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Lugano

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Overview of village of Sonvico and Lake Lugano.

Andrew Montgomery

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Overview

Ticino’s lush, mountain-rimmed lake isn’t its only liquid asset. The largest city in the canton is also the country’s third-most-important banking centre. Suits aside, Lugano is a vivacious city, with posh designer boutiques, bars and pavement cafes huddling in the spaghetti maze of steep cobblestone streets that untangle at the edge of the lake and along the flowery promenade. The opening of its LAC arts centre has bumped it up in the cultural stakes, too.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Parco Ciani along Lake Lugano in Switzerland.

    Parco Ciani

    Lugano

    This lakefront promenade necklaces the shore of glassy Lago di Lugano, set against a backdrop of rugged mountains. Notice the distinctive profiles of cone…

  • Luxury chocolate candies

    Schokoland

    Lugano

    Chomp into some cocoa culture at the Alprose chocolate museum, Schokoland – a sure-fire hit with kids. Whiz through chocolate history, watch the sugary…

  • Interior of the church Santa Maria degli Angioli in Lugano, Switzerland.

    Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angioli

    Lugano

    This simple Romanesque church contains two frescos by Bernardino Luini dating from 1529. Covering the entire wall that divides the church in two is a…

  • Museo d'Arte della Svizzera Italiana

    Museo d'Arte della Svizzera Italiana

    Lugano

    The showpiece of Lugano's striking new LAC cultural centre, the MASI zooms in predominantly on 20th-century and contemporary art – from the abstract to…

  • Monte Brè

    Monte Brè

    Lugano

    Rising dramatically above Lago di Lugano, the conical peak of Monte Brè (925m) is the trailhead for hiking and mountain-biking trails that afford wide…

  • Monte San Salvatore

    Monte San Salvatore

    Lugano

    Lugano's very own Sugarloaf Mountain, the 912m peak of Monte San Salvatore has riveting 360-degree views over Lago di Lugano and southern Ticino to the…

  • Museo Hermann Hesse

    Museo Hermann Hesse

    Lugano

    This museum showcases German-born Swiss poet, novelist and painter Herman Hesse's personal objects, including some of the thousands of watercolours he…

  • Parco Botanico San Grato

    Parco Botanico San Grato

    Lugano

    Footpaths thread through these hilltop botanical gardens, which afford sensational lake and mountain views. In May the park is ablaze with the colour of…

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