Stop #3 on the Swiss tour was Morcote, a small town hugging Lake Lugano in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Unlike our earlier stop, the town wasn’t mobbed with tourists. We rented an apartment above the downtown strip. The number of stairs to reach the front door with our luggage, then the flight up to the apartment, nearly sent me running out of town screaming. Fortunately, the apartment and our host more than made up for the inconvenience to my knees.
Morcote is exhibit A on why not to rent a car in Switzerland. Parking spaces are limited. If you think you’re going to drive up in front of the hotel and leave your car there, think again. The main drag through Morcote is one lane wide in spots, which makes getting a bus or large vehicle through town challenging. In addition, the sidewalk ends shortly after the main downtown arcade does.
Julian did some uphill walks without me. First he went to Scherren Park, which contains numerous sculptures and gardens. The night after he went there, a thunderstorm caused heavy damage to the plantings. We were unable to go in the next day. He also went up to visit two churches on the hill near the park.
On our last full day in Morcote we took the boat to Lugano, the largest city on the lake. It was also more crowded with tourists. We went into a department store to cool down, and I wound up buying a sweater and a pair of pants. Needless to say, I probably won’t wear the former until October.
We’d go back to Morcote again. It has most of the attributes we like in a European village: Not overrun with tourists, friendly people, and good food. Maybe next time we’ll stay longer and explore more of the nearby villages.
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