We Visited Lake Como + Lugano in 48 HOURS (is it worth it?) 🇮🇹🇨🇭

We Visited Lake Como + Lugano in 48 HOURS (is it worth it?) 🇮🇹🇨🇭

What if I told you there are two stunning 
lakes just 40 minutes apart in two different countries—Lake Como, Italy, and Lugano, 
Switzerland? And we’re going to try to explore both in just 48 hours. Sounds 
easy, right? Romantic even. Hop a train from Italy to Switzerland, sip espresso, watch 
the mountains roll by, and in just 48 hours, see two of Europe’s most beautiful lakes. But things 
got complicated. We have to come clean—Lake Como has thrown us for a complete loop. Yes, that’s 
the bus. Oh. We made mistakes, and for a moment, we weren’t sure we’d make it at all. So, is it 
actually possible to do both in a weekend and still feel like you truly traveled? The journey 
begins at 7:00 a.m. on a train ride to Como. So day one is everything about Lake 
Como. So if you’re going to Lake Como, you’d think to yourself, well, I probably need 
to go to the town of Como. But apparently this is like the least interesting place on the entire 
lake according to everyone. It’s just a passing through point. And a lot of people make the 
mistake of thinking this is where the action is. That’s right. But we’re going to visit the 
best places on this lake—that is, not Como—but we’re starting our journey over here. I have to 
say though, Martine, if this is the worst place, oh my god. I think I don’t really know what to 
expect today. This is beautiful. It is. So let’s check out the other places. Today’s adventure 
called for a true Italian espresso, so we head to a little place called Barano. It’s simple. 
It’s not a Starbucks, so it should be good. These Italian little cafes where you stand up and 
drink your espresso. It’s funny because outside it says bar, but this is not a bar. That’s how they 
call it. Yeah. And you know it’s a good place when locals are coming in and out within like a 
minute, because they’re just coming, standing, drinking their drink, heading out to work. So, 
little breakfast over here. One cappuccino, one cornetto. I think it’s a good day. I think 
so. And then we gotta catch our ferry after this. So it is always an adventure, you guys, when 
you travel tourist to local. So we arrived at the ferry terminal and the first ferry that goes 
to the place that we want to go is at 10:50. What time is it right now? 9:00. And the ferry itself 
takes like an hour. So we’re looking at wasting potentially 2 hours—or no, longer—we’re wasting 
3 hours. 3 hours if we wait for this ferry, which sucks because we really imagined ourselves on this 
glistening lake, but I think there’ll be more of that later. So right now, we’re taking a bus in 
order to get to the place where we’re going to start the main thing of this lake. Yeah. And one 
of our beliefs is if you know how to take a bus in one part of the world, you can take it literally 
anywhere. We’re going to figure this out and get ourselves to Bellagio and not waste any time—we 
only have a day here. Good. Yes, that’s the bus. Oh, that’s the bus. Oh, shoot. So we missed 
the bus. What are you going to do about it? We head to the station to secure a spot in the next 
one. And there’s no way we’re missing that one. How much? Uh, 8.60. Oh, that’s good for both. 
Despite the one-hour delay, it would still get us where we want to go faster than the ferry. Though 
we joined this guy practicing karate at the bus stop, enjoyed the show, and made our way to one 
of the most beautiful spots on the lake—Bellagio. We did it, mi amore. We did it. This is the life. 
And uh, you know guys, that bus ride wasn’t half bad. I actually really enjoyed it. And here we are 
in Bellagio. And this place is just as gorgeous as we imagined. Martine was just telling me 
something. He said, “I was really scared to come here.” Said, “What do you mean, is it dangerous or 
what?” And no, actually, this is the kind of place that checks all the marks of the place that I like 
the most in the entire world. I mean—Italian food, beautiful, a lake. It’s very close to a big 
city—that is, Milano. It makes me scared to be over here because then I want to live over 
here. This is a popular destination for people to get engaged or honeymoon. So right now, 
let’s be one of them. I know. Let’s recreate our honeymoon and do it here, because this is the 
place to do it. This is it. This hour right here, exploring the town of Bellagio. This is 
the Dolce Vita. Life is good on Lake Como. Well, I think we found the lunch spot 
for today. That’s right. The restaurant is called La Grotto. And it doesn’t have a 
view of the lake, but that’s important. Yeah, we’re finally going to be having some pizza 
and pasta. And I would much rather have a place that’s really freaking good Italian food than 
a crazy view that’s going to cost the money. This is freaking delicious. I got the Amalfitana 
pizza. It’s so good. I don’t know what my technique though was with cutting it—I just kind 
of went crazy for the middle part. And it’s really weird how I ate this. This restaurant—it 
got packed 5 minutes after opening. That tells you everything about the restaurant. 
I ordered a pasta, and I do not regret it, because it’s delicious. After lunch, we decided 
to come over to this little lookout point where you can see the “Y” of the lake—because it’s 
shaped like that—Punta Spartivento. And for me, as I see it, it’s the center of the lake. 
We only have about 30 minutes left here in Bellagio because where we’re at right now is 
actually one of the points of the Golden Triangle, as they call it. There are three towns that 
you can take ferries from here. And I can see why people get engaged here and do their 
honeymoon. This place is just romantic. I mean, you think crystal turquoise waters is like the 
most beautiful water—I love how this is such a deep blue. It’s almost black. Definitely. So 
calm, so romantic, so beautiful. 2 hours was actually the perfect amount of time to 
spend here. And it’s just our luck that we timed things right and could catch the ferry 
right across the lake to our next town—Varenna. Just in time. It’s a short ride, maybe 15 minutes, 
but with these views, it was definitely one of the highlights of our day. By the way, if you’re 
coming straight from Milan, there’s a train that lets you off here. And it’s a much easier option 
than stopping in Como first like we did. And this is a town you’ll want to spend some time in. It’s 
