Lugano | A Day’s Visit Highlights

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While in Milan this April for the Salone del Mobile, we decided to head north to Lugano, a city on the southern end of Switzerland bordering Italy. Our base was Como and therefore, it was quite easy to spontaneously drive off on a sunny Saturday morning along Lake Como and then head for Lake Lugano.

Partial view of Lugano in the background and the lake with some docked paddle boats on the shore.
Partial view of Lake Lugano.

The actual drive through small villages and towns was simply fascinating. It gave us an opportunity to appreciate the refined beauty of this region. (As such, I compiled a video with some of the best things we saw at Lake Como that you could watch here).

The closer we got to Lugano, the more anxious I became. I had heard from my mother how beautiful it was, but I didn’t have the pleasure to visit this city till now. And she was right.

View of Lake Lugano

I was taken by the picturesque scenery of the mountains of the Lugano Prealps, the mix of old neoclassical and new buildings with some great architectural details that got my attention, but mostly with the waterfront promenade by the old town of Lugano, where our children enjoyed watching the ducks and swans splashing away.

Partial view of Lugano in the background and the lake with some docked paddle boats on the shore.
Lake Lugano
People walking along a pedestrian zone in the old town of Lugano.
A pedestrian zone in the old town of Lugano.
Partial view of Lake Lugano from the city's waterfront.

That walk along the waterfront felt good as the warm afternoon sun rays touched our skin and our eyes filled with new information and beautiful imagery. The sounds of Italian speaking people walking along did not strike us as odd, even though we were officially in Switzerland.

A beautiful array of colorful flowers in beds on a little square in the Old Town of Lugano.
A beautiful array of colorful flowers in beds on a little square in the Old Town of Lugano.
A water fountain in the foreground and old buildings in the background from the old town of Lugano.

Needless to mention, that there was a considerable amount of high-end retail shops with watches, jewelry and clothing apparel. There were also plenty of shops with local produces that included a fascinating assortment of chocolates and cheeses on display making it extremely hard to resist.

One of the squares with lots of old buildings in the old town of Lugano.
Colorful buildings within a pedestrian zone in the old town of Lugano.
View of the Church of San Rocco.
The Church of San Rocco.

I also loved the fact that Lugano had a few pedestrian zones that led to a big square where people gathered to enjoy the sun, shop and eat, while everything felt so peaceful. There was a tranquility, similar to that of Como, but then again not commonly found in most other cities.

This was a remarkable city that we enjoyed only briefly, but were taken by the cachet qualities of this small city it and its gorgeous views of the lake. Thus, we promised ourselves to revisit soon and I think you should consider visiting her too.

Love,

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