter rain and thunderstorms all day, every day throughout our entire trip. I considered changing up the itinerary, but the whole of Switzerland, and even northern Italy, showed this same unfavorable weather forecast each and every day. I briefly considered cancelling/rescheduling the trip entirely, but I am glad we went through with it, since conditions never wound up being so dire. The mornings tended to be gray and overcast, but by 2pm it was generally warm and sunny. We encountered a little bit of rain on the boat ride from Gandria to Morcote, and again while returning to Como town by boat. There were a few loud thunderclaps while we hiked to Gandria, but luckily nothing came of it. Finally, we saw a bit of lightning atop a mountain in Lugano, but again, this did not affect us.
Cultural Stereotypes
While researching travel destinations, there is often advice and forewarning about various cultural differences/conventions. In the case of Switzerland, we were told that no one jaywalks, that waiters and waitresses do not check to see how your meal is going (typical for Europe), that people are very quiet on public transportation, and that everyone politely waits for others to disembark before boarding. The first bit about the jaywalking was a little bit true. The rest were ALL LIES. Or at least, not rigid truths. At pretty much every restaurant meal, someone stopped by our table to make sure all was well, just like in the USA. There were a bunch of German-speaking old men who were ESPECIALLY loud on one of our train rides – maybe the rules change when you are old. 😉 Finally, no one waited politely for anyone while queuing, and everyone tried to force their way onto trains, elevators, boats, whatever, as soon as the doors opened.
Lines/Queues
I have already detailed one example of an egregious line-jumper while describing my journey up Mount Pilatus. Generally speaking, showing up first anywhere in Switzerland did not entitle you to anything. You had to guard your position vehemently, as any gaps or signs of weakness would quickly be noted and exploited. I did not enjoy the sort of vigilance this behavior required, but we generally persevered. I have never experienced this sort of behavior so prevalently anywhere else before. I have since found multiple accounts online sharing this same observation, so it is definitely not just an idiosyncrasy of our personal experience.
Baby-themed Housing Décor
While travelling by train throughout Switzerland, we took notice of a peculiar sort of housing decoration. Many homes featured wooden signs with a baby’s name and date of birth displayed, alongside a cutesy animal, or cartoon baby, or something like that. I learned that when a baby is going to be born, the family, a friend, or village organization arranges to hang these decorations in honor of the birth. The goal is to have the decoration(s) in place for when mom and baby come home. I read that typically these decorations would be taken down after a few months, but we observed many homes whose babies were born years ago, but the decorations remained.
Public Transportation
Travelling around Switzerland by public transportation is a fascinating experience. It is like a clockwork country, with trains, boats, buses, and funiculars all interconnecting across the land, water, and mountains. Pretty much anywhere you’d want to go, there is at least a theoretical public transportation route that can take you there.
That said, the public transportation route is sometimes much longer than the driving route. Moreover, some modes of transportation are fairly infrequent. In Chicago, we have the CTA trains (the “L”) and the Metra trains. If I am taking the L, I don’t worry about schedules as there is a train every 4 minutes or so. If you are travelling very, very late at night, you may wind up waiting 20 minutes. It’s not enough to worry about. However, the Metra requires more planning. Service is much less frequent, with trains arriving every hour or two. In Switzerland, I felt like I was constantly taking the Metra. Yes, the Swiss trains are sleek, modern, and equipped with bathrooms (sort of like the Metra trains), but sometimes you are willing to take the relatively trashier L train just for the convenience.
Any time we travelled very far afield, I felt like I was visiting with a tour group, because I had to keep my eye on the clock to make sure we didn’t miss our ride back. This was especially a problem when boats were necessary, as there were usually only six or fewer boats a day.
The availability of (affordable) transportation was simply not assured at all hours. There is basically no Uber (except in the city downtown, where you don’t need it), and therefore no easy escape rope in case you mess up the schedule and miss your ride. I literally made an Excel Workbook for this trip with different tabs for the different days, showing the various travel times that would be possible/necessary for our various journeys. I like to plan, but I do not like to feel quite that restricted. If you choose to do less in a day than we did, or not travel as far out, this is less of a problem. Incidentally, the Excel Workbook did work out really well, and was easily accessed on my cell phone.
Should you rent a car?
There is always a debate online as to whether or not renting a car is worth it. The rental and driving expense, along with the stress of driving in Switzerland, meant we weren’t considering it. We could get everywhere we wanted to go via public transportation – as long as we faithfully adhered to that schedule. That said, if someone has the means and the disposition to rent a car, they would be freed from the constraints of the public transportation timetable.
SBB App
SBB is the Swiss public transportation service. If you are going to be travelling by public transportation in Switzerland, you NEED to download the SBB app to your phone. It was all around useful for navigating, understanding the idiosyncrasies of the timetables, and so on. Do not rely on Google Maps alone. GMaps will show you where the train or bus is projected to be based on the posted schedule. The SBB app will show you where the train or bus actually IS, live, which is especially important if things go awry. Moreover, the SBB app will show you routes and connections Google will not – especially true if a route involves a boat, cable car, etc.
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