See the best of Switzerland and Italy on a day trip to Lugano and Lake Como from Milan. Led by a local guide, cruise Lake Como on a sightseeing boat while you keep your eyes peeled for celebrity villas. Then, make a stop in Bellagio, known as the 'pearl of Lake Como.' Continue into Switzerland, where you enjoy some free time to soak up the sights in Lugano. Check out the lakeside views or shop for Swiss chocolate before heading back to Milan.

Visit Lugano and enjoy free time to see the elegant Swiss city as you wish
Shop for Swiss chocolate or visit Santa Maria degli Angioli to see Renaissance artwork
Enjoy transport by air-conditioned coach from Milan
Visit the beautiful town of Bellagio, also known as 'the pearl of Lake Como'

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle
Professional, English speaking guide
Headsets, if needed
Lake Como cruise
Free time in the towns of Lugano and Bellagio

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Food and drinks

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Stazione Porta Garibaldi
Stazione Porta Garibaldi, P.za Sigmund Freud, 1, 20124 Milano MI, Italy
At Milan Porta Garibaldi Train Station, in front of the main entrance. Facing the Milan Porta Garibaldi Train Station Main Entrance, the meeting point is on the left side just outside the station, next to the stairs and under the covered portico.

Start time

08:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Depart from central Milan and journey toward the Italian Alps by coach. After a relaxing drive, arrive in Lake Como for your cruise.

Marvel at the luxury real estate while you glide along the water, passing glamorous, celebrity-owned villas. Learn about some of the famous properties from your guide, and hear about the area’s history. Return to land to purchase lunch and discover the picturesque town of Bellagio on your own.

Afterward, reunite with your driver and continue over the Swiss border to the Italian-speaking town of Lugano. Soak up additional time here to explore independently, browsing the local shops for Swiss chocolate, fine luxury goods, and clothes, or checking out the scene by the lake. For a little art and culture, admire Bernardino Luini’s Renaissance masterpiece, 'Passion and Crucifixion,' with a visit to the Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angioli.

After a full day of sightseeing, return to Milan with your guide in the late afternoon.

Lugano

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Lake Lugano (Pass By)

Bellagio

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Lake Como

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Most guests will not be required to have a Visa to enter Switzerland; a passport will be sufficient to enter the Country. Please check this website (https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/publiservice/weisungen-kreisschreiben/visa/liste1_staatsangehoerigkeit.html) for more information, and to determine if you may need a Visa (choose your country by selecting the first letter i.e “U” for United States.
Entrance into religious sites requires a strict dress code. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Please note, the duration of the Como Lake cruise may vary depending on the season. Clients will experience a 2-hours cruise during Summer season (April - October), and a 50 min cruise during Winter season (November - March).
Please be advised that in the case of events beyond our control, we may need to adjust our itinerary to ensure the safety, quality, and satisfaction of your travel experience.
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Please note that on Sundays, our day trip takes you to Varenna instead of Lugano. Lugano's shops and restaurants are typically closed on Sundays, so this change to our itinerary ensures you enjoy an equally delightful experience
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

mary_m

Our tour guide Allesio was excellent. He was friendly, professional, full of information, funny and all around a great guide. We saw some beautiful things. I've got a great feel for Lake Como and Lake Lugano. And the weather held up so we were happy. It's a long day, but I highly recommend it.

Reviews

4.5

745 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 745 reviews

Lake Como, Bellagio and Lugano

Helen_D, Jun 2023

Our guide Joe was very knowledgeable if not for her it could have been terrible. The boat trip on the Lake was far too long due to it being public transport and it was super cramped. We only had approx 1hr in Bellagio and less than an hour in Lugano.

Lovely sightseeing

Catalina_G, Jun 2023

This was a great tour, lovely sightseeing, amazing I got to go to Switzerland. You do get a lot of time on your own to explore, so its good advice to ask tour guide for recs.

Best day trip ever 👌

Magdalene_J, Jun 2023

This whole tour was amazing, Sara the your guide was so caring and made sure everyone was informed and ok .we have a beautiful day definitely worth every penny.

DO NOT BOOK THIS TOUR ON A SUNDAY!!!

