Lugano

Lugano, the largest town in the holiday region of Ticino, is not only Switzerland's third most important financial centre and a conference, banking and business centre, but also a town of parks and flowers, villas and sacred buildings. With Mediterranean flair, Lugano offers all the advantages of a world-class city, combined with the cachet of a small town.

A number of mountains, parks, Mediterranean style squares and arcades, and mountainous viewpoints surround the city that is a traffic-free historic township. In this city, you will surely fall for the amazing Italianate architecture, promenades by the side of the lakes, parks on the waterfront, shopping streets and full of life squares with arcades and restaurants.

What to see in Lugano

1. Lake Lugano

Set amidst the hills and mountains of the Swiss-Italian border, the lake sparkles at their base. A cruise on Lake Lugano allows you to discover places of rare beauty and admire unique landscapes from a charming and unusual perspective. You can enjoy the view of picturesque villages on the lake shore as Morcote, Bissone and Gandria, which is an illustration of a small fishing village on the shores of Lake Lugano. You will also have the pleasure to admire the majesty of the mountains that overlook the lake of Lugano, like Monte Generoso, and the splendour of the nature that surrounds it.

2. Piazza Riforma

Riforma Square is the main square of the city of Lugano. During the summer, different events take place there. Its name derives from the constitutional reform of 1839.

The principal building in the square is the Town Hall built between 1840 and 1844 in the neo-classical style. In the atrium between the entrance and the court are placed 5 statues:Giocondo Albertolli, neo-classic architect; opposite Father Francesco Soave, writer; the architect and engineer Domenico Fontana who had the famous obelisk in San Pietro Square built in Rome; the Bishop Giuseppe Maria Luvini, a renowned preacher, the work of the sculptor Vincenzo Vela as the imposing Spartacus. In the Town Hall, besides the offices of the town council, there is also the Information Office of Lugano Tourism.

3. Parco Ciani

A beautiful serene park by the lake of Lugano is an enchanted place. The tranquillity of this place will leave you mesmerized with overwhelming pungent aura of the numerous colourful flowers and the sparkling reflection of sun basked lake.

There is no better close-up view than from Parco Ciani. While strolling through the park, pause and sit on one of the red benches and admire the scenic view of Monte Bré, Monte San Salvatore and Campione d'italia. Parco ciani is an all rounder, even at night, you can witness a spectacular view of Lugano city; with lights reflecting off the lake, you can't help but be awe-struck with the panoramic view.

4. Summit Monte Bre

Mountain Bre is considered to be one of the sunniest places in Switzerland. It offers a mesmerizing view of the valley and the Alps from the peak. You can take a funicular ride to the top of the mountain and enjoy the panoramic views going up. If you are an adventure enthusiast, then it would be better to hike through the mountainous routes to the top.

5. Swiss Miniatur

Swiss Miniatur is one of the important places in the city of Lugano Switzerland, which is visited by tourists from all over the world. You can spend your time exploring the miniature replicas of many famous buildings and structures of Switzerland in an idyllic setting with a variety of flowers and lush greenery. Your kids will literally fall in love with the scenic beauty.

6. San Salvatore

Lugano’s home mountain and pinnacle of enjoyment - that’s San Salvatore! The striking mountain south of the town boasts 360° views over the lake and environs, far south and to the high Alps in the west.The funicular railway up this landmark mountain starts in Lugano-Paradiso.

What to do in Lugano

1. Soak in the wilderness of the Lake Lugano

The lake Lugano Switzerland is filled with lush green natural magnetism as well as wood-clocked slopes that plummet into the water. Your sense will certainly be delighted with views that you would sight once you step onto the famous waterfront promenade. The lake is spread over a large area and is considerably deep.

There are a number of excursion trips available at this place, which tourists can enjoy to their fullest. Tourists love to go on morning cruise tours by paddle steamer from jetties at the Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano. The cruise on the lake Lugano will offer a wonderful panoramic view of the surrounding in the course of morning cruise and views of city lights twinkling on the lake during the nighttime cruise.

2. Hiking tours at the famous Monte San Salvatore

Monte San Salvatore is known as Lugano's mountain and a monolith that stands tall on the southern skyline. It is about 900 meters tall and offers amazing 360-degree views of Lugano Switzerland. You will be taken up to the precipitous slopes from the suburb of Paradiso in just 12 minutes by a funicular ride.

