Fantastic Things to Do on a Day Trip to Lugano from Milano

During my last trip to Italy, I flew to Milano and chose to go straight to Lake Como. I am not a fan of Milano and because I’ve been there before, I didn’t see any reason to return. I don’t like big cities, but I couldn’t resist an £18 return flight either, so I decided to see what else I could do on this trip, other than exploring the beautiful towns along Lake Como. Whilst I was waiting for my connecting train to go from the airport to Como, a train going to Lugano passed by. And this is how the idea of going on a day trip to Lugano was born. I had no idea what to expect from my one day in Lugano, so this trip was all about exploring and seeing what the city would surprise me with.

How to Get to Lugano from Italy

Getting to Lugano from Italy couldn’t be easier. No matter whether you are starting your journey in Milano, Como, or at the Milano Malpensa, there is a direct train that connects them to Lugano. I started my journey at Como St Giovanni and paid 9.80 euros for a one-way ticket to Lugano. The journey lasted 45 minutes, and the train stopped almost everywhere. You can take the intercity train as well, which reaches Lugano in 30 minutes, but a ticket will cost over 23 euros.

On my return, I took the train directly to Milano Malpensa airport. The price was 23CHF, which is around £20. The journey time was around one hour and a half hours.

The train station in Lugano has luggage lockers, so if you are travelling for the day to Lugano and go straight to the airport, you don’t have to worry about carrying your bags with you around the city.

About Lugano

Lugano is a lovely city on the shores of Lugano Lake, in the Ticino canton of Switzerland. It is a lovely city with a Mediterranean vibe and North Italian architecture. In the old town, you will find beautiful palaces with gorgeous frescos painted on their facades, luxurious shops, chocolate boutiques, old churches and a beautiful promenade along the lake.

The main language spoken in Lugano is Italian. If you want to visit Lugano for the day, keep in mind that it is a very expensive city. I managed to spend over £100 in just one day, and the only luxury I treated myself to was some Swiss chocolate. But, if you asked me if I thought that taking a day trip to Lugano was a great idea, I would give you a positive answer. I enjoyed the time I spent in Lugano so much, that I’d love to go back and explore some more. It is definitely a destination that has so much to offer.

Top Things to Do on a Day Trip to Lugano

In this guide I am going to tell you how I spent my day in Lugano, the things I loved, as well as where I ate. I will give you as much information as I remember about prices as well. 

Take in the Views from the Train Station

As soon as I stepped out of the train station I was greeted by the beautiful picture-perfect panorama of Lugano. The train station is elevated, quite high up from the lake. In order to reach the lake, you can either walk down or take a small funicular which connects the train station to the city centre. Whilst I recommend that you walk down, after spending the entire day on your feet, you will want to take the funicular back up to the station. A one-way ticket costs 1.3CHF (approx. £1). 

Visit the Catedrale San Lorenzo

When you search for information about Lugano, Catedrale San Lorenzo is the one that you will see in most pictures depicting the city. Located minutes from the train station, the Cathedral is famous for its Renaissance façade made from Carrara marble and white stone brought in from near Varese, in Italy. On the central part of the façade there is a large rose window. The Cathedral’s tower is built in both a Romanesque and a Baroque style, as the bottom part dates from the 11^th century, whilst the top part was added sometime during the 17^th century. 

The interior of the Cathedral is breathtaking, even though it’s quite small compared to other Cathedrals in Europe. There are so many frescos, dating as early as the 14^th century.

From the front of the Cathedral, you can admire another beautiful panoramic view of Lugano.

Entrance to the Cathedral is free of charge.

Walk Along Lugano Lake

Lugano has a lovely waterfront promenade with plenty of attractions such as small sandy beaches with sun loungers, or pedalo boats for rent. The pedalo boats are very cute, built in the shape of vintage formula 1 red cars. Hiring a pedalo boat for one hour costs 16CHF (approx. £13). 

If you fancy seeing the city from the water, you can also jump onto one of the boats that tour around Lugano Lake. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to include this activity in my Lugano day itinerary.

