Holiday in Ticino

What makes Ticino special as a destination?

Ticino is the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland and offers a Mediterranean lifestyle on Swiss soil. Palm-lined lake promenades, sun-drenched piazzas, rustic grottos, and a cuisine that combines the best of Italian tradition with Swiss quality — Ticino is the dream destination for all those seeking the south without leaving Switzerland. With over 2,300 hours of sunshine a year, the canton is the warmest region in the country. Lugano and Locarno are the shining centers of Ticino. Lake Lugano, with its steeply descending mountains and Mediterranean villages like Morcote, Gandria, and Carona, invites boating, swimming, and strolling. Locarno on Lake Maggiore delights with the Piazza Grande, where the renowned film festival takes place in August, and the pilgrimage church Madonna del Sasso, which towers high above the city and offers a breathtaking view over the lake. The Brissago Islands in Lake Maggiore host a botanical garden with over 1,700 plant species from five continents — a subtropical paradise on Swiss territory. The Verzasca Valley, with its emerald green river and the iconic Ponte dei Salti (Roman bridge), is one of the most photographed motifs in Switzerland, and the Contra dam became world-famous through the James Bond film “GoldenEye.” The Centovalli railway from Locarno to Domodossola travels through a wild gorge landscape reminiscent of the jungle. In the Muggiotal south of Lugano, one almost feels like they are in Tuscany: chestnut forests, stone villages, and hiking trails far from mass tourism. Ticino is the sunny counterpart to alpine Switzerland — and that is exactly why it is so popular.