Traveling to Lugano

By Plane

Lugano Airport

The quickest way to get to Lugano from most places abroad, is to fly into the small international airport of Lugano (LUG) which offers several daily direct connections to Zürich (ZRH) with Swiss International Airlines, Geneva (GVA) with Baboo Airways as well as to Rome Fiumicino (FCO) with Darwin Airlines.

• Swiss International Airlines: www.swiss.com
• Darwin Airline: www.darwinairline.com
• Baboo Airways: www.babooairways.com
• Lugano Airport — Lugano shuttle bus schedule: www.shuttle-bus.com

Milan Malpensa Airport

The major international hub for Lugano is Milan Malpensa Airport. All major European airlines (over 70 in total) operate direct flights to Milan Malpensa Airport several times per day, including low-cost carriers. Shuttle buses run regularly between Malpensa and Lugano, making for a trouble-free journey. The shuttle trip takes 1 hour (round-trip fare is CHF 60).

• Shuttle bus services to and from Milan Malpensa Airport — Lugano:
  • www.malpensaexpress.ch

  On-line registration for the Malpensa shuttle bus is highly recommended.

Milan Bergamo Airport

Another option is Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport, the local base for a large number of budget airlines. Bergamo is about 1 1/2 hours from Lugano by car. Alternatively, travelers can take a bus to Milan, then catch a train to Lugano.

• Milan-Bergamo (Orio al Serio) Airport: www.sacbo.it

By Train

Travelling by train in Switzerland is easy and reliable. Lugano lies right on the North-South axis with trains running between Milan (Milano Centrale) and Zürich (Zürich Hauptbahnhof) every hour.
From Milan it takes 1 hour to get to Lugano, while from Zürich travelling time is 2:37.

Note that the train from Milano Centrale to Lugano does not go via Malpensa airport.
To travel to Lugano from Milan Malpensa airport please use a shuttle bus (as described above).

• www.sbb.ch — Swiss Railways website (national and international train connections).

By Bus

The University of Lugano is also reachable by bus (a few stops from the center). The nearest bus stops are:

• www.tplsa.ch — Lugano Public Transport (bus schedules and maps).

By Car

Lugano is served by the motorway axis that directly connects Northern Europe to the Mediterranean: the A2 motorway connects Lugano to Milan in 45 minutes and 2 hours to Zürich. Parking in Lugano is very limited so you are encouraged to use the park and ride system.

• Online maps www.ch.map24.com or www.viamichelin.ch