Amazing Views from Principe Leopoldo

The beautiful Villa Principe Leopoldo.
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It’s hard not to fall in love with Lake Lugano, a small lake near the border of Switzerland and Italy. The mountains –a welcome change for someone used to the flatness of Florida- surround this pretty body of water, and small boats leisurely cruise by in the warm afternoon sun.

After an afternoon spent at Lugano Sud, the Swiss version of an outlet mall, my feet were tired and my stomach was grumbling: the perfect time to check out one of Lugano’s most famous restaurants, the Villa Principe Leopoldo.

The dining room at Principe Leopoldo is not an actual room: it’s a pretty veranda from where you can admire Lake Lugano, the mountains and all the lights reflecting in the water.

View of Lake Lugano from the terrace
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Built in 1868 by the Prussian royal family, this magnificent villa is situated atop Lugano’s “Golden Hill” and is famous not only for its five star restaurant but also for the breathtaking views of the mountains and the lake. A view, a drink and some dinner is exactly what I needed, so I drove to the top of the hill, following a narrow and winding road that –incredibly enough- is not a one way street.

The villa is a gorgeous building, painted an impressive shade of burnt red, and surrounded by centenary trees. It was inhabited by Prince Federico Leopoldo until his death in 1931, and is now home to one of Europe’s most exclusive Relais & Chateaux hotels and restaurants.

Sipping a Martini while seeing the sun setting behind the mountains was the perfect way of celebrating the end of a tiring day of shopping. As soon as the sun disappeared, the temperature dropped from 75F to 55F: it was time to imitate locals and wrap myself in a warm cachemire shawl. The dining room at Principe Leopoldo is not an actual room: it’s a pretty veranda from where you can admire Lake Lugano, the mountains and all the lights reflecting in the water.

The menu is impressive and sophisticated, the kind of menu that makes you want to order everything, but in the end I opted to order a fresh salmon aromatized with cardamom as a starter, and a petite perch fillet with tomatoes, capers and wild mushrooms as my main course. My meal was excellent, cooked to perfection and presented to impress, but I have to say that when I saw a steak Tartar being prepared at the table for one of my dining companions I felt a jolt of envy and wished I had ordered that incredibly lean and yummy looking piece of raw meat.

As I drove back down the mountain, the pretty lights around me and an incredible array of stars above me, I realized that I could definitely get used to the dolce vita on Lake Lugano. The only problem, I’ve heard, is that to work in Switzerland you have to be able to speak Italian, French and German. I guess I’d better start taking some classes…