Lake Lugano

How does living on the shore of Lago Lugano for a month sound to you? We took the plunge and a boat was our only mode of transportation. At the end of October, we moved to the city of Lugano for another 2 weeks.

The water is clear, clean and warm (summer and fall). High mountains and cliffs cradle the blue water, sculpted from glaciers during the last ice age. Stone villages with names like Cima, Osteno, and Castello are scattered between the cliffs along the shore. These villages continue to be home to fisherman and farmers as they have for centuries.

Getting around the lake is easy because the public boat system takes passengers to several stops on the lake. If you need to get somewhere in a hurry, hire Ambra Taxi Nautico. If you love boating some rental houses include a boat!

Lake Lugano as seen from the top of San Sebastián peak. The lake house we stayed in is on the right shore in this picture. Just where the little houses are.

The City of Lugano

The big city with 70,000 residents is Lugano. Lugano is a hub of the Italian speaking Canton of Ticino and is easy to reach by train from Milan or Zurich. Lugano is home to wonderful cafes, restaurants, and bars. There is a lively shopping district where you can get anything from a cashmere jacket to a Swiss watch.

By train from Lugano are several lovely, historical villages, Bellinzona, Lucarno, Locarno, Ascona are a few and less than a 30 minute train ride from the city center.

The Grand Café Al Porto is the best place in town for a cappuccino and people watching. Our favorite restaurants for dinner were La Cucina di Alice, GABBANI Ristorante, and AnaCapri.

Mountain Biking in Lugano

You can rent mountain bikes from our friend Johnny at 2wheels rental in downtown Lugano. Johnny will guide you where to ride or you join one of his tours. The mountain trails and country roads around this city are scenic and easy to expert level. I quickly made a few friends and rode on the peaks around the city. Mt. Brè is right out of town and offers expansive trails and views. If you don’t mind sharing the narrow roads with motor vehicles, ride along the lake shore to the villages of Cima, Mercote, Campione, or Castello. Email them ahead of time and reserve your spot ticino@2wheelsrental.com. Oh yeah……2wheel rental takes both Bitcoin or Swiss Francs.

Favorite Villages

Morcote

This charming Swiss village of Morcote or the Pearl of Ceresio is centuries old. The village was first documented in the year 926. The walk up to the Church of Santa Maria is about 15 minutes and well worth the effort with expansive views of the lake. The UN World Tourism Organization just named Morcote a winner of the “Best Tourism Village” award for 2023.

Bellinzona

Bellinzona is an easy train ride from Lugano. Archeological evidence supports the theory that humans have occupied this area for thousands of years. There are 3 medieval castles protected this vital trade route through the the alps. Hiking to the 3 castles will take a few hours. Start at the top and work down so you can enjoy a nice lunch or gelatto. If hiking isn’t your thing, you can take the bus. There is some speculation that Hannibal used this pass to cross the Alps when he brought the elephants over to attack Rome.

Cima

We enjoyed boating to Cima almost every morning for a cappuccino and fresh warm brioche that is baked in the Il Forniao bakery right next door. Shop at Jhonny Market/Deli for local wine selection. This village is in Italy, so you know the food is excellent and bring Euros to pay. Sometimes the credit card reader works and sometimes not. Good idea to have a few Euros and Swiss Francs.

Castello

Castello is one of the many stone villages in the national park of Valsolda. Valsolda also incudes Loggio, Drano, Albogasio-oria, and several other stone villages. Castello sits high above the lake. Photographers love the photo opportunities. The hike is on mostly well marked pathways that are not steep from lake shore to the mountain village.

Places to Stay

Stay on Lake - Mattia’s 2 Lake Houses

Cheryl and Rick taking the boat home from Lugano. Photo credit to Randy Chamberlain

If you are a lake lover and prefer traveling by boat rather than a car, check out these 2 properties on the Italian side of Lake Lugano. Boat over to Lugano in about 15 minutes and park at one of the public docks. Visit, shop, day trip, hike at many of the charming villages that surround the lake. Morcote, Cima, San Mamete, Gandria, Pt Terese and many others.

Beckham’s Milan coach from the Netflix Beckham show being interviewed at one of Mattia’s houses.

Mattia and family are long time locals and own 2 homes next door to one another. Both homes are on the water and each come with their own open boat. While each boat seats 6 people, we found 4 to be the right number in order to get places quickly. The more weight, the slower the boat.

House 1 - 3 bdrms, 1.5 baths, boat, washer and lots of room.

House 2 - 2 bdrms, 1 bath, boat, incredible deck & dog friendly. If you are a fan of the Beckham Netflix show you may have seen this house. It is at the 20 minute mark of episode 4.

Mattia and family are incredible hosts who go above and beyond to make sure your visit is incredible.
There is no way to reach either house by car although there are car parks across the lake. You will be picked up and returned by boat!

Staying on Land

If lake living isn’t your thing, consider Hotel Gabbani which is located in the heart of Lugano and is very close to the lake shore and has about 35 rooms. There is are 2 fine restaurants and bar. Both hotel and restaurant accept Bitcoin along with other forms of payment.