somehow even more beautiful than Bellagio was. Pistachio. Yum. Welcome to Varenna, guys. It’s 
a little bit after noon. I already took off two layers, and the sun is up. Perfect time 
for gelato. Oh my god, it’s so good. We were just walking along the shore to this place 
called—I think it’s La Passerella. It just says Gelateria outside. I think this is even more 
beautiful than the last spot. I know we said we’re going to go to three different towns, 
but as much as possible, what we’re doing is taking the time just to watch the lake and 
just holding hands and talking to each other, because that’s what this place is all 
about. Yeah, exactly. It’s like we’re on our own little mini honeymoon. It feels like 
we’re in an Italian romance movie, or like, I don’t know, we fled here to write a book. 
We’re authors. I don’t know. It’s beautiful. After finishing up our gelato, we walk uphill to 
the Piazza San Giorgio, where we take a peek at the Casa di San Giorgio before making our way 
to that one place we’ve all seen photos of at Lake Como. This is Villa Monastero, and the garden 
is open every day with a cost of €10 per person. Yeah, but if you want to go to the museum, you 
have to wait because they only open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. €10 is 100% worth it. You 
know, they say this place is super expensive for the rich and wealthy, but that’s not 
too bad to enter this place. No, no, no. We spent about 30 minutes here having a long, 
leisurely stroll through this garden and imagining what life must be like living on this lake. And 
you guys know us—it’s completely unlike us to take things this slow on our travel days. But there’s 
something so nice about just wandering without a plan. That’s how we end up here. So we decided to 
have a little drink over here, just admiring. We are not saying anything to ourselves, we’re just 
watching. What’s the name of the place? Barolo. And we have one of the best views over here. 
This is not a bad place to pass the afternoon. But perhaps we took things a little too slow. 
We have to come clean. Yeah, we need to be so freaking real with you guys right now. We consider 
ourselves really smart, prepared travelers, and Lake Como has thrown us for a complete 
loop. The thing is, there was a third place we were supposed to show you here. And being the 
smart travelers we are, we were already, you know, five steps ahead trying to figure out, okay, how 
do we get to our hotel tonight? And that’s when we realized—we could be completely stranded if we 
don’t take the absolute next boat out of here. That’s right. So the place that we wanted 
to visit—the third place—oh there’s George Clooney! Hey! The third place we wanted 
to visit is Menaggio. And the problem is, yeah, as Elena said, if we don’t 
take the next ferry out of here, we’re going to stay over here overnight. I’m 
talking till 6:00 a.m. There is no other way out. Uh, and that’s the problem here in Lake 
Como. If you do decide to go on a day trip, if you are not careful with your scheduling 
of the boats to your other boat to your bus to your train to get back to wherever you’re 
staying, you could be stranded here for real. I’ve seen a lot of videos of people coming 
over here and they were talking about that, but it’s like, oh wait, it’s regular tourists 
that wake up at 9:00. That cannot be us. And look at us. But it is. I mean, what time is 
it right now? Uh, 4:10. And the actual direct boat to Como has sold out. So we need to take a 
different boat that gets us to Bellagio and then to Como. That’s the only option right now. So 
you really have to be careful with your timing. We would have loved to show you guys 
Menaggio. We had a great dinner lined up, but it is what it is. You know, that’s travel for 
you. Once we secured tickets, the ride back to Como was easy, but the whole time we were asking 
ourselves—how could we have done this differently? We love public transport. It’s our go-to 
in most places. But after some research, it became clear that if you want to explore 
the lake on your own terms—especially when it’s just a day trip—you’ve got to rent a car. All our 
travel time would have been cut in half this day, and we actually could have stayed as 
long as we wanted. But it is what it is. With the stress behind us, we were ready to 
actually relax. We weren’t staying in Como at all. The prices were wild. The crowds can be crazy. 
And we wanted something a little more local, somewhere quiet, somewhere between the two cities 
we want to visit. So we opened a map, and there it was—Varese. We’d never heard of it, but for 
some reason it called to us, and we loved it. It’s the kind of town where the 
bakery knows your name by morning two, and the locals actually live in the homes you 
walk past. And just outside the center of town, we found the Hotel Horizon Wellness Spa Resort 
BW Signature Collection by Best Western, who has partnered with us for this trip to 
help us showcase a little-known lakeside village that lots of people miss when visiting 
Como. The rooms were clean and offered sweeping views of Lake Varese. And we were able to 
properly unwind after all that ferry drama. Plus, they have an incredible on-site 
spa with a pool, saunas, and steam room, which is the perfect reset button. Plus, the 
on-site restaurant made it easy to get a meal in after a long day exploring. And the quiet 
trails through the countryside made this an even more lovely place to enjoy the sunset 
because it was just for us. And honestly, one of my favorite things—just next door, there’s 
a llama and goat farm. Beautiful. Beautiful. So yeah, if you got a car and you’re open to 
stepping just off the tourist trail, this might be your perfect pace too. We’ll leave a link to this 
property below if you’re interested in staying here. Good morning, travelers. It’s day two, and 
I think today is going to be a much less stressful day than yesterday. And it should be very easy 
today because we’re only visiting one place. Yes—one city, on one lake. It’s called Lugano. And 
it’s in Switzerland, which is a new country for you, Martine. That’s right. We have our passports, 
and we’re ready. Let’s go catch the train. You know, it’s kind of fun to come to such a 
random town. It makes me daydream about what life must be like living here. And it reminds me 
so much of the way my mom would plan our travels. She was notorious for picking really random 
