If You Forget Your Hiking Boots...This Might Work
by tpal
I wish I could tell you more about these guys. We found them seemingly quite content on top of Monte Brè. I suppose they are working stiffs, providing excursions for tourist who are better at going down than coming up (a solid understanding of my personal capabilities helps makes these assumptions possible). In any event, a city boy like me doesn't often get see a donkey.
AIROLO
by nygaston
``Ticino: from A to Z''
Airolo . . . Traveling south from Zurich, via train or car, Airolo is the first Ticino town to greet you when you emerge from the 10-mile long Gotthard Tunnel or come off the spectacular Gotthard Pass. Ringed by mountain scenery, it is an important winter and summer resort, and a starting point for excursions, particularly high-pass walks and ski tours.
Bellinzona . . . History lovers will find it difficult to leave this canton capital, a fortress city set in a valley of lush mountains. Three picturesque castles confirm its medieval importance as the key to the St. Gotthard, Lukmanier, and San Bernardino Passes, but all too often travelers hurrying to Lakes Lugano, Como, or Maggiore -- or to nearby Italy -- bypass this ancient city. Saturday morning's open-air market is one of the country's best.
Cuisine . . . Ticino gastronomy is greatly influenced by the cuisine of Lombardy, Piemonte, Tuscany, and the Alps. But, quite simply, it is pasta, polenta, risotto con funghi, sausages, osso bucco, crusty bread, and formaggini (the local goat cheese topped with coarse black pepper and olive oil). They taste best when washed down with a boccalino of merlot or a bit of grappa.
Cento Valley and Domodossola . . . Centovalli (literally ``one hundred valleys'') heading west is the hour-and-45-minute train route to Domodossola in Italy. A spectacular narrow-gauge railway runs from downtown Locarno into a landscape of gorges and waterfalls. At Re, on the Italian side, a procession of pilgrims takes to the streets April 30 each year, a tradition that originated after a painting of the Madonna was reported to start bleeding after being struck by a ball.
The old Church tower and a refurbished house.
by dabidc
The village is small and a place to start exploring the area. Off to the west is an old church through a wood, and in a National Park there are many Rhododendron Shrubs, more of those later.
I have to admit there is an excellnt cafe here to sit outsdie and take a long refreshing drink is wunderbar.
Funicular Stazione - Città
by yumyum
This funicular takes you from the railway station which is up the hill down to the city center in a few minutes. The funicular was opened in 1886 and was originally a bit longer. Today it is 220 m.
It is actually easy to walk down the hill and there is San Lorenzo Cathedral on the way too.
When you are in Ticino and...
by a005116
When you are in Ticino and when you like modern arcitecture you're on the right place. A good exemple is el chiesse del Santa Maria Degli Angeli a Monte Tamaro designed by Mario Botta and illustrated by Enzo Cucchi.