We just got back a few weeks ago from a great trip to Switzerland and Italy. We ended up eating out less than I expected (largely because it was so hot everywhere, and because we were with two young kids), but we still had a wonderful time. We were there at the end of July. Here’s an account of where we went and what we did, plus some food recommendations.
Itinerary Overview: 2 nights in Eich, Switzerland (near Lucerne); 7 nights in Baveno, Italy (on Lake Maggiore); 1 night in Zurich at tail end of trip. Traveled by car.
Switzerland
We spent a lovely 48 hours in Switzerland. On our very first night, we went to the beach snack-bar/restaurant in Sempach, Switzerland, which was lovely on a summer evening. We had some very mediocre food (veggie burgers and fries) for an exorbitant amount of money (Switzerland is ridiculously expensive). We were also very jetlagged.
The next morning, we stocked up on breakfast items at a small convenience store in Eich. Even at this very small store, they sold some nice stuff – local red currants from a nearby farm, delicious dark brown bread w/ various nuts/seeds, and some decent local apricots. Prices in grocery stores were similar to what we pay in the Bay Area, at least for local/basic items.
We took a mini road trip to Vitznau for the day, mainly because a friend of mine grew up there and was back in town visiting. The town was gorgeous, and the drive was easy (we also stopped at a Lidl to buy diapers on the way, plus more random groceries). We walked around, got fancy oat milk lattes at this coffee shop, and then made our way to the small beach at the south end of town. Swam in the lake, which felt amazing, then had lunch back in town at Nostalgie Bar. We tried a few items, including rösti and some local fish from the lake. It was decent, and the view was great. Wouldn’t necessarily recommend this place for food unless you happen to be there, though.
In the evening, we drove into Lucerne. It was very easy to park at the Altstadt garage, and they have designated parking spots for families, which was lovely. From here it was easy to walk into the old town of Lucerne, which was fun to explore. We had dinner at Bündnerland Luzern, which was touristy but served typical Swiss food. We ordered a sampling of five dishes from different parts of Switzerland. The fondue was the highlight for me, and everything was at least decent. In general, this is the type of food I’d only want to eat a couple times per year, but I was glad we tried it. The sampling included rösti, fondue, cucumber salad, capuns, pork cordon bleu and buurebratwur.
The next day, we left Eich in the morning to begin our drive to Italy! We packed snacks, which was fortunate because he hit about 30 minutes of traffic waiting to enter the Gotthard Tunnel. Once through, we decided to buy groceries at a Coop in Bellinzona, and eat lunch at one of the castles. Despite still being in Switzerland, the grocery store felt like we were in Italy (but with Swiss prices), and the architecture around the city did too. We ate lunch, explored the castle, then continued our drive down the west side of Lake Maggiore toward Baveno, Italy.
Italy
We had a lovely seven nights in Baveno, which proved to be a nice central location to visit various towns and lakes. The weather was super hot almost the entire time, which was unfortunate, but we made the most of it. Here are some highlights.
Stresa
We liked walking around this touristy town, and we had some decent food. We made reservations one night at Taverna del Pappagallo, and this ended up being my favorite pizza of the whole trip. The pastas there were decent but not super special. We had one white pizza w/ frierilli (rapini?) which was great, and another red pizza w/ sausage. Very kid friendly, and their courtyard would have been amazing had it not been so hot.
We had lunch one day at Hostaria Vita, located in the main plaza of Stresa. Food and service were both decent but nothing special. But it had a nice vibe. Pastas were decent, we tried some penne carbonara that our toddler loved.
We got a few takeout items from Gastronomia Salti In Bocca. The people there were lovely, and the food was fine. We mostly got veggies and salads, and they were nice but not really much better than what we got at grocery stores.
I think we tried most of the ice cream places in town. My favorite was L’Angolo del Gelato, and we tried a variety of flavors there over the course of three visits. From best to worst (for me at least) was L’Angolo del Gelato, Gelatomania, Bianca and K2. We didn’t go to the Stresa branch of Agrigelateria because we had it in Baveno too, and I thought it was down toward the bottom. But even the worst gelato of the trip was quite good 
The best gelato we had was in Orta San Giulio, and it was better than any of these.
