Lugano Favorites

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Favorite thing: Lugano's tourist information centre is located in a very pretty building close to the lakefront. This was our first stop when we had arrived in Lugano, and we got a free map which was very good: It displayed the whole area of Lugano and its different parts, and also some short information about different things to see and do.

Address: Riva Albertolli
Direcions: Close to the lakefront

Favorite thing: The most common European emergency number 112 (following Directive 2002/22/EC: Universal Service Directive) and also standard on GSM mobile phones. 112 is used in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom in addition to their other emergency numbers.

Here are some useful phone numbers that you might need while in Switzerland:

Police: 117
Ambulance: 144
Fire: 118
Poison: 145
Road emergency: 140
Psychological support (free and anonymous): 143
Psychological support for teens and children (free and anonymous): 147
Helicopter air-rescue (Rega): 1414 or by radio on 161.300 MHz
Air rescue (Air Glaciers) (in Valais only): 1415

Favorite thing: It is always better to be informed about road conditions.
So for this reason here's a website that wil tell you every Swiss tunnel and mountain pass status, open or closed.

http://www.tcs.ch/main/it/home/verkehrsinfo/paesse_tunnels.html

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Favorite thing: When you are eating something outside, don't be sourprised if a bird comes really close to you, they are used to people and sometimes they even try to steal your food.

But is can also be funny to feed them, specially the little one, that wil try to catch what you have for them on the fly.

Favorite thing: You can take an interesting walk through the city centre of Lugano, which offers to the visitors a traditional and cultural aspects that permit the discovery of the city. The free guided tours every monday morning from 9.30-12.00, takes you in architectural monuments from the past; bold examples of the work of contemporary Ticinesi architects, who are renowned all over the world; the pedestrian area and its characteristic narrow streets.

Fondest memory: every monday
9.30-12.00

FREE

Meeting point and arrival: Informations office, Lugano Turismo-Palazzo Civico

Groups not admitted. Possibility of tour organisation on request.

Favorite thing: Below few words in Italian that you can use while visiting Switzerland.

Waiter / Waitress! - Cameriere/ Cameriera, per favore!
May I have the menu, please? - Potrei avere il menu, per favore?
Do you have a set menu / local specialities? - Avete un menu fisso/ delle specialità locali?
What do you recommend? - Cosa mi raccomanderebbe?
Do you have vegetarian dishes? - Avete dei piatti vegetariani?
bread - pane
butter - burro
cheese - formaggio
coffee - caffè
cream - panna (montata)
ice cream - gelato
lemon - limone
milk - latte
mineral water - acqua minerale
mustard - senape
pepper - pepe
salad - insalata
salt - sale
sugar - zucchero
tea - tè
yes/no - si/ no
please / thank you - per favore/ grazie
good morning - Buongiorno
good afternoon - Buon pomeriggio
good evening - Buona sera
good night - Buona notte
good-bye - Arrivederci
excuse me - mi scusi
you're welcome - prego
how long / how far - per quanto tempo/ quanto è lontano
yesterday / today / tomorrow - ieri/ oggi/ domani
day / week / month / year - giorno/ settimana/ mese / anno
left / right - sinistra/ destra
up / down - su/ giù
good / bad - buono/ cattivo
big / small - grande/ piccolo
cheap / expensive - economico/ caro
hot / cold - caldo/ freddo
open / closed - aperto / chiuso
free/ occupied - libero / occupato
early / late - presto/ tardi
Does anyone here speak English? - Qualcuno qui parla inglese?
I don't speak (much) Italian. - Non parlo l'italiano/ molto italiano.
Could you repeat that? - Per favore, potrebbe ripetere?
Could you spell it? - Per favore, potrebbe fare lo spelling?
Can you translate this for me / us? - Potrebbe tradurre questo per me/ per noi?
What does this mean? - Che cosa vuol dire?
I don't understand. - Non capisco.
How much is that? - Quanto costa?
Does this bus / train stop at ... ? - Questo autobus/treno ferma a...?
Monday - lunedì
Tuesday - martedì
Wednesday - mercoledì
Thursday - giovedì
Friday - venerdì
Saturday - sabato
Sunday - domenica

Favorite thing: Arriving in Lugano by car is an eyecatching experience, and I couldn't believe the beauty while approaching there.
This town is situated at the edge of Lake Lugano - Lago di Lugano - and is the largest town in the canton of Ticino.

Favorite thing: The tourist office is open from November until March as follows: Monday - Friday 9 am till 12 am and 2 pm till 5.30 pm and on Saturday from 10 am till 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm till 5 pm. They have a container by the door with free maps when they are closed (provided they haven't run out). The tourist office has longer opening times in summer.

Location: Riva Albertolli street in the Palazzo Civico

The website is www.lugano-tourism.ch

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Favorite thing: My favourite thing to do in Lugano is to take a leisurely stroll along the lakeside promenade.

Fondest memory: My favourite memory of Lugano is being able to wander around taking photographs without the fear of being bothered by anyone. As a single traveller, this can be a problem in many other places.

Favorite thing: 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.