WALKING ON SUNSHINE
by nygaston
Hillsides and valleys of colour sprinkled with cool forests, an occasional village of old stone houses and picturesque waterfront frescoed resort-towns. All this, backed by distant snow-capped peaks under a Mediterranean sun that won’t quit. That’s what you can expect if you’re out for a walk around Lugano.
Dozens of footpaths cross the countryside and it’s easy to design your own walks, visiting places of interest and finishing in beautiful lakeside towns where you can catch a boat back to Lugano. Here are two sensational walks we did, and you can get more ideas from the Tourist Office:
1. Take a funicular to the top of San Salvatore, then follow any of the trails down the mountain through the villages of Ciona, Carona and Torello to the beautiful resort of Morcote. Allow four hours. Boats back to Lugano take an hour.
2. Explore Lugano’s Civic Park and the Lido before heading down Via Riviera to Castagnola and the start of the waterfront walk to Gandria. Allow two hours. Boats back to Lugano take 30 minutes.
Bellinzona
by MalenaN
Bellinzona is not off the beaten path, but it makes a nice daytrip from Lugano, and it is easy to reach with train in 30 minutes.
Since 2000 the three castles, Castelgrande, Montebello and Sasso Corbarco, have been an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bellinzona has a beautiful location. It is situated by Ticino River in Ticino Valley and has a strategic position along the route over the Alpine passes. A fortress was built already in Roman times, it was later added to by the Bishop of Como. When Bellinzona was under the control of the Dukes of Milan two more castles were built and they had, not only a good defence, but also control over the passing traffic and trade.
Below Castelgrande is the Old Town of Bellinzona with narrow cobbled streets, some squares and fine buildings, like the Town Hall with a courtyard with Renaissance arcades around.
I visited Bellinzona on a sunny day in February and I enjoyed my stay very much. I walked around in the Old Town, ate at a café and visited all three castles by foot.
Looking back from the Church.
by dabidc
There appeared to be some 12 of these shrines, not sure now if they were all to Our Lady, but for the most part the place looked deserted and almost forgotten.
The wood is part of a park area, which also included the Rhododendron blossoms as shown in previous photos.
Now we can return to the village and have that refreshment, a beer, an ice, a coffee or a fine dessert. Your choice.
Thanks for coming along for the walk.
great indian food
by call_me_rhia about king coconut
It's a new entry on the local dining scene... the food is very good - both Sri Lankan and Indian. There's an all-you-can-eat buffet for 39 Swiss francs and Friday and Saturday evening which is really good if you want to taste several dishes. When I last went there I tried some really hot king prawns and a slightly less hot chicken.... then 2 sorts of really good rice (listen to the owner and add coconut mixed with paprika on top of it), 2 different sorts of Indian bread (naan and chappati) and plenty of wonderful veggies... including manioca... which I had never atsted before, and which I fell in love with... there was a strange rice pudding for dessert, quite good in fact. And, to finish it all, not very Indian coffee... and yet, one of the best cups of coffee in town.
Bre a walk after the funicular.
by dabidc
Bre is a very small village, with some delightful stone built cottages andhouses, it appears almost untouched over the years. One or two cafes, a shop and a peaceful place to visit and rest.
There is also a road that zig zags up the hillside and leaves the houses behind that are part of Lugano.
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Civic Park
Hot chocolate
In the city center
End of the Earth - Lake Lugano
