Lugano and Lake Lugano

The Biggest City Of Italian Speaking Switzerland, On Lake Lugano With A Mediterranean Feel: Palm Trees, A Pedestrian Lakeside Promenade, The Piazza Della Riforma, The Cattedrale Di San Lorenzo And Funiculars Up To Monte San Salvatore And Monte Bre. A Day Trip To Morcote And Gandria By Boat. · Lugano, Ticino

Lugano is the largest city of Ticino, the Italian-speaking south of Switzerland, set on a lake between two green mountains, Monte Bre and Monte San Salvatore. Direct trains through the Gotthard Base Tunnel reach it from Zurich in about 1 hr 40 min, and from Basel or Milan in a similar or shorter time, with no change of train on the direct services. The pleasure is the Lungolago promenade, lined with palms and magnolias, the arcades of Via Nassa, cafes on Piazza della Riforma, the free church of Santa Maria degli Angioli with its 1529 Luini fresco, and boats to lake villages such as Gandria and Morcote. Food and wine are Italian in style, risotto, polenta and Merlot, but prices are still Swiss. The honest picture is a small lake resort, Italy in a Swiss package, better for sitting and strolling than for ticking off sights. Spring brings storms, summers are hot, winters are mild and quiet. Plan a slow day with one funicular, one boat and a long lunch, and the city repays you without any rush or big spending, though expect Swiss prices.

Italian-speaking lakeside city in Ticino at the foot of Monte San Salvatore and Monte Bre, with the Lungolago promenade, Piazza della Riforma and Parco Ciani, Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland

The city and promenade are open all year, and the lakefront is FREE to walk at any hour. Churches are usually open in daytime and FREE. Funiculars and lake boats run daily in season with reduced timetables in winter, and some boat routes are CLOSED from late autumn. Museums are often shut one day a week, usually Monday.

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