Elaine_M, Jun 2023

This was the worst tour ever! There were so many flaws with this tour. The day before, I contacted customer service because we found out that in Switzerland everything is closed on Sunday and they would bring us to another island instead. I wanted to know if we still needed to bring our passports with us. After waiting for a day with no response, I had to contact Viator, and they responded quickly, stating that we would still need to bring our passports. On the day of the tour, we spent $100 per person for a 2-hour ferry ride that was jam-packed. Even though the tour guide mentioned several times that we must get on the ferry, or else we would be left on the island and have to find our own way back to Milan, it felt very disorganized. It was a bit embarrassing that we had to cut in line where people were already waiting - very unethical. Seriously, if you didn't push and cut in front of others, you wouldn't be able to get on the ferry. Once we got on the ferry, it took us to different islands on Lake Como for more passengers to get on and off. This took about 2 hours until we finally reached Bellagio. Then we were given 1 hour and 15 minutes on the island for free. Mind you, we got on the bus at 8:30, and by the time we got to Bellagio, it was already noon. Every restaurant was packed with people, so there was no way we could walk around the town and have lunch. Essentially, we spent 2 hours on a ferry to go to Bellagio just to have lunch there and couldn't explore at all before we had to catch the next ferry to get to our bus for another 1-hour bus ride to Lugano. I've said it before, everything is closed on Sunday in Switzerland. Even in their additional info, it says that shops are closed on Sundays and they will bring us to Varenna, which is in Italy, not Switzerland. But they still took us to Lugano. When we got there, we had another 1.5 hours to walk around and look at closed shops. Mind you, if it were any other day of the week, it would've been a good shopping day. Even the church wouldn't let us in because they were having a service. What a waste of my money to do absolutely nothing?! They know it will be closed and they said they will bring us to Varenna but they didn't. I would not recommend this tour to anyone and I would tell everyone how horrible it was!

Dreamt

Dana_M, May 2023

Jo was excellent, super knowledgeable and friendly and made the whole experience wonderful. Perfect for solo travellers. Honestly had the best day, highly recommend!

Disappointed

Renee_N, May 2023

The places we went to are beautiful, but definitely not enough time. They gave us a headset for the 2 hour boat tour around Como. We could barely hear or understand our guide. The boat was filled with other passengers, some people had to stand entire time because they pack these boats with people. We had less than 2 hours in Bellagio which only gave us enough time for lunch. Then in Lugano we only had an hour & 15 min. Can’t do much during that time frame. We walked to the cathedral & walked around a little & it was time to leave. Tour was posted as 10.5 hours, it was only 9.5. Wish we would have used that extra hour at one of the places we stopped. Would recommend a tour with less stops to actually enjoy the place & not feel rushed.

Excellent for solo and couple travel

ANDRA_B, May 2023

Amazing trip with a wonderful and friendly guide. The only down side was the rainy day but that’s no one’s fault. I got a nice letter bag from Sirmione when we stopped and a few magnets for my fridge. I have actually made a new friend in this trip. I like Lugano very much and being for the first time in Switzerland I had my dream come true. I believe that the amp of time given to explore was not enough but that’s normal given the amount of time we spent travelling. On coach journey we also had some wonderful views and enjoyed the entire atmosphere.

Our tour guide

Jerissa_L, May 2023

Josephine our tour guide was very pleasant and did a good job for explaining. She knows what she’s talking about and learn more information. I will recommend this tour. Very informative. Good Job Josephine.

Nice tour to lake Como but it’s overrated

Shemia_H, May 2023

A day trip to lake Comi, Bellagio, Lugano, nice views, we went to lovely restaurant on the lake but in total the tour is very average not that wow.

A day in Italy

Shulyn_R, May 2023

The tour guide was great. I just wished we had more time to tour the areas we visited. We spent a lot of time off the bus, walking to catch the boat, on the boat and back on the bus. Not enough time in the day to see everything.

Great

SamanthaK, May 2023

Jo was great. It was a smooth tour. It was great to get to see so much of lake como and Bellagio. Wonderful. But dress how you want there was not church that we entered and we dressed for that. It was a hot day.

Wonderful!

mighty2505, May 2023

What a beautiful and wonderful tour! Very beautiful scenery and the boat ride was great. The tour guide was thorough and offered a detailed insight of our stops. The only complaint I have is that the entrance to the boat in Como is very disorganized. The masses to enter the boat is uncomfortable and then if you don't find a seat you will stand for 2 hours. I didn't mind since I took in the beautiful scenery in the front of the boat. Other than that, everything was perfect.

