Thanks Tom, you always have great info. I have looked at castles in the Piedmont region! Our logistical issues are a little complicated...our daughter can leave work in Lugano on a Thursday afternoon and then travel back on Sunday afternoon, so a 3 night getaway is our must do focus right now and we'll fill the gaps after that. She has been to Florence, 4 hour train ride from Lugano, but is interested as we are in staying in the countryside of maybe Chianti, outside of Siena, Val d' Orcia etc and we think a castle should be our hub! If, we travel to Florence we would stay in a hotel that first night, then rent a car for 2 days. Sounds rushed but whatcha gonna do when someone has a job?!

My wife wants a lake experience, so we could possibly stay in Gandria when we first arrive. It's actually walking distance right next to Lugano, great airbnb waterfront options there. That would be a good weekday option to still be able to have dinners with our daughter.

We are looking at 2 weeks, so we'll have a few days before and after our daughters long weekend....hmmm...where to spend 3-4 nights? It's so tempting to go back to the Cinque!

I'm going to research car rentals today, but have you rented a car there, I assume we'll need an International drivers license to cross borders? It's possible we'll rent a car in Lugano and drive into Italy, just not sure about that yet...lots of planning!