DRAFT — awaiting Kevin's confirm-notes below before publish.

Italy · Lombardy · Lake Lugano

A family week on the Italian shore of Lake Lugano, with three real rides into the hills squeezed in between ice creams.

Lavena Ponte Tresa sits right on the Swiss–Italian border, where the Tresa river flows out of Lake Lugano — the town is split across both countries, same as Goumois further north. This one wasn't a cycling trip first and foremost: the photos are a proper family holiday (restaurant dinners, ice creams, a rented villa with a garden), 27 September to 2 October 2013 — but three real rides got squeezed in.

The rides

Route data (from Strava): the 1,305m climbing day is a proper loop into the Lombardy hills, not a lakeside ride — grades on the file run up to 26%, real hill-country riding above the lake.

The climb, from Kevin's own GPS track

Real GPS route map of the climbing ride from Lavena Ponte Tresa into the Lombardy hills
The 1,305m climbing day — a loop up from the lake through Marchirolo, Ganna and Cuasso al Monte, back down to Ponte Tresa.

What it actually looks like

View of the Tresa river and Lake Lugano at Ponte Tresa, on the Swiss-Italian border
Ponte Tresa itself — the river town split across the Swiss–Italian border.
A road sign reading Marzio, a village in the hills above Lake Lugano, Italy
Marzio — one of the hill villages on the climbing route.
A winding mountain road in the hills above Lake Lugano, Italy
The climbing road itself, up in the hills above the lake.
Kevin and his family with ice creams on holiday near Lake Lugano
The other half of the trip — a family holiday, ice creams included.
A lakeside restaurant terrace with red tables and umbrellas at Lake Lugano
A lakeside restaurant terrace — the reward at the end of the week.

📝 Kevin — needs your input

  • Confirm this was a family holiday with cycling mixed in, not the other way round?
  • Name of the villa/apartment, or the restaurant in the last photo?
  • Worth a return visit given the real climbing here (1,305m in the hills above the lake)?

Source: Kevin's Strava export, 3 rides (27 Sept–3 Oct 2013), real GPS track for the main climb, plus 5 real photos from the Google Photos archive (43 total found for this trip).