Lugano, east side (Ticino, Switzerland)

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. Lugano lies in a bay on the northern side of Lake Lugano, surrounded by numerous mountains offering splendid viewpoints. The traffic-free historic town centre, the numerous buildings in Italianate Lombardy style, the exclusive museums, the mountains, lake and a packed calendar of events all invite visitors to see the sights, soak up the atmosphere – and enjoy "dolce far niente". Thanks to its mild climate, Lugano is a popular tourist destination in the spring when the camellias are in bloom. The town centre with its Mediterranean-style squares and arcades, and numerous parks with sub-tropical plants such as the Parco Civico on the shores of the lake invite you to laze around, enjoying the atmosphere. By the lakeside promenade are the Belvedere Gardens, where the parkland boasts not only camellias and magnolias but also countless sub-tropical plants and modern works of art. Art connoisseurs are attracted to this city of art and architecture by the high standard of the exhibitions it hosts. In the MASI (Museo d’Arte della Svizzera Italiana) are paintings by Klee, Jawlensky, Renoir and Degas, among others. In the last 50 years, the Ticino region, and Lugano in particular, have developed into an important region for architecture. The most well-known representatives of the "Ticino School" are Luigi Snozzi and Mario Botta. Botta's Banca BSI (Viale Franscini), the Palazzo Ransila (Via Pretorio) and his own workshop on the Via Ciani are good examples. The two closest mountains to Lugano, Monte San Salvatore and Monte Brè, give you an outstanding panorama of the town, Lake Lugano and the alpine scenery. From Monte Brè there is a walk down to the village of Brè, which has preserved its typical Ticino village centre, and enhanced it with works of art. From the San Salvatore another popular walk leads down through the beautifully situated Carona to Lake Lugano at Morcote. Taking a boat trip back to Lugano is a splendid way to round off the day. Other excursions are to the fishing village of Gandria, up the Monte San Giorgio or the Monte Generoso or to the Lilliput world of Switzerland in Miniature at Melide.