Lake Lugano, Verzasca River Valley, and Lake Maggiore are just across the border in Switzerland - Super nice places with many great restaurants. My favorite activity we did while there was swimming and hanging out on the Verzasca River. I highly recommend Restaurante Seven in Ascona on Lake Maggiore - we were there 10 years ago and it was rated one of the top 10 restaurants in Switzerland at that time - not sure now but it was an amazing dining experience. Driving....I see lots of recs for renting and driving and I agree driving is awesome but after driving in Switzerland for a week with a very regimented highway system and very calculated Swiss driving populace, the transition into Italy around Lake Como scared the living shit out of me - very narrow roads, cars parked on both sides, maybe 1' clearance on either side, crazy, less regimented Italians weaving around, and speeding with their hot blooded mannerisms which seemed hotter than the more laid back Swiss so it really put me on edge haha - we still talk and and laugh about it to this day in our family....