1 night in Lugano between Italy and Switzerland, or pass through?

Maybe too much so I'd add a night to Venice or Luzern skip Lugano and try to get a train with only one change in Milan on the way to Luzern.

You could still take a scenic train over the Alps, minus the boat ride and the 1st class uprade and reservation fee. It takes 2 hours longer than the fast route that uses the Gotthard Base Tunnel. You can buy the fast route direct from Trenitalia with only one train change at Milano Centrale for about 64 EUR per person. The scenic route might take 2 tickets, one from Trenitalia to Bellinzona and one from SBB from Bellinzona to Luzern.

We actually did a one night stop in Lugano between Luzern and Bellagio in 2014. Looking back, we would've skipped it. Maybe stopped and had lunch for a few hours, but wished we would've spent an extra night somewhere else. That was also our last 1 night on vacation unless it was the night before the flight home. It's a beautiful town, but probably deserves a few days/nights on its own. Use one of your extra days in Lucerne to take the ferry to stops along the lake instead.

Thank you all for those quick and thoughtful replies - really useful!

I'm not hearing a lot of support so far for Lugano on this itinerary. I think I'll check with our already booked hotels to see which (if any) could accommodate us another night. For me the safest bet would be extending Murren another night because I love the mountains, but this is also the trickiest because I'd have to rebook 2 different hotels.

Tricky traveling in Europe with a family of 5 - always multiple rooms needed...

Ken

I was just in Lugano last month for 2 nights, and I liked it. It was a pit stop from Zurich airport to Verona, Italy to break up the train ride. I would stay there again to break up a long train ride, but I wouldn’t stay to stay. If that makes sense. If you don’t mind an extra 1 hour, 40 minutes on the train to go straight to Luzern, that’s what I suggest.

We stopped in Lugano in 2017 when we did all of the Swiss scenic trains. We loved taking a boat to Gandia for dinner in a canteen. We'll be in Venice in July, and will be taking the train to Lugano again just so we can go back for the wonderful dinner there, before heading to Wengen for a few nights. We'll also be stopping in Verona for one night between Venice and Lugano.

I’ve been to all those cities. Nothing wrong with Lugano but it’s my least favorite in that bunch. Add in a night somewhere else. Maybe Venice if that’s where you are flying into.