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Lugano is on the south tip of Switzerland, closer to Italy in terms of its lifestyle than it is to the other parts of Switzerland. Lugano is indeed in the Italian-speaking canton of Switzerland, called Ticino. Ticino shares a border with the north of Italy, is approximately only an hour car-ride from Lombardy; and shares also the Lake of Lugano with Italy. In fact, travel guides usually recommend tourists to carry their passports on them, when and if they plan to take a lake tour. You can never tell when you stride into the Italian territory…

Despite the apparent Italian influence in Lugano –in terms of architecture, cuisine and entertainment- there is still something Swiss about it as well. The narrow streets and the little side-walk cafes offering aperitivos after 6 P.M., risotto and fresh pasta dishes on every restaurant menu, and the stone-paved back streets do in fact remind the visitor of the back streets of Brera or Rome. However, the multi-lingual staff at your hotel and restaurants, and chocolate stores are remarkably Swiss.

Lugano is like any other lake city –like Como for instance. One day is more than enough to make discoveries, and to learn your way from your hotel to the city center. More days are needed if you plan on really relaxing, swimming and shopping.

On our first day in Lugano, to which we arrived late in the evening with the train from Basel, we did not strive to discover the entire city. Walking straight to the most famous Piazza of the city, Piazza della Riforma, in less than 5 minutes, we seated for a light dinner at Ristorante Tango. Two glasses of white wine and a cold appetizer dish of prosciutto and parmesan later, we were already full; but did nevertheless went for the hot tomato soup. The soup was a very dense mix of tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil, which was too much for our already full stomachs –but could have been indeed a tasteful appetizer when reduced by three quarters in volume.

As I had errands to run the following day, we called it an early night and went to sleep by 10 P.M. My errands required me to go to the University of the city the next day, so I woke up early and took off to walk there. Leaving the city center, the residential areas looked a bit dull, but still had substantial scenery and aesthetics.

Leaving the University late in the afternoon, I had no time to make discoveries in the city. After a quick shower, we hit off again for our second dinner destination: Osteria Antica del Porto. After two years in Milan, I must admit I had the best risotto here in this restaurant. The menu was extensive with a traditional a la carte section, a seasonal dishes section and a thematic section. We had risotto with porcini mushrooms and cannelloni, both of which were extremely delicious. Service was very friendly.

Third day was a pleasant day with the sun shining on top of us all day long. Residents and tourists alike were out and about the Lake, enjoying the pleasant weather that probably does not come around very often in winter. We started the day off with the intention of making a boat tour on the lake, but came upon an open market of antiques on the way to the shore; and spent at least an hour hand-picking antique vases, liquor glasses, pens, second hand books, hand-made jewelry and accessories. The antique market is apparently held every Saturdays from early morning until 5 P.M. in the afternoon. By the time we had finished looking at every single stand in the market, we had already missed the first boat on the lake. So, we went to what seemed to be the chic and elitist café of the city: Grand Café al Porto in the city center. Going in, one wants to dive into the window-pane of the patisserie and into the millefeuilles, macaroons and cakes. I did end up eating a piccolo millefeuille, and my companion had for herself a glaise of vanilla ice cream topped with hot chocolate. Very chic atmosphere, elegant service, elegant people and overwhelming sweetness… The place is open everyday from morning until 7 P.M. and is serving three different meals everyday for lunch apart from the coffee, tea and desert selections.

After our smashing break, we left again for the shore and had a pleasant little walk into the Paradiso region of Lugano. Apart from the city center, as called the old city, there is also the Paradiso region, where now the Grand Hotel of Eden and Hotel Splendid stand shoulder to shoulder with other rich-looking museums and buildings. On the opposite side from the Paradiso region is Cassarate and Castagnola regions. None of these are far away from one and other. In fact walking to Paradiso from the center only took us 10 or 15 minutes. Similarly, the night before, our dinner at Osteria Antica del Porto was nearer to Cassarate district rather than the center.

We did take the boat finally at around 2.40 P.M. The tour, despite what we had been expecting, did not last for more than half an hour. Our guide took us until yet another district called Gandria and then took us back again. Still the view of the lake was very relaxing and to see how the sun reflected against the shore from afar was a nice experience.

At around 5 P.M. the same day, we ended up being soaked with tiredness and seated ourselves for a glass of wine at Bottega del Vino. This is a winery that serves a few selective hot dishes for lunch and dinner; and certain other cold dishes such as bruschetta, tartare and cheese selections throughout the day as appetizers. We ordered a Ticinese wine by the bottle and decided to share bruschette. Not that bruschette are hard to prepare, but the ingredients used were very fresh and it did go really well with the wine. The kitchen did not open until 7 P.M. in the evening, but surprisingly we were still mingling pieces of bruschette by 6.45 P.M. We considered ordering a hot dish to share, but ended up getting only a cheese platter –since the staff would not allow us to have the table until after 7.30 P.M. Apparently, the place was full for dinner… We finished off with mascarpone –crema di yogurt with chocolate pieces-, macchiati and limoncelli. I was asleep by 8.30 P.M. with my hands on my stomach.

Another day would have been nice to go around for more shopping, perhaps at the legendary Fox Town in Mendrisio –where designer brands are being sold with 75% discount; and to see a few museums. It would have been even nicer to have an extra day at a spa and be massaged with the sun shining on the lake… Next time perhaps.

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