Lugano
Lugano is the most important city in Southern Switzerland and part of the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. Typical Mediterranean atmosphere, Italian culture and creativity skillfully combined with Swiss organization and efficiency will certainly satisfy all your expectations. Along the lake you see lots of Venetian-type villages, showing of the closeness of its neighbor Italy. Probably the most picturesque village is Gandria and they all can be reached by boat, train or bus.
Discover Lugano
Lugano has two directions: up and down. The train station sits high above the city with the lake promenade below. Between them are winding cobblestone streets, large piazzas and great shopping areas. The only transportation you need is your feet. There is a cog-wheel tram that will take you between the train station and the lower city for a very small fee, but you will miss some very interesting views.
Tourist Office Lugano
Piazza Riforma 1, 6900 Lugano, Tel. 091 913 32 32 www.lugano-tourism.ch/
Ticino Discovery Card
This card entitles holders to free travel around Ticino for 3 days for CHF87.00. You can use it to travel with the public and tourist transportation (bus, train, railway, funicular, cable car or boat) within the Canton Ticino. But that's not all! To enrich the offer there are also several tourist attractions, all included in the price of this advantageous card!
Highlights
Take a peaceful walk through Parco Civico Ciani, the green lung of Lugano and a quiet place where you can take nice walks. Then head up to Monte Bre which is Lugano’s closest mountain, reachable from Cassarate by cogwheel train. You will have wonderful panoramic views of Lugano, the lake and the mountains. The other famous mountain is Monte San Salvatore – the sugarloaf of Lugano reached by cogwheel train from Lugano Paradiso from which you can walk down the panoramic footpath to Carona and then on to Morcote. The San Lorenzo Cathedral – set above the Old Town, it is worth a visit with its facade in the Lombardy Renaissance style, and countless frescoes and valuable Baroque artifacts inside. At the Church of Santa Maria degli Angioli - in this former monastery church, built about 1500, you will also find fine frescoes by the masters of the Renaissance. And at Hermann Hesse Museum in Montagnola – a small and intimate museum for the famous writer you will learn how he lived and wrote in southern Switzerland for at least half a century.
Ciy Guides Lugano – Smart Phone Apps
i Tunes - http://itunes.apple.com/ch/app/city-guide-lugano/id394622926?mt=8
Android - http://travel.appdownloadreview.com/online/city-guide-lugano
The essentials of Lugano
1) A cogwheel train ride up Monte Bre or Monte San Salvatore
2) A stroll through the Old Town
3) A visit of either Gandria or Morcote combined with a lake cruise
Gandria
Gandria is an unspoiled, picturesque lakeside village at the foot of Monte Bre. Perched on the steep mountainside it is a community of narrow streets, inaccessible to cars, with a delightful surprise around every corner. Visitors can reach Gandria by land or lake. Many tourists and locals enjoy the boat trip from Lugano to Gandria and then walk back to Castagnola along the lake shore. In Castagnola there’s the possibility of visiting the Museum of Cultures or simply proceeding on foot to Lugano. Gandria’s town center is closed to traffic and an oasis of peace with its picturesque tiny streets and stairs that offer glimpses of great views and gorgeous landscapes. In the center of the town there is the 16th century church of San Vigilio with its outstanding baroque interior and the high late-medieval belfry.
Morcote
This peaceful village on the lakeshore has become one of the most visited and famous tourist attractions around Lugano. Its typical narrow streets, the porticoes of the ancient aristocratic houses, prestigious architectural monuments and the lush, subtropical vegetation make Morcote the veritable “Pearl of the Ceresio”. The artistic, cultural and architectural points of interest are: the Church of Santa Maria del Sasso in Rennaissance Baroque style, the suggestive terraced cemetery, and the monumental stairs made up of 404 steps and The Captain’s Tower. Nature lovers, on the other hand, can immerse themselves in the Scherrer Park where an impressive world of subtropical flora is waiting to be discovered. In this park, that offers many examples of different architectural styles, you’ll have the opportunity of taking an exciting trip through time and space in a world where past and present, history and nature blend harmoniously.