Great towns awful Lake Como cruising

Thomas_P, May 2023

The towns were wonderful. But my idea of a gentle cruise does not mean being stuffed into a ship with 1000 people shoulder to shoulder standing room only for 1 1/2 hours. Cruising on Lake Como was to be the was the central pleasure and it was quite disappoint. The guide just shrugged and laughed.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Hello Thomas_P, We appreciate your feedback regarding your experience on the Italy and Switzerland Day Trip to Lake Como, Bellagio & Lugano from Milan. We apologize for the disappointment you encountered during the cruise portion of the tour. It is regrettable that the crowded conditions on the ship did not align with your expectations of a gentle and enjoyable cruise. We understand that a serene and pleasant experience on Lake Como was a central aspect of the tour for you. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the overcrowding and the lack of sufficient space on the ship. Your concerns regarding this matter have been duly noted, and we will review the situation to ensure that future tours provide a more comfortable and enjoyable cruising experience for our guests. We apologize if the response from the guide did not meet your expectations. We will address this issue internally to ensure that our guides are equipped to address guest concerns in a professional and empathetic manner. Thank you for bringing these concerns to our attention. Your feedback is essential in helping us improve our services and provide better experiences for our valued customers. We hope that you were still able to enjoy the wonderful towns of Lake Como, Bellagio, and Lugano, and we would welcome the opportunity to serve you again in the future. Best regards, Edgar J. Communications Manager City Wonders

Good day trip from Milan

Sheldon_W, May 2023

Good tour. Enjoyable boat tour of Lake Como. Free time in Switzerland. Knowledgeable guide very personable. Relaxing unhurried day

Don’t go on a Sunday

Jayne_S, May 2023

Our guide was very sweet BUT we had a major disappointment in Lugano. Most of the shops were closed except a few restaurants on the bottom street. An Italian friend told me that is typical for a Sunday but our guide seemed surprised. The views were beautiful and we appreciated the planned transportation and information about the area.

Response from Host, May 2023

Hello Jayne_S, Thank you for sharing your feedback on your recent experience with our Italy and Switzerland Day Trip: Lake Como, Bellagio & Lugano from Milan. We appreciate your insights and are grateful for the opportunity to address your comments. We are pleased to hear that you found our guide to be very sweet and that you enjoyed the beautiful views and the transportation provided, as well as the information about the area. It is our aim to ensure that our guests have a memorable and enjoyable experience throughout the tour. We apologize for the disappointment you encountered in Lugano due to most of the shops being closed, with only a few restaurants open on the bottom street. While it is true that Sundays in certain areas can result in limited operating hours for shops and establishments, we regret any miscommunication or surprise on the part of our guide. We will take this feedback into consideration and work on providing clearer information to our guides about local customs and practices, ensuring that our guests have a better understanding of what to expect during the tour. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we continuously strive to improve our offerings and provide exceptional experiences to our customers. We appreciate your understanding and willingness to share your thoughts. If there is anything else you would like to discuss or if you have any further concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our customer support team. We are here to assist you in any way we can. Thank you once again for choosing our tour and for your valuable feedback. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in the future and provide you with an even more enjoyable and seamless experience. Warm regards, Edgar J. Communications Manager City Wonders

Wonderful Day!

mary_m, May 2023

Short and Sweet

Katherine_H, May 2023

Alessandro is wonderful. He has so many tidbits of information and he is funny. He engages with everyone despite how big the group could be. The radio and mic helps too, I didn’t miss anything. I did this solo and as an introvert, I didn’t feel pressured to engage with the group but felt that I have everything to really enjoy the trip. It’s a bit of everything and with limited travel time, definitely worth it to do and maximise the trip. Highly recommend it for those wanting to experience more.

A very organised trip! It...

Georsadd_G, May 2023

A very organised trip! It was a large group but it was managed pretty well. I wish there were lesser stops for the boat tour so more time can be spent in Bellagio and Lugano.

Good use of day

Mark_J, May 2023

Really good day we’ll worth it. The tour guide Alec was really friendly and had lots of useful knowledge as we were driving on the bus to the lake and when we were on the bus on the lake.

Would recommend

Julie_G, May 2023

Very good tour. Gorgeous views. Our guide was excellent. The boat tour is not just your group, which was fine, but be prepared for that. The time in Bellagio and Lugano was brief but enough for a nice lunch and to see a bit. Glad we did it and would recommend. Traffic was slow in a few parts but the overall schedule accommodates for that pretty well.

Fantastic trip with your wonderful guide

Raksina_P, May 2023

Highly recommend! We had such a great time with your best ever guide Fadia. She has such a great sense og humor and very professional.

Not enough of memories

Svitlana_G, May 2023

We were 5 people and my husband was leave by 7 min and he could never t get in. He had to get a train to lake Como and then a boat to Bellagio to catch up.a lot of boat trips were sold out, so please be on time for the trip otherwise e you may never catch up. Even is Switzerland we had very limited time and a few people had to stay behind because they left their passports im a local restaurants and guide did not want to wait for them .the guide is now t very understanding and and the trip is very rushed because f it.