Check Out Ciano Park

Even though the weather was quite cloudy during my day trip to Lugano, Ciano Park was full of locals enjoying a stroll along the alleys bordered by colourful flowers, relaxing on the small sandy beach at the mouth of the river, or checking out the temporary Bansky exhibition at Villa Ciani.

The park offers some pretty views over the lake and the city, with a backdrop of pretty flowers.

Take the Funicular Up Monte Brè

As the city of Lugano is surrounded by mountains, I imagined that there would be a funicular on one of them. And I wasn’t wrong, there was actually a funicular on two different mountains. I chose to go up Monte Brè, as it was the closest to the city centre. Walking to the funicular takes around 20 minutes, along the shores of Lake Lugano and through Ciani Park.

There are two funiculars: one that goes to Suvigliana, and the second one going further up, to Monte Brè. The first one is unmanned and free of charge. The payment for the first funicular is included in the second ticket, which costs 25 CHF (approx. 21) for the return trip. It’s quite amusing, as the conductor is also the ticket vendor, so you can’t buy a ticket until the funicular is at the station.

The funicular is vintage, built from wood. The trip up offers stunning views over the lake and Lugano itself, and it travels quite slowly, stopping at several stations until it reaches the top of Monte Brè. I was lucky to see a deer very close to the line, at the edge of the forest, looking at the funicular curiously as it was descending.

Once you reach the top of Monte Brè you can take a walk along several trails to see more gorgeous views.

Have Lunch with a View

I decided to have lunch at one of the Alpine restaurants on top of Monte Brè, Restaurante Vetta. The view from the terrace is gorgeous, you can see Switzerland on one side and Italy on the other. I arrived quite early, so I didn’t have an issue finding a good table with a view, but as I was finishing my lunch, I saw that people were already queuing for tables.

I ordered the fresh pasta with cheese fondue, chicory, and speck, accompanied by a glass of local wine from Ticino. Whilst it wasn’t a cheap lunch, at 30 CHF (approx. £26), it was delicious and it kept me full until I landed back in the UK later that evening.

Enjoy Some Time at the Lido

If you have more time in Lugano, or if the weather is lovely and you fancy a swim, consider spending a couple of hours at the Lido. This is an inviting open-air swimming pool complex with great views over the lake and the mountains. Imagine swimming with that view right in front of you! 

Explore the Old Town of Lugano

When you walk along the streets of Lugano, don’t forget to look up. There are so many buildings with beautifully painted facades and vibrant colours. The old town of Lugano is quite small, and you can explore it easily in about an hour. I took my time to find hidden corners and gaze at the pretty architecture.

On my day trip to Lugano, I came across the local market, which seemed very popular among the locals. There are plenty of water fountains scattered around town, so make sure you don’t leave your water bottle at the station.

Visit the Santa Maria degli Angioli Church

Santa Maria degli Angioli was my favourite out of the churches I had seen all day. Whilst from the outside it doesn’t look like much, the interior is spectacular! The church was built at the end of the 15^th century as part of a convent. The church only has one nave, which was a usual feature of Franciscan churches following the typical Lombardian and Piedmontese “Bernardian module” architectural style. This meant that there was no middle aisle, only a wall partition that would separate the worshippers from the monks.

The partition wall is covered by a large fresco depicting “Passion and Crucifixion”, painted by Bernardino Luini, a disciple of Leonardo DaVinci. It is considered to be a masterpiece of the Swiss-Italian Renaissance art.

Buy Some Chocolate

Of course, you can’t visit Switzerland, even if it’s only for a day, and not treat yourself to chocolate. The town is filled with independent chocolate shops, where you can buy pralines, chocolate bars, or truffles. Are they expensive? Yes!

As an alternative, find a supermarket and buy the chocolate from there. It will still taste amazing, but at half the price.

Staying the Night?

If I had stayed the night in Lugano, I would have loved to have spent it at the Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola. I passed by and it looked so dreamy, with perfectly landscaped gardens and grounds that looked so luxurious, but I can imagine that a night here would cost more than my entire trip to Italy. Dreaming is free though, right?

If you fancy staying here, you can check the reviews on TripAdvisor, or the latest rates on Booking.com

For all other budgets, check out the suggestions below:

Booking.com

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