Baveno
We ate dinner at a restaurant only once in Baveno, and it was possibly the worst meal of the trip. It was at La Trappola. Both pasta dishes were extremely salty, and the pizza was decent. Service was fast and friendly but then for some reason it took like 20 minutes to get the check (even though we requested it and they had cleared our whole table). We did takeout pizza (with homemade salad) one night from Pizza D’Asporto and this was great. I wish so much that we could buy great 9-euro pizzas like these in our neighborhood in California. On several mornings I went to Il Fornaio to get some pastries (decent) and more often focaccia (excellent, and in several flavors each day). We often brought the focaccia to the beach with us. Also had a nice coffee and pastry at D&D Cafe one morning before it got too hot outside. We went almost every day to the public beach in Baveno, and also enjoyed drinks (shakerato in particular) from the cafe there. Finally, we shopped several times at the supermarket at the north end of Baveno called Savoini. It had everything we needed for breakfasts and lunches.
The only real ice cream option in town when we were there was a local chain called Agrigelateria. I thought some flavors were decent (e.g. pistachio) but everything was a little too sweet. We went a couple times (picture is of my son at the counter).
Orta San Giulio
We drove to this town on a Sunday mid-morning, and just barely got a parking spot to go to the free beach here. The lake was very nice with calm water and some shade right by the edge, too. After swimming, we drove into town and parked in the garage, then walked into the town. We had lunch at Edera, where we had made a reservation in advance. The reservation wasn’t necessary, but it was nice to have a table (w/ high chair) set up and ready for our arrival. We tried several items here and everything was good. Highlight was the bruschetta w/ cherry tomatoes (first bruschetta on the menu) which might have been the best thing I ate the entire trip. I also really liked the gnocchi with zucchini cream sauce. After lunch, we got ice cream at Pan&Vino which ended up being my favorite of the trip – we had white peach (spectacular), mulberry (also spectacular) and the chocolate fondant (non-dairy). As we walked back to the car, it was so hot that we decided to get another ice cream at Arte del Gelato (here we had banana and passionfruit, both non-dairy). Also both wonderful.
Intra
We went here on a Sunday evening for ice cream, and tried two places: Gelato d’altri tempi and Gelateria Zanzi. Both good, but not any better than what we found in Stresa. On a Sunday evening, Intra was quiet and noticeably un-touristy. It feels more like a real Italian town for locals, unlike Stresa which seems totally focused on tourism. So it was interesting to see, but nothing too special.
Lake Mergozzo
Our favorite discovery this trip was Lake Mergozzo, and we went three times to the Spiaggia La Rustica on the south side of the lake. You have to park on the street that runs toward it, and then walk in. There’s a huge sandy shallow area that’s amazing for toddlers, and the water was clear and refreshing with views of snow-capped Alps in the distance on a clear day. The snack bar there sold piadini and panini, plus drinks/coffee, but we usually brought our own picnic lunch to sit in the shade in the grass.
Right near there was my favorite grocery store of the trip, Cooperativa Agricola Allafonte, where I went multiple times for items like local cheese, prosciutto, fresh ravioli and local produce. The folks there were very friendly despite limited English, and offered samples of the different cheeses before I bought. Local seasonal produce (e.g. pepper, tomato, peaches) were very reasonably priced and very good. And we had two dinners using the fresh ravioli (one filled w/ ricotta and nettle, another filled w/ pork). Highly recommend if you’re in the area, especially if like me you just enjoy going to nice grocery stores.
Casale Monferrato
We took a half-day trip way south to visit a friend of mine, so mostly we ate in her home. But we did stop by Ninin for pastries, chocolates and coffee, and it was so good that it’s worth mentioning. Lovely staff, nice air-conditioning, and located right across the street from a nice shaded playground.
Back to Zurich
On our final day, we drove back to Switzerland, stopping for a wonderful swim and picnic lunch at this beach at the south end of Lake Lucerne. We ended up staying at the Zurich Airport, which made things very easy for us logistically the next day when it was time for our flight. We stayed at Hyatt Place at the Circle, which felt quite new and had AC (many hotels do not), and we were able to use the same luggage cart from our arrival at the hotel all the way until we checked our bags for our flight the final day – very convenient. The Circle is a fancier mall that’s adjacent (and connected via tunnel) to the airport, which is also basically a mall and a big train station all in one. The mall included a full-fledged grocery store (we bought reasonably priced food for our flight) and bakeries/restaurants/etc. After checking into the hotel, we took a train (12 mins) into Zurich center, and walked around, grabbing some Thai food for dinner at Style Thai (not bad, not amazing, very casual). On our final morning we ate a nice breakfast at Leon’s Loft which was lovely.
Overall, it was a good trip, and we enjoyed great swimming and some wonderful food. It was 95 degrees and humid almost the entire time in Italy, with lows at night only around 78. So it was really just too hot to do much besides swim. If it had even been ten degrees cooler, I think we would have eaten out more and tried more restaurants. This general area would be a fabulous destination in off-season months (e.g. May, June, September, October), and I’m certain with research, there’s lots of great food at restaurants in all price ranges.
