The trains run on time, but the people may not. That is Lugano.
Lugano is a beautiful lakeside town in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Sitting on the edge of the Swiss Alps and the Italian Lake District, the views are breathtaking, and the blended Swiss-Italian culture is distinctive. The city is clean and orderly as you would expect from Switzerland, yet there is a charisma and energy that is purely Italian. When we rolled in on the train, we found the historic town in full party mode. As we walked from the train station to our hotel, we were drawn to the Christmas music being played in the main square. Bags and all, we stopped to watch the Christmas light show on the gorgeous Town Hall.
Our hotel was just a couple blocks away and next to the ice-skating rink that was blasting out some of the top party jams. We had an incredible view from our balcony of the ice-skating party below and across magical Lake Lugano to Monte San Salvatore.
The following day, we started with a walking tour (as always, thanks to Rick Steves). We always enjoy his tours as they give a fun historical perspective and interesting facts about the sights of the city. The elegant Grand Café al Porto is the most historic café in town.
At the end of WWII, an American intelligence officer met with Nazis and Italian representatives to negotiate a peaceful retreat to prevent the Germans from scorching Italy on their way out.
Next up is the beautiful Town Hall in the main square, Piazza della Reforma, constructed in 1844 as a primary government building to rule over Ticino.
Down Via Canova is the Church of San Rocco that houses frescoes celebrating the saint responsible for keeping the city free from the plague.
At the edge of town, the City Park is a lovely green space for a stroll along the lake with views of Monte San Salvatore and back toward the main part of town with a row of neoclassical hotels including ours, the Walter au Lac (the yellow building on the left).
The final stop on our city tour is the lakefront church, St. Mary of the Angels, which was built in 1499 and was part of a Franciscan monastery next door.
For lunch, we discovered a new favorite Italian cheese called squacquerone (later, burrata) and a glorious creation…. the thin, Italian flatbread known as Piadina. Traditionally from the northern Romagna region in Italy, this wrap is made with a flour dough cooked on a griddle and stuffed with meat and cheese. Our crispy Piadina was stuffed with Parma ham, arugula, and squacquerone. Squacquerone is a soft, creamy cow’s milk cheese made in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
The spreadable, sweet, yet tangy cheese is a perfect complement to the salty, rich Parma ham. Top it off with some bright, spicy arugula inside a light and crispy Piadina, and we are talking perfection!
With full bellies and happy hearts, our afternoon adventure was to see the views from the top of Monte San Salvatore. With limited time, we were unable to hike, but lucky for us, they had a funicular, which was originally built in the late 1800s.
The ride up to the top of the mountain on the funicular was fun, but wow, was it cold up there. We grabbed a coffee and a hot chocolate to warm up and enjoy the views from inside a restaurant before we took the short 5 min walk to the summit. The views were definitely worth it.
Our final adventure for the day was a private food tour. Our guide gave us some interesting facts about the city in addition to learning about the regional cuisine. At our first stop, we were treated to a local “prosecco” and some amazing appetizers including fried polenta, goat cheese wrapped in cured meat, the local luganighetta sausage wrapped in filo dough, and a special local cheese made exclusively from cows that graze high up in the Swiss mountains on the best herbs and grasses.
Our second stop was at the town’s famous gourmet delicatessen that has been owned by the Gabbani family since 1937. We sampled their Parma ham, coppa, and salami paired with a local Merlot.
Our final stop was at a fancy restaurant where we dined on bruschetta and risotto for our main course and were treated to a popular regional dessert of vanilla gelato topped with a local walnut liquor called Nocino.
Our evening finished off with a stroll around town to enjoy the post-Christmas markets and holiday lights. As I’ve mentioned before, we are always on the lookout for unique nativities at European Christmas markets and indeed found one here, and to be honest, didn’t quite understand it. But, here it is…the first underwater nativity we have ever seen.
Our finale was a nightcap outside the Gabbani deli where they had converted ski lift gondolas into cute, individual private dining experiences for two.
We had an amazing time in this charming, Italian-flavored Swiss town with unbelievable lake and mountain views. We are so glad that we didn’t skip over this lesser-known Swiss town as it was the perfect stopover between our Christmas adventure in the Swiss Alps and our New Year’s Eve adventure on Lake Garda in Italy.
Leave a reply