I have never really been to Switzerland, always on a transit via Zurich Airport (ZRH). I got some days off from work (#yeah – no more work for the rest of this month!!) and I wasn’t in a mood for city trips / sightseeing. More like a relax mini-vacation where I can recharge myself.
After the mini-road trip last month in Belgium, I felt more like a lake trip this time is more suitable, especially now that summer has finally arrived in Europe!!
I picked out Lugano as our starting point of our upcoming journey. Lugano is a city in southern Switzerland’s Italian-speaking Ticino region. Since we are in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland the majority of the people I came across only speak and understand Italian. Obviously apart from the touristy areas 🙂
The airplane that took us here from ZRH is pretty cute. I don’t think I have ever sat in one of these before.
And look at the Swiss Alps (how fast time flies, last time I saw these from above was during my trip to Sevilla)
From Lugano Airport (LUG) to the city centre we took the local train S60, which stops at Lugano FLP. 
From here to our hotel we could either 1) take the mini funicular (CHF 1.30 one way) or 2) walking down the hills. We surely opted for the second option since we also want to see a bit from this little town. Plus, it’s a 10mish downhill walking anyway 😀
C picked out a very nice hotel, Hotel Walter au Lac.
The location is perfect, not to mention the view that we got from our room!! Isn’t it beautiful?
After a short rest, we head out for dinner. Note to myself: make reservations in advance. Especially in small towns, where the restaurant goers outnumber the good restaurants. Unless you don’t mind long waiting time.
Since the restaurants of our choices where all fully booked out, we ended up at Ristorante Olimpia. 
Simply based on the location of that restaurant, which is located at the heart of Piazza Della Riforma. Moreover, on that night there was even a music festival. Hence, I would say we got the best seats 😀 
Unfortunately, the food that we ordered arrived slightly different from the pictures and it was way too overpriced!!
I do understand that we are in Switzerland. However, the quality of the food was not the best (in relation to the price they charge).
Anyway, we stayed almost till the end of the music festival, before strolling a bit along the lake side.
I can’t wait to explore this town tomorrow, stay tuned 😉
Location details:
Where to stay:
Hotel Walter au Lac
Piazza Riziero Rezzonico 7, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
Website: http://www.walteraulac.ch
Food Places we been to:
Ristorante Olimpia
Piazza Riforma 1, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
Website: http://www.ristoranteolimpia.ch
Overall experience: 5 of 10 (very nice location, friendly staffs but average food)