spots that just called to her on a map. And we would stay there, and it would always be 
like an hour away from anything popular. But sometimes it’s in those experiences that 
you have some of the best memories. Like, I don’t know—not many people can say 
they’ve stayed in the town of Varese, Italy. And we’re loving it. We got our tickets 
for the train. It’s only a 40-minute ride actually from the train station—so pretty quick. And we’re 
going to have a second breakfast when we’re there. Okay, we arrived over here. This is Lugano. 
And because it’s my first time in Switzerland, I hear there’s very good chocolate—I need to 
try some. Let’s start this day with breakfast. We decided to come to this little café 
called The Nini. And it’s just about a block away from the lake. It’s so charming to 
sit out here and enjoy the sun. And I’m excited because this hot chocolate is delicious. It 
ain’t no Swiss Miss, let me tell you that. This particular establishment has 
been making chocolate since 1871. Uh, they actually have a chocolate shop here where 
you can watch them make the chocolate and you can buy some delicious truffles to go. We might 
have to sneak some in our carry-on. And also, along with this, I got a panini with Swiss cheese, because we got to have everything Swiss for 
the little time we’re here in Switzerland. After that coffee, after that breakfast, I 
think we’re ready to explore the lake. It’s so, so beautiful, you guys. There’s this nice walking 
path—you can go along the entire coastline. Let’s see what we can find here. Uh, I like this little 
pier. You know, I’m good here. This is—I could sit here all day long. To walk from one end of the 
waterfront to the other only takes 23 minutes, but for us it turned into an hour. We kept 
finding these perfect lookout points of the city where we enjoy the reflection of 
the water and watch kayakers pass by. There’s a couple of fountains over here, and I heard the water is very 
good. I’m going to taste it. Tasty. Eventually, we find ourselves on the other 
end—at Parco Ciani. Yeah, I feel you, man. After too many countries, too many cities, 
every single day walking more than 22,000 steps, waking up before 6:00 in the 
morning—I know how we feel. Oh, so many ducks. I would jump in if it 
wasn’t so cold right now. It’s beautiful. Now we’re in this beautiful place called Parco 
Ciani, and it’s a must if you visit Lugano. Normally they have a villa that is open, but 
right now because it’s low season, it’s under construction. Oh really? Here I am thinking that 
this was the villa. This whole time I was like, this is gorgeous. And it’s free to walk around the 
park. And you pointed out something very good that I didn’t notice. This city—in comparison with Lake 
Como—it feels more like a functional city. I mean, we’ve seen people walking around their dogs and 
also kids after school playing in the playground, and it feels like a city that has life. 
Yeah, exactly. And not just maybe a tourist attraction. Like there’s regular, regular 
people living here. And I kind of love that. On the other hand though, one thing 
I did just say—for some reason, that makes it not as romantic. I still love it, but it’s not like, you know, private 
to yourself. No one’s around. Exactly. We decided to stop into Antica Osteria del 
Porto because even though we’re in Switzerland, there’s so much Italian influence in this town. 
They still speak Italian here and there’s tons of Italian food. And this looks incredible. And 
I got this gorgeous-looking caciu e pepe. Now, um, in terms of pricing—you may be curious 
if there’s any price differences between the two lakes. They’re pretty much the same. 
They’re both expensive places. It is what it is. So it’s not like we’re getting a deal 
over here. We’re still in Switzerland. I’m not overreacting. This is so, so good. 
Martine went for the oxtail risotto. Oh, so good. It’s delicious. Probably one of the best 
risottos I’ve ever had in my life. Really? Yes. After lunch, we decided to spend more time 
at the lake, just relaxing. In two days, we had seen a lot of places—but we 
also hadn’t seen much, when you think about it. And maybe that’s okay. We’re not 
perfect travelers. We tend to rush. We cram too much in. We try to film everything, feel 
everything, tell stories in 48-hour windows. But there’s a kind of beauty in that chaos. 
And there’s also beauty in the pause. When you hear “La Dolce Vita,” I doubt you picture 
running around with a checklist. I picture a bench. A lake. Ice cream with your best friend. 
The sound of nothing in particular. I guess when you think about it, we could have stayed in any of 
these three places—Como, Varese, or Lugano—and had just as much fun doing almost nothing at all. 
But we’re curious: which one would you pick? Fast forward a bit and we’re on the hunt for 
one essential piece of la dolce vita—a good scoop of gelato. This gelato turned out 
so good. I think one of the best that we had during our trip, if not the best, 
because this pistachio gelato—it has little chunks of pistachio. Pistachio. 
The name of the place is 9° Gelato. We’re just going to wrap this up and then 
head to our next spot—last spot—before we come to our final conclusion of which one we 
like more. This is our final stop. This is the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, and it’s small 
but very cute, and it has an amazing view of the lake. And you can’t miss it because it’s 
the first thing you see when you get off the train. It’s free to enter. And what I like about 
this one—it got in a process of restoration. So they show you a couple of pictures: how 
it was before and how it’s now. Beautiful. I really did think that this lake was going 
to be so similar to Lake Como that it’d be hard to tell which one is better, but I 
feel like I have some opinions now. Yeah, that’s right. I think this place—it’s more 
like a one-day trip. And easily, you can just enjoy it. But Lake Como—I think for sure it takes 
more, maybe two or three days. But either way, both destinations—they’re amazing. I think I’m 
very happy we were able to visit both lakes. But next week, we’re keeping one more place—the 
last one over here in Europe during this series. Yeah—it’s Milan. We’ve left a video to the side 
for you guys to keep watching our adventures. So long. Travel well. Make the world your 
neighborhood. See you guys next time. Bye-bye.

