Piazza della Riforma, Lugano

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This main square is the heart of Lugano. The town hall (photo 1) was built in 1844 in neo-classical style. Get a mediterranean feeling by sitting in one of the restaurants on the piazza sipping a coffee. Twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday mornings there is a fresh produce market on the traffic free square.

This is the actual center of Lugano.
The perfect place to rest after a walk around town. Sit down at one of the many cafés around the piazza, take an espresso and watch the people passing by.
On one side you can see the neoclassical Palazzo Civico, the municipal building.

I remembered taking a picture on this square back in 1989, so when we returned to Lugano in 2007, I tried as best as I could to imitate that picture. But I failed to identify the exact same spot ... An excellent place, by the way, to drink some cappuccinos and observe the townspeople during their afternoon break.

piazza riforma is the main square of lugano. It's quite a scenic spot and you can see some fine buildings and the town hall. Look around you closely: you'll notice that every building is either a bank (so very swiss) or a café (so very italian). In summer it's the location of many music festivals - and if there's no festival going on it's the right place to sit down and do some people watching.

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Piazza Riforma is Lugano's main piazza, and the biggest one. It is a pretty place to discover, with many nice houses surrounding it. The buildings are very colourful, and everything looks neat and clean. On tuesdays and fridays, a market is taking place here.
No matter where you are walking to or from during your exploration of Lugano, you will always come across this piazza!

We enjoyed our wonder around the piazza, although I must admit that I preferred the smaller Piazza Ciocarro.

Piazza Riforma. This is a beautiful Italian style square at the centre of Lugano. It is the venue for the Estival Jazz stage, but throughout the rest of the year cafe's spill onto it. Take a look at the three main banks who have premises on the square, in summer there is a big rivalry to see who can have the best, most extravagant flower displays on their balconies. We benefit from their vying for position as it is all very beautiful!

I took this picture during my first visit to Lugano in 1989. When we returned to this town in 2007, I remembered this spot and I took another picture here.