06
Oct
14 Minute Read
14 Minute Read
To my untrained, Californian perspective, it seems weird that Switzerland would feel French, German, and Italian. But after having visited there in 2024, it started to make sense.
Switzerland lies at the heart of Europe, and three of the major cultural centers and identities cross paths here. And in my experience, this is most notable in Lugano. It’s the most southern part of Switzerland, and definitely feels like Italy.
Lugano is a shopping mecca of sorts, where expensive watches, boats, designer clothes, and other fancy items of all kinds can be purchased. Strolling through the main boulevard in town is a place to see and to be seen, and stores line each covered road displaying their wares next to open air restaurant patios and gelato shops. It felt a bit like Beverly Hills to me.
On the north side of the city, there’s a mountain called Monte Brè, which has a steep cable car that takes you directly up to an incredible viewpoint with an accompanying restaurant. Surprisingly accessible, and it’s definitely advertised everywhere. The entire town sits right along Lake Lugano, which successfully melds the Italian lake-region vibe with that of Switzerland.
But this is indeed Italy. So that means there is cycling to be had!
When I was there, I rode three separate rides, most of which I sourced from Cycling Aficionados. It’s an awesome site with a ton of information when it comes to various European destinations known within the cycling community.
After having successfully followed a route or two from that site, I want to advise you to be cautious of some of the verbiage on that site! When they say the climbs are “short” or “not too bad”, be wary! At least in my experience, they will kick you in the teeth if you’re not well-trained or unfamiliar with the riding in this region. This area is full of mountains, but not the same kind of mountains in the Andermatt region. These are much shorter, but generally much steeper!
The routes that I rode in 2024 include:
When planning for this ride, I primarily followed the ride specified in the Cycling Aficionados site, specifically their “top” listed route. I found it to be a really interesting route that allowed me to see far more from the region than I think I would have on my own.
This was my first foray into the Lugano region by bike, and I was definitely surprised at how similar it felt (at first) to my previous experiences riding in Italy. Especially since I had previously ridden near Lake Como in 2019.
However, I had also previously been riding in the big mountains near Andermatt for several days, so at the same time, this whole region felt shockingly different. It was a welcome change, though, because I was particularly excited to mentally connect the region I had just previously been in, to that of what I was somewhat more familiar with from my past adventures.
So I traded quintessential Swiss chalet architecture and fondue for stone-lined streets and pasta. Not bad.
This ride took me north out of town, through a somewhat confusing set of suburbs and up through an amazingly beautiful bike path following the tree lined side of a mountain valley. I would 100% go back and do this again, as I saw a lot of locals jogging, walking, and riding through this area, connecting to a few streets with well labeled crosswalks and parks.
The west part of the ride, however, is where the proverbial “kick-in-the-teeth” came in, as there is a set of switchbacks that seem to never end. Most of them are 14-20% in gradient! I’m not sure if I was more tired than I expected to be or not, but these took me a while to climb!
Descending through several picturesque Italian villages (and a particularly helpful water fountain outside a church) was a welcome reprieve, though, as it was quiet, quaint, and just generally pleasant. Truly these people live la dolce vita, even though they’re in Switzerland and pay for everything using Swiss Francs!
If following the route, make sure to not miss the turns! These villages through this region, while beautiful, are small and have small streets that are easy to miss if you’re not paying close enough attention. But also don’t forget to live in the moment and enjoy this area! I remember going through several vineyards, each of which felt small and intimate in a way, with publicly accessible roads that basically went right through them. Very cool.
Another highlight of this route is the town of Marcote, considered “one of the most beautiful” in all of Switzerland, and sits right at the southern end of Lake Lugano.
I found an amazing salad there and had some gelato while also observing a grandmother and her granddaughter enjoying the cool, shaded walkways in town. She must have been about 8 years old and must have thought I looked funny in my cycling kit eating ice cream!
