Campione d’Italia. Have you heard of it?

Neither had I till we started to plan this trip. Dave, who knows more about world geography than anyone I know, suggested we visit this town as soon as Northern Italy was touted as a holiday destination.

Campione d’Italia is an exclave of Italy. It sits around 20kms inside Switzerland, north of Lake Como and on the shores of Lake Lugarno.

Wikipedia: “Campione d’Italia is an Italian comune (municipality) of the Province of Como in the Lombardy region, and an Italian exclave within the Swiss canton of Ticino, separated from the rest of Italy by mountains. At its closest, the enclave is less than one kilometre (0.6 mi) from the rest of Italy, but the hilly terrain requires a journey by road of over 14 km (9 mi) to reach the nearest Italian town, Lanzo d’Intelvi, and over 28 km (17 mi) to reach the city of Como.”

It has a population of only 2067 and is famous for having the largest casino in all of Europe. It uses the Swiss franc for currency, although Euros are also accepted. And there are no taxes here, thanks to the revenue from the casino!

We left Turin after a less than salubrious breakfast (Photo below: Dave is unsure if he is drinking a urine sample from the very small plastic cup we were provided with for breakfast! As it turned out, it was just unpleasant-tasting pineapple juice.)

The drive to Campione d’Italia. was a little hair-raising!

I did my usual city driving to get us out of Turin. It was pouring with rain and peak hour, but we got through unscathed. Dave then took over once we were on the Autostrada. We changed drivers at a petrol station on the side of the freeway, and you wouldn’t believe it but I managed to get the best coffee I have had in Italy there!

We pulled over at the Swiss border to purchase the Swiss freeway pass (40 Euros!) and then headed past the edge of Lake Como and then Lake Lugarno to get to Campione D’Italia. What a beautiful drive even in the pouring rain.

As I mentioned yesterday, we are staying somewhere very nice.

• Soft but supportive bed. Check.√
• Soft, medium sized, not flat pillow. Check. √
• Hot spacious shower. (and deep bath with amazing view over the lake) Check. √
• Fast free Wi-Fi. Check. √
• Clean sheets. Check. √
• Thick fluffy towels. (and fluffy bathrobes)  Check. √
• Thick walls. Check. √
• Good view.(that’s an understatement) Check. √

We even got a personalized welcome card and a bunch of fresh flowers. OK Victoria and Will, I promise we wont spend it all, just yet 😉 (How much d you reckon we will get for the family jewelry haha?)

We have just had breakfast here at the hotel and are deciding what to do today. The weather is bleak. Foggy, light rain and cool. Options:

1. Ferry ride across the lake to the city of Lugarno.
2. Drive to Swiss chocolate factory for complimentary tastings.
3. Hire a boat and explore the lake. (not likely in this weather)
4. Go to a local spa for pampering.(Complimentary treat from the hotel to make up for the bad weather!)
5. Sit in the big bath and take in the view and the book I have barely started.

 Let’s start with #5 and go from there 😉

 P.S: Brekkie. Yes, Dave is having cake.

And a pic sent by text from Will this morning. My poor puppy. He looks sad. Must be missing his Mummy…