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Published: 3/3/2024
One Perfect Day in Lugano, Switzerland
When life’s got you down, one day in Lugano, Switzerland might be all the cure you need.
Tucked in the Pre-Alps in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, Lugano has long been a popular European resort town. This beautiful Swiss lake town had been on the tippy-top of my “to visit” list for decades.
As I prepared for my November 2023 visit to Milan and the Italian Lake District, I found it difficult to track down the best things to do in Lugano or a one day Lugano itinerary. Since Lugano is a leisure destination, many people just want to relax while they’re in town.
But fear not – there are plenty of things to do in Lugano. I crafted this one day Lugano itinerary with the active traveler in mind. Prepare for mountain hikes, historic cafes, boat rides, and yes, a little down time on the shores of lovely Lake Lugano.
Throw in some beers in Old Town, a little shopping, and of course a funicular ride, and you’ll soon see why subtropical, sunny Lugano has charmed visitors for centuries.
I think you’re going to love every minute you have in Lugano. Let’s dive right and make this day in Lugano one to remember!
What To Know About Lugano, Switzerland
Language: Italian
Currency: Swiss Franc (businesses will often accept Euros)
Climate: Subtropical
Swiss Canton (State): Ticino
Closest airport: Milan Malpensa
One Day in Lugano, Switzerland Itinerary
What This One Day in Lugano Itinerary Includes:
- Self-guided lake walk
- Shopping in Lugano Old Town
- Grand Cafe al Porto
- Funicular to Monte Bre
- Monte Bre to Gandria hike
- Boat ride on Lake Lugano
- Relax at the pool
- Beers and dinner at Il Fermento
We’ll spend the entire day beside beautiful Lake Lugano, exploring both Old Town and the surrounding Pre-Alps.
As the ninth largest city in Switzerland, Lugano sprawls quite far inland. However, Lugano’s lakefront and Old Town is a small, walkable area. Happily, considering Lugano’s mountainous surroundings, we’ll be sticking to pretty level ground most of the day. Don’t worry – we’ll give the legs a bit of a stretch on sunny Monte Bre!
Self-Guided Lake Walk
The very first thing I recommend doing when you reach Lugano is strolling along the town’s scenic waterfront. The town is flanked by two approximately 3000’ mountains: Monte Bre and Monte San Salvatore. In between the two peaks lies the heart of Lugano including docks and boats, churches, art galleries, restaurants, and shops.
Unlike nearby Lake Como where villas, towns, and gardens covered every square inch of available lake frontage, Lake Lugano is decidedly less developed. Not too many places in Europe have a subtropical climate, but Lugano is one of them. With the plentiful palm trees, you might feel like you’re a world away from Milan, but it’s just over an hour train ride from Milan to Lugano.
In addition to marveling over the novelty of Lugano, there are plenty of highlights to take in during your stroll. I recommend checking out Parco Ciani, Villa Ciani, and Piazza della Riforma. You’ll also find the casino and an impressive McDonalds downtown. Don’t forget to pose in front of the I Love Lugano sign, located on the San Salvatore (western) side of the waterfront.
One of my favorite sights during our lakefront walk was the chess players playing with massive chess pieces across from the casino. It looked like something straight out of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Do some shopping in Old Town
After you’ve had your fill of the waterfront, head inland at Piazza della Riforma to do a little shopping. This corner of Lugano offers a variety of shops ranging from high-end options like Hermes and Cartier to budget European chains like Flying Tiger Copenhagen. There are also unique boutiques and secondhand stores to check out.
If you’re visiting on a Tuesday or Friday, you can visit the Farmers Market in Piazza San Rocco e Via Canova. We happened upon Alchimista Ticinese’s booth at the market and were immediately charmed by his beautifully labeled bottles of gin, absinthe, and liqueurs. During our conversation, he mentioned Grand Rapids, MI, so we had to go home with a bottle of his Full Moon gin!