Lake Cruises
Both Gandria and Morcote, and other villages along the coast of Lake Lugano can be reached by boat. The Lake of Lugano offers you a wide range of cruises to admire the most spectacular views, to discover the most romantic spots, to climb to the top of mountains, to visit parks and museums and to just enjoy sunny Ticino. Enjoy relaxing moments far from the stress and frenzy of everyday life, combining your excursion to a pleasant trip on the Lake of Lugano. For timetables visit http://www.lakelugano.ch/
Excursions
Monte Bre
Monte Bre towers above the city of Lugano and is considered to be the sunniest mountain in Switzerland. This might be the reason why the rare Christmas Rose (and endangered species) grows here, which can otherwise only flourish in Southern Europe. The funicular takes visitors up the mountain from Cassarate (take Bus No. 1 from the center of Lugano to Cassarate). Monte Bree is well-known for its breathtaking panorama on the Alps, the city of Lugano, Monte Rosa and the Italian region between Milan and Turin. http://www.montebre.ch/
Monte San Salvatore
An aerial cable-car whisks you to the summit from Lugano-Paradiso. The new panorama car takes tourists in 10 minutes to the peak of San Salvatore. The trains run every half hour from March to November. From the roof of the church you can enjoy the unique 360 panoramic view. From the peak you can descend along the panorama trail to Ciona (Carona) or hike the loop which - by way of two didactic trails - leads through a nature park, where you are constantly surrounded by the regional flora and fauna. http://montesansalvatore.ch/
Como (Italy)
Como in Italy is just a 30 min. train ride away from Lugano. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has made Como a popular tourist destination and the city contains numerous works of art, churches, museums, parks and palaces. The town of Como has many silk factories so if you want to buy silk Como is a good place to go. Prices are low on designer fashion fabrics. Como also has a Silk Museum dating from 1900 where you can see the entire silk-making process. http://www.discovercomo.com/
Or if you have a rental car, you can reach Como via Gandria, Porlezza, Menaggio and along Lake Como. On your return you would cross the border in Chiasso, and head back to Lugano via the lovely area of the Mendrisiotto.
Melide: Swiss Miniature
Swissminiatur is an open-air museum where one can admire the most important Swiss buildings and means of transportation. A self-service restaurant with local, Chinese and Indian cuisine and a playground for children are on the premises. All the 1:25 scale models are inserted in a 14,000 m2 park like area, decorated by 15,000 flower varieties and more than 1,500 trees. Swiss Miniatur is only 5km from Lugano. (http://www.swissminiatur.ch)
Shopping
There are some very nice streets in the Old Town of Lugano where you will find souvenirs, typical Swiss foods including chocolate and cheese, and a few watch stores, elegant fashion stores, department stores, boutiques with top quality products.
Museums, International Organizations & Art
Hermann Hesse Museum
The Hermann Hesse Museum was established in the rooms of the Torre Camuzzi, in Montagnola, Switzerland in 1997. This ancient tower is part of the picturesque Casa Camuzzi where Hermann Hesse
lived between 1919 and 1931. From his apartment, he had a marvellous view overlooking the lake of Lugano. A permanent exhibition brings back to life Hesse's 40 years in Montagnola. The museum offers a variety of activities including temporary exhibitions, lectures, concerts, films, walking-tours, and weekly readings in two languages. http://www.hessemontagnola.ch/
Chocolate Museum
The Alprose chocolate museum presents the world of chocolate from its origin to date. It gives you an idea of its history, its single components, the first production plants and today’s more modern facilities. What really makes the museum remarkable is the wealth of documentation and the variety of objects exhibited. Besides its educational merit, the museum contributes to consolidating the tradition of Swiss chocolate, renowned for its excellent quality. The visit to the museum ends in the “Nostalgia” shop that allows the visitor to taste the rich variety of Alprose production at will. http://www.alprose.ch/
Museum of Swiss Customs
On the lake opposite to Gandria, one finds the Museum of Swiss Customs that is located in a locality known as “Cantine di Gandria” that may be reached by boat only. Along the trail from Cantine di Gandria to Caprino there are several grotti, an ideal place to take shelter from the heat and to have the opportunity of getting a taste of the typical Ticinese cuisine.
Restaurants
Ristorante Cantinone - Wood fire pizza (Piazza Cioccaro 8 - 091 923 10 68)
Gallery Arte al Lago – Michelin chef (Piazza Emilio Bossi 7 – 091 973 48 00)
Cyrano – Fresh pasta, authentic recipes (E. Pestalozzi 27 – 091 922 2182)
Grotto d. Salute – Delicious, rustic, local (Via Sindacatori 4 – 091 966 0476)
Grotto Grillo – Contemporary local (Via Ronchetto 6 – 091 970 1818)