This is one of the most loved adventure spots where tourists come from all over the world to go on adventurous hiking tours. The hiking route navigates them through Carona or ventures along the ridge to the lakeside town of Morcote. The hike takes close to just one hour, so you can also think of skipping the ride on a funicular.

3. Exploration tours at the famous Centro Storico

Centro Storico is considered to be one of the oldest centres of Lugano and is certainly a delight for tourists to explore. The centre is packed with various Renaissance and Baroque churches, convents, palazzi and arcaded squares. Tourists love to go on evening walks and explore the famous Piazza Riforma, which is edged by a tall pastel-painted house.

You can also pay a visit to the striking façade of the Neoclassical city hall on the southern boundary. If you are at this place on Tuesdays and Fridays, then you should try to wake up early and shop some farm fresh produce like cold cuts, flowers, cheese and fruits from the local market on Piazzale Ex Scuole.

What to Eat in Lugano

If you like Italian-style cuisine with a Swiss twist, you're not going to go hungry here. The main draws are the Grotti, but there are many smaller ristoranti and caffè where you can get excellent food. Indeed it can actually be quite difficult to find non-classy food here.

What to buy in Lugano

Many major labels and designer boutiques (Versace, Hermes, Paul Shark, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier) can be found here, as well as the usual Swiss and Italian knick-knacks. Via Nassa in the city center is the main place for shopping high street brands.

Best Time to Visit Lugano

The climate in Lugano can be classified as a humid subtropical one. The summers are warm and humid while the winters too are mild. Though winters are a little chilly, but snowfall is quite less. The average temperature is usually around 12 – 13 degree Celsius.

Winter: The months of November to February are the coldest of the year. The temperatures average around 3-4 degree Celsius and snowfall is expected sometimes. Rainfall is very less during these months.

Spring: The months of March and April have a beautiful weather and the temperature is very comfortable making it the best time to visit Lugano. Rainfall starts to increase by the end of April.

Summer: Summer lasts from May till mid-September. Temperatures reach to 27 degree Celsius, but on an average are around 18- 20 degree Celsius. Heavy rainfall is expected during this period.

Autumn: The temperature starts dropping and so does the amount of precipitation received. Autumn generally is from mid-September to October end.

Lugano is a destination that can be visited anytime of the year with friends and family. Though March to October is the preferred by tourists, the winters in Lugano are also simple magnificent.

How to Reach Lugano

By Flight:

Lugano has a small regional airport which is primarily meant to connect to other larger cities in the region. This airport has services run by Darwin Airline as part of Etihad Regional, Silver Air, and Austrian Airlines as part of Swiss International Airlines. Apart from Geneva and Zurich, there are also regional flights to Cagliari, Olbia, Sion and others. However, the larger international airport is the Milan–Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy, which is about 2 hours away and can be easily reached by both roads and trains. International tourists mostly avail this route as this airport offers more options to multiple destinations. Some of the Airlines that operate here are Alitalia, Air Canada, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Etihad, Korean Air, Lufthansa and many others, to and from destinations such as London, Dubai, New York, Munich, and more.

Nearest Airport: The Lugano airport is about 8 km from the city centre located close to the village of Agno. However, the closest International airport is the Milan-Malpensa airport in Milan, Italy, which is about 80 km from Lugano.

Safety Suggestion: Both the Milan and the Lugano airport are very safe to travel to. Milan is one of the busiest airports in Italy and Europe handling millions of passengers every year. Turbulence may be a minor inconvenience but has never resulted in any serious incidents.

By Bus:

Bus services from Milan are very regular, and thus, Lugano is quite well connected. Some of the major bus operators from Milan are Eurolines, Flix bus, and Malpensa Express, that depart from the Milan airport. The buses from Milan take about 90 minutes to two hours to reach the city. Average bus tickets cost anywhere between 8 to 10 Euros or more depending on the type of service you take. There are many other bus companies within Switzerland such as Post bus Switzerland that run long distance buses to various other cities in the country. ASF Autolinee is another Italian company with connection to a myriad of cities

By Train:

Lugano is also very well connected by the railway network in Switzerland and Italy via normal trains, tourist trains, and high-speed trains. Lugano is located on the Gotthard Railway, which primarily connects Italy with Switzerland. Trenitalia has many services from Milan to parts of Northern Switzerland, thus, connecting Lugano to multiple cities in Switzerland as well.