Experiences in Ticino

This wellness complex is both a place for coming together and a place of rest and relaxation. The complex is known in particular for its unique lakeside location as well as its architecture.

At Lake Lugano, it is wonderfully easy to escape one’s daily routine: by enjoying a sunbath below palm trees, cruises on the lake or hiking tours through magnificent landscapes.

Switzerland's lowest and highest point at a glance: Lake Maggiore to the south, the Valais Alps with the Dufourspitze to the west. All just five minutes from the town of Locarno.

One pass, six museums. The Ascona-Locarno region is a cultural hot spot.

Suspension Rope Park at the middle station of the Monte Tamaro. A fascinating acrobatic course situated in a hundred-year-old beech forest.

Just a 15-minute walk from Ascona rises the 321 metre tall "Hill of Truth". The panoramic view of the village and the Lago Maggiore is fantastic – just like the story of the eccentrics from around the world who established an early hippy colony here in 1900. This spirit can still be seen today in the hotel, in the museum – and while strolling through the park.

The Museo etnografico of Valle di Muggio is primarily an open-air museum. The information center does have exhibitions, but the permanent exhibits are to be found in the surrounding environs. Amazing, what an Alpine valley has to offer. First of all, there is the "Nevèra", which can only be found here in Switzerland. It is a cylindrical construct made of quarry-stone brickwork, with a conical flagstone roof. During the winter this structure, which is several meters deep, was filled with snow. In the past, local farmers used to keep milk cool in these cylinders until further processing, up until the following fall season. Graa