If you prefer sightseeing over shopping, you could hit up some of Lugano’s historic churches such as San Lorenzo Cathedral, Church of San Rocco, or Church of St. Mary of the Angels. You could also use this time to visit Lugano’s museums like the LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura.
Grand Café al Porto
This elegant and historic café in the middle of the Old Town is known for its beautiful pastries and celebrity guests. The likes of Clark Gable, Prince Vittorio Emanuele, and Sophia Loren have all dined here. After World War II, Major Dulles used one of the private upstairs dining rooms to lay out to Nazi officials how Germany was going to withdraw from Italy.
You never know who you’ll be dining with at Lugano’s Grand Café al Porto and that makes it the perfect place to grab an espresso or pastry. We enjoyed a simple, but delicious, lunch of potato soup (zuppa di patate sounds so much more exciting, doesn’t it?!) and were charmed by the hospitality of both the staff and our friendly dining neighbors.
Be sure to peruse their beautiful pastry case. If you’re looking for some Lugano souvenirs, they have a good supply of take and go items including chocolates and (at least at Christmas time) panettones. We learned the hard way that they are closed on Sundays!
Funicular to Mount Bre
When we checked into our hotel, the doorman strongly recommended we take the funicular to the top of Monte Bre.
Lugano has two main funicular options: Monte Bre and Monte San Salvatore. However, the Monte San Salvatore funicular doesn’t operate in November. Since the Monte Bre funicular station was literally across the street from our hotel, we would have chosen Monte Bre even if we’d had an option.
Monte Bre’s claim to fame is that it’s the sunniest mountain in Switzerland. It also has the best view of Lugano. There’s a restaurant and church at the top of the mountain, but otherwise there’s not much to do up there except soak up the truly exceptional view.
To ascend Monte Bre by funicular, you first take a short ride on the free public funicular between the Cassarate station on Via Pico to the Suvigliana station on Via Ceresio di Suvigliana. The ticket office located at the Suvigliana station is where you actually purchase a ticket. You can opt for a one-way, round trip, or – in our case – a funicular/boat ride combo ticket.
Monte Bre to Gandria hike
To add a little adventure to your Monte Bre experience, hike down the 3000’ mountain to the small town of Gandria and catch a boat back to Lugano.
The funicular ticket attendant told us it would take about 1.5 hours to hike down Monte Bre to the small town of Gandria. This well-signed route uses paved paths, roadways, and dirt trails to switchback down the mountain for about 2.5 miles.
Like almost everything we experienced in Lugano, the path was very quiet. Once we left the mountain top, we didn’t see another soul until we reached the boat dock in Gandria.
The hike actually ended up taking us close to 2 hours. We ran into a hazard tree clearing project about 10 minutes outside of Gandria and wasted quite a bit of time trying to get around a bunch of downed trees.
Eventually (highly motivated by the sound of approaching chain saws) we abandoned this plan and found an alternative way off the mountain using a power line. While it probably wasn’t the most scenic approach to Gandria, after narrowly escaping having trees felled on top of us, we were pretty happy to hit the main road and lakeshore with time to spare before our scheduled boat pick-up.
The medieval town of Gandria was completely deserted when we arrived. South of the main road, Gandria is pedestrian only and uses wide stairways as streets. As we picked our way down to the boat dock, it felt like we’d enter the old computer game Myst.
Boat ride back to Lugano
You have to take a boat out on Lake Lugano! This glacial lake has stunning mountain scenery and is comparatively undeveloped when held up against Lake Como.
In the off-season when we visited, taking one of the Lake Lugano passenger ferries is the easiest way to get on the water. Fair warning: the timetables can be a little tricky to decipher.
I was really pleased with our decision to catch the boat in Gandria back to Lugano. (Another popular option to get back to Lugano from Gandria is to hike the Olive Tree Trail.) The boat ride took about 35 minutes, with stops at San Rocco and Paradiso before arriving at the main dock in Lugano.