We set out to visit two iconic lakes in two different countries…all in just 48 hours. From the elegance of Lake Como, Italy to the charm of Lake Lugano, Switzerland, this quick escape turned out to be more than we bargained for.

In this video, we share our perfect weekend itinerary exploring both lakes, plus some important things we wish we knew before going. We hope this video will help you plan smarter and travel better.

🏨 Where we stayed: Hotel Horizon Wellness & Spa Resort, BW Premier Collection: https://get.aspr.app/SH17iU

*Looking for tours in Lake Como and Lugano? Here are some of our favorites that are led by local guides!*
👉 Day Trip from Milan to Lake Como and Lugano + Private Boat: https://gyg.me/N271vbEU
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👋About Us
We’re Juliana and Martín! She’s from the USA, he’s from Mexico. We’re here to help you turn your trips into culture and value-packed adventures.

Think the travel world’s only split into hardcore backpackers and tick-the-box tourists? We call nonsense. You’re out to see a destination’s must see spots, but also to sneak off the tourist path to find the spots that only locals go. You’re chasing experiences with value, and we’ve got you. When you travel with us, it’s no fluff, just the good stuff, because your vacation deserves more than just scratching the surface.
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🎥 CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:42 Arriving to Como
2:06 Catching a ferry/bus to Bellagio
3:30 Arriving to Bellagio
5:17 Lunch in Bellagio
6:54 Exploring Varenna
9:44 Almost stranded in Como…
11:21 Tips for visiting Como and where we stayed
13:09 Arriving to Lugano
14:39 Exploring Lugano
17:42 Lunch in Lugano
20:06 Lake Como vs Lugano: Which is better?