Response from Host, May 2023

Hello Svitlana_G, Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on our Italy and Switzerland Day Trip to Lake Como, Bellagio & Lugano from Milan. We apologize for the inconvenience your husband experienced and the challenges you faced during the tour. We understand that it can be disappointing when a member of the group is unable to join due to being late. We strive to emphasize the importance of punctuality to ensure that everyone can fully participate in the experience. We appreciate your understanding and commend your husband for finding an alternative route to join the group. We regret that there was limited time in Switzerland and some participants had to stay behind due to misplacing their passports. Our guides prioritize the punctuality and safety of the group, and while it can be challenging to accommodate unforeseen circumstances, we always aim to find the best solutions for our customers. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the rushed pace of the tour. Your feedback is valuable to us, and we will take it into consideration to make improvements in our operations and communication. We appreciate your understanding and patience throughout the tour. Thank you for choosing City Wonders for your travel experience. Kind regards, Edgar J. Communications Manager City Wonders

Tour guide was...

Katherine_F, May 2023

Tour guide was wonderful…made sure everyone knew what to expect….kept us informed at all times…made sure everyone was together …great restaurant recommendations

Not worth it

Elizabeth_E, May 2023

One tour guide for 50 people. Extremely little time given at two stops. Not worth a full day excursion.

Response from Host, May 2023

Hello Elizabeth_E, Thank you for sharing your feedback regarding our Italy and Switzerland Day Trip from Milan. We sincerely apologize for any disappointment caused by the limited time allotted for the two stops during the tour. We understand that the experience fell short of your expectations, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. We continually strive to provide memorable experiences for our guests, and we regret that this particular excursion did not meet your needs. Your comments regarding the group size and time allocation will be carefully reviewed to identify areas of improvement. We value your feedback and will take it into account as we aim to enhance the quality and duration of our tours. We appreciate your understanding, and we hope to have the opportunity to better serve you in the future.

The Ultimate Day Tour from Milan!

Shayla_B, May 2023

This was my favorite day tour out of the 3 that I took while I was in Milan. The bus ride wasn’t too long and Mara was so informative and engaging during the entire time. Lake Como is stunning and the boat ride was magical. Bellagio was adorable and I don’t think I would have ever reached this part of Italy had I not done this tour. Also, Lugano was peaceful and a great way to get some Switzerland treats. Even though it rained, the sights were still amazing. I loved passing by all of the landmarks during the ride on Lake Como, and Mara knew just about every single on that we passed by. I would highly recommend this tour if your are staying in Milan and want to explore something outside of the big city.

Lake como

Jacqueline_W, May 2023

We had a fantastic time. It was absolutely beautiful. Our guide Jo was great I would definitely recommend

The worst of all my bookings

Michelle_O, May 2023

I was at the meeting point 30 minutes prior to the set time and didn't see anybody from that tour with not even a sign, only 6 tourist just like me in the same area, no phone calls to our phones and no response from the only chat with the operator. Also there is no phone to get in touch with the tour agent. I'm really pissed off

Response from Host, May 2023

Hello Michelle_O, We are extremely saddened to read that you missed your Lake Como Tour with us. We know how difficult it can be to find your way in a foreign city so to help our guests we always provide our contact numbers and we’re happy to offer further assistance when needed. We ask our customers to check in for their tours 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. Unfortunately, however, we cannot wait for late comers as this will result in delaying the whole group. Could you please send us your booking reference number via email at edgar.chavero@citywonders.com. If we were at fault in any way, we will not hesitate to accomodate you. As well, we may be able to reschedule the experience you missed for a a future date. We look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Edgar J. Communications Manager City Wonders

Do not use this operator

Brian_D, Apr 2023

The worst guide. She slept in the car, barely spoke to us at all, went missing during the tour, put us on a boat with another group that had a guide so she didn’t have to go and left us stranded afterwards so she could be dropped off at her car in the middle of Milan!

Response from Host, May 2023

Hello Brian_D, We would like to apologize for the unprofessional experience you shared with one of our guides for your Day Trip of Lake Como, Bellagio and Lugano. Could you kindly send us your booking reference number at edgar.chavero@citywonders.com so that we may take the necessary action to resolve this on our end. At City Wonders we take the quality of our services and our guides very seriously as this is not reflective of the type of experience we aim to provide our guests. We really look forward to hearing from you and will not hesitate to accomodate you for this. Kind regards, Edgar J. Communications Manager City Wonders

Full day of travel, very good oversll

pkennygallo1, Apr 2023

Three beautiful locations in one day. Our tour guide Ida was so nice. A few issues with the bus being late to pick us up at two locations, so we arrived home over two hours late.

Well Worth the Price and Time

Randall_O, Apr 2023

This was a fantastic tour that encompassed a combination of boat and bus excursion while also having time in your own. Our tour guide “Jo” was a tremendous lady. Very informative and knowledgeable. She always kept track of the group like a good guide should. She made the trip special.

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