Relax at the pool
There’s a Rick Steves quip about things to do in Lugano: “You’re here to relax.” Despite somewhat limited sightseeing options, we’ve packed quite a bit of activity into this day in Lugano. Now it’s time to lean into Lugano’s resort town vibes and put your feet up.
While we didn’t book any services at our hotel’s salon, we took full advantage of its beautiful pool area. Unlike in the Azores where every pool we visited was quite busy, we had the entire pool area – including a large pool, a sauna, and a steam room – to ourselves. A happy consequence of visiting Lugano right before Christmas market season was that there were very few guests at the hotel.
After our harrowing experience coming down Monte Bre, a long sit in the sauna was just what we needed to soothe our aching muscles.
Beers at Il Fermento
We ended up stopping at this lakefront brew pub twice during our time in Lugano: once for aperitivo and the other time to grab a light dinner. We loved the friendly service, excellent beers, and a great selection of flat breads and burgers. I think it’s the perfect place to cap out a very full day in Lugano.
Helpful Lugano Visitor Information
Getting around Lugano
Lugano – as long as you stay close to the lake – is very walkable. Even though we were staying out on the eastern edges of Lugano in Castognola, we walked everywhere. From our hotel, it was about a 20-minute stroll along the lake to the heart of Old Town.
However, with any hotel stay in Lugano, you receive a Ticino ticket which gives you unlimited free trips on the public buses and trains as well as discounts on funicular and boat rides. We used our Ticino ticket to take the bus up to the train station which is located in the hillside overlooking Lugano and the lake.
Rather than figure out the funicular/public transportation upon arrival in Lugano, we decided to splurge on a taxi from the train station to our hotel. The front door drop-off – along with some great Whitney Houston beats during the drive – made the little luxury well worth it.
Where To Stay in Lugano
There’s no reason to skirt around the issue: Lugano is a luxury destination. I certainly didn’t realize this back when I read Sharon Creech’s Bloomability in middle school (books really are the best travel inspiration) and Lugano landed on my “to visit” list. But Lugano has always attracted upper-class travelers. To this day, the town is filled with high-end hotels, shops, and restaurants.
Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola
I embraced Lugano’s luxury and leisure vibes and booked a two-night stay at the Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola. (Thank you credit card points!) This is definitely the bougiest place I’ve ever stayed.
In fact, the hotel is the literal definition of bougie. It was originally built as a winter home for a Russian aristocrat!
I booked a backyard view double room, but we ended up with a fantastic view of both Lake Lugano and the hotel’s beautiful gardens. As you might expect from a five-star property, our room was very well appointed. We especially enjoyed the comfy couch and balcony.
It wasn’t until our stay here that I truly understood how a person could spend years living in a hotel like in Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow. But truly, the Grand Hotel has everything you could need including a gym, salon, pool and sauna area, three restaurants (one in a separate building near the waterfront), meeting rooms, libraries, and garden terraces.
I can’t say enough good things about the hotel staff either. They responded so promptly to my emails ahead of time for both a dinner reservation and to make sure our room was set up with two beds. They even loaded us up with some bottled water for our travels to Lake Como when we checked out.
Other Places To Stay in Lugano
While I think a historic luxury hotel like the Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola really rounds out the Lugano experience, if it doesn’t fit your budget or travel style, there are plenty of other places to stay in Lugano.
There is a youth hostel located about 2 kilometers outside of Lugano. Other favorite Lugano hotels include Suitenhotel Parco Paradiso and Hotel Pestalozzi.
A Brief Introduction to Lugano, Switzerland
One of the sunniest spots in Europe, Lugano can be reached in a little more than an hour train ride from central Milan. If you’re longing for water after your time in landlocked Milan, a day in Lugano’s unique subtropical climate on Lake Lugano, is exactly what you need. The city is best known for its leisure offerings like art galleries, spas, and the largest casino in Europe.
