Culinary tips

A simple, original restaurant welcomes its guests on the hill of Daro, where one enjoys wonderful views across Castelgrande with every dish. After a visit to the three fortresses, guests here will have the opportunity of sampling regional dishes with a Mediterranean slant, all prepared with great care and making the best use of seasonal produce.

Visitors seeking simple but highly flavoursome cuisine, combined with breathtaking views across the entire Langesee region will have found the right venue here. An old, simply renovated farmhand's cottage with an open terrace where the finest traditional specialities are served - definitely an excursion destination you shouldn't miss.

A few steps past the churches and the old houses, the babbling from the river points the way: two Romanesque bridges lead to a small island in the Ticino river and to the Grotto dei due Ponti; one practically feels transported to a bygone age. An experience straddling history and authentic gastronomic tradition.

"The most beautiful part of the world smiles at me here" - that's what Virgil sung and it's also the inscription in one of the cellar vaults hewn into rock behind the village of Mendrisio, where the old Grotto Bundi can be found. A culinary institution where wonderful wines, cheese and sausages – made to time-honoured recipes and stored traditionally – can be tried.

Also known as "Hermann Hesse's grotto". The Nobel prize laureate chose this precise spot, in the shade of the linden trees of the Collina d’Oro, for his permanent residence. And the famed writer also came right here, to the Grotto Cavicc, when he wished to dine and chat a little, enjoy a fine glass of wine or play a game or two of boccia with friends.

This old mill is situated up in the Valle Lavizzara in a remote location in the Ticino Alps. A restaurant cherished by the local population and guests alike, be it on account of its idyllic location, or because of its traditional dishes. These include not only polenta, but also sausages and cheese from the region.