Ascending out of town was not nearly as steep as before and was relatively quiet and gradual, which made the views out over the lake more and more spectacular the longer I rode on. Basically the road is a set of long switchbacks towards Carona, which sits basically just south on the hill of San Salvatore, one of the two mountain tops that surrounds Lugano (with its own funicular).
I really liked it up there. It got quiet again, I felt accomplished, and the trees lining the road gave a welcome amount of shade on what turned out to a significantly hotter climate than I had been enjoying previously in Andermatt. It was also the start of a spectacular descent through Paradiso and back into Lugano proper, where I was able to stroll along the waterfront boulevard walkway. It was calming and a great way to experience Lugano without the hectic nature of dealing with a car.
After having experienced the, lets say, steeper-than-expected climbs from the previous day, I opted to modify my intentions for this particular ride. I had previously found out about an old rail trail that had been converted to a cycling path and I wanted to incorporate it into a ride into Como, mentally connecting the new area of Lugano (to me) to the old that I had previously visited.
There were a few things that made this particular ride this day quite interesting, the first of which is that I got to cross an international border on my bike, no questions asked!
I also:
The Lago di Piano is both a lake and a recreation area / nature preserve that has an amazing bike path through it that connects the towns of Porlezza and Menaggio. At least when the parts of it that weren’t flooded out that day!
I had a few locals ask me in Italian where the route went, so it wasn’t just me who was confused that day!
A bit further beyond the lake is where the majority of the trail is, and it’s truly spectacular.
It can be a bit tricky to follow in spots, but keep an eye out for the signs and when in doubt, follow other riders who may be out there doing the same thing!
And because it’s an old rail line, there are even tunnels you can ride through!
Eventually the trail ends and you can either continue to follow the road down the main way or try to find the more direct route down as I did. It’s paved for a little while, but then it devolves into a rut-fill dirt road. I saw a few mountain bikers going up the other way and they seemed a bit perplexed as to what I was doing out there with my road bike!
After descending that dirt descent back to the road near the lake again, I realized that this was, in fact, a different lake. Lake Como! It felt different somehow, even more Italian in a way, and I ended up following it all the way down to the town of Como itself. It was actually quite surreal looking across the lake and seeing the town of Bellagio that I had enjoyed visiting previously.
Along the way, I found myself “accidentally” climbing another 20% gradient climb through a bunch of shady trees, then descending down another fantastic descent back down towards the lake, following a traffic-filled street or two. I remember this section taking me a lot longer than I had expected, but that may have been because I kept wanting to stop to take pictures and admire the views!
Eventually I did make it to Como and went directly to Sartoria Ciclistica, the local bike shop I had visited last time. They had since moved to a new location just on the outskirts of town, which is a spot more convenient for starting rides from. I chatted at length with an associate there and purchased some cycling souvenirs. They have a cool vibe in there and were super accomodating to me that day (they have air conditioning!), so I 100% recommend visiting if you’re in the area!
It was lunchtime at that point, so I went to a place the associate recommended me, L’Ora della Pasta. Fantastic pesto pasta, which you can customize as you wish, and so much cheaper in Como than anywhere previously in Switzerland!
Getting back to Lugano at this point was more challenging than I had expected. But that was mainly because it was really hot that day. I remember climbing up through the town of Chiasso and seeing my Garmin register well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s often higher than the actual air temperature, but it’s affected by the radiant heat from the road, which of course you also feel as the rider.
I also accidentally took a wrong turn in Castel San Pietro and found myself going back towards where I came, so I had to turn around and recalibrate myself in the sun. I generally do well in heat while riding, but I remember at this point in the ride being ready just to get back to Lugano!
At points like these, it’s important to stay focused and positive. It’s an incredible region to ride in, so it’s good to keep things in focus and be smart while also trying to enjoy the moment, being present in each of them.
To that point, through this section I saw a fellow cyclist break his derailleur hanger while coming across a strange place called “Swissminiatur”. He seemed okay to get home after I spoke to him (he also was visiting I think), but it reminded me of when the same thing had happened to me in Girona in 2018. While I don’t wish for bad things like this to happen to others of course, it does occasionally remind you that, in that moment, you’re not the one experiencing the problem, so you should definitely be thankful that your trip can continue as planned.
Eventually I did make it back to Lugano, taking the more flat route back along the west side of the lake. It’s actually a fast traveled road, but there is good visibility and not too many uphill sections to slow you down. It’s still quite scenic, too, so if you end up heading this way, make sure to enjoy it!
Lugano is sandwiched between two mountains, San Salvatore and Monte Brè. They’re quite imposing when viewed from within the city below it, but each can be reached generally by bike.
On my third day of riding in Lugano, I was seriously starting to feel it. I was tired of riding in the heat, believe it or not. But I wanted to get out and check out a bit more of the town, and what better way to do it than by bike?
Turns out that Vincenzo Nibali, a former professional cyclist, has / had the KOM for the segment up Monte Brè, although I cannot find the segment specifically showing it. He’s from Italy, though, so this is his home turf, and the climb itself isn’t actually all that bad!
Most people go up the funicular, but we’re cyclists, so of course we like to ride up the hills instead!
After riding through town and past some of the public pools, the turn off towards the top takes you through some fancy neighborhoods. You share the road with buses through here, but it gets significantly quieter the further up you ride. I remember the houses having kind of a Miami vibe, a lot of almost mid-century modern / 70’s looks going for them, but in a very nice, fashionable way. I’m not really familiar with architecture like this, so forgive me if I’m completely off with this, but it was an enjoyable neighborhood to climb up through!
At the top, there is a parking lot with two paths to take. The first route is gravel, which should be (generally) passable with a road bike with modern 28mm tires or more, that takes you to the restaurant at the top.
The restaurant is a bit overpriced, sure, but it’s worth it to reward yourself with some stellar views and a Pepsi (they don’t sell Coke products) now that you’ve made it all the way up there!
After your well-deserved beverage of choice, go back down and do yourself a favor and ride out along the shaded, paved path from the parking lot. It looks like it goes through some kind of private property or neighborhood, but it’s paved all the way out to a magnificent viewpoint called the Punto Panoramico, which overlooks all of Lugano.
It’s also quite interesting because you cross over the funicular that takes people up to the restaurant. I waited around to see one come by and it’s truly a marvel at how steep that thing goes! And turns out there are a few “extra” stops along the way for construction and landscape workers. Pretty cool. I wonder how they felt when they saw a cyclist hanging out way out there!
Heading back down is an awesome, very windy descent, through those same houses again, fancy cars included. There’s a Y-intersection at one point to head back a slightly different way to keep things interesting, which coincidentally takes you along the funicular track again.
All in all, it’s really not a difficult climb, a remarkably steady 7% the whole way up. I really enjoyed riding it when I was there, and felt like it was a great way to cap off the amazing 3 days of riding I had in Lugano.
Lugano is a fantastic spot in the world. It really is. I loved climbing the mountain roads, enjoying the slower pace of life, thought everything felt clean, and loved just how beautiful it was.
I will say, however, that there was something a bit strange to me about it though. The shopping, the glitz, the fancy handbags, all rang a bit hollow to me. I enjoyed it a lot at first, and I even walked in to check out a fancy carbon Tudor watch at one of the major shops in town! But when heading out more towards the country, I felt a bit of an identity crisis going on. Was this Italy or was it Switzerland?
I say this not to speak ill of the area, no way whatsoever, but when I reached the Italian border and saw old men on porches, women walking their dogs, small pasta shops working, while church bells were ringing - it clicked. It felt like Italy. There’s definitely something there that you have to feel in person.
So despite Switzerland likely being the place to go to enjoy a higher quality of life (which you pay for), Italy still rang true as having a certain soul to it that I keep coming back to in my travels. From the dolomites to the coastal border with France, I’ve loved each chance I’ve had to visit, and hope to do so many more times in the future!