Lugano culture is very similar to that of Milan and northern Italy, with a little extra Swiss flair. Of the 26 cantons (kind of like states) of Switzerland, Ticino, which Lugano is located in, is the only Italian speaking one.
Surrounded by Italy on three sides, you’ll find similar architecture, aperitivo culture, and the same language as northern Italy in Lugano. However, Lugano does use a different currency – the Swiss franc. Since the Swiss economy is more robust than the Italian one, many northern Italy residents commute to the Lugano area for work.
And yes, things are definitely more expensive here than across the border in Italy. Most notably, our 10-minute taxi ride from the Lugano train station to our hotel cost us more than 30 francs. A 20-minute taxi ride through the Como City suburbs came in at less than 20 euros.
If you find yourself in this Italian-speaking corner of Switzerland, it’s probably because the lake and nearby mountains were calling your name. Just like its neighboring lakes in the Italian Lake District, Lake Lugano is a narrow, irregularly shaped lake with long, skinny arms.
Is Lugano Worth Visiting?
It’s basically impossible to answer this question in an objective manner; definitely don’t make your decision to visit Lugano based solely on my experience and guidance! For example, I absolutely think Milan is worth visiting, but many people – including some close friends – disagree with me.
But I do think whether Lugano is worth visiting completely depends on the type of traveler you are. If you’re a budget backpacker, Lugano is not the place for you. Prices are high and if you don’t want to spend money, you’re pretty much limited to wandering the waterfront and peering into shop windows.
However, as an elderly millennial in her late 30s, I really liked Lugano. It’s true that there isn’t an abundance of things to do, but it’s scenic and relaxing. Since we had the means to spring for fun activities like our funicular/hike/boat ride experience (the tickets came to more than 30 francs per person!) and do the tasting menu at a Michelin-star restaurant, we really enjoyed ourselves.
In part because of how expensive hotels are here, visitors in Lugano seemed older. Everyone else staying at our hotel had a good 30 years on us.
Honestly, I’ll always think the best way to gage if a place is worth visiting is to go see it. So why not just do this one day Lugano itinerary and see what you think!
How Long in Lugano
If you’re a busy traveler who’s coming off a whirlwind time in Milan when you arrive in Lugano, you might be taken aback by the Swiss town’s relaxed pace. While many people visit Lugano as a Milan day trip, I urge you to spend at least 24 hours in Lugano. This town just isn’t designed for rushing.
While we felt content with our 48-hour visit to Lugano, it’s true that we bypassed many Lugano attractions, including all museums and churches. There are also many other things to do near Lugano – like adventure parks, chocolate factories, the Swissminiatur, and the Herman Hesse museum – that we didn’t see.
If you’re opting for a true vacation and you’ve chosen Lugano (with its sunshine, palm trees, and beautiful lake views, why wouldn’t you?) I’d recommend staying about a week. You won’t struggle to fill your days with lounging, spa appointments, and excursions. Since it’s only 1 hour 20 minute train ride into central Milan, it’s easy to take a big city day trip.
Just keep in mind that Lugano isn’t a budget destination. After our two days in Lugano, we were happy to return to lower Italian prices in Lake Como.
Conclusion: What To Do in Lugano, Switzerland in One Day
Lugano is a beautiful, unique Swiss lake town that deserves a spot on any northern Italy or Switzerland itinerary. I designed this one-day Lugano itinerary with the idea that you’ll be staying overnight. Trust me, you need to watch the sun set over Lugano Bay at least once in your life. However, if you can’t stay, this itinerary also works for a Lugano day trip.
My one-day Lugano itinerary includes all my very favorite activities. With lakeside strolls, mountain hikes, and boat rides on Lake Lugano, this is the perfect Lugano itinerary for active travelers. You’ll also enjoy some relaxing time in Lugano’s Old Town and hit up must-see spots like the Grand Café al Porto.
I hope this itinerary helps you craft a magical day in Lugano. But with Lugano’s sunny, subtropical climate, friendly folks, and gorgeous setting, you may be tempted to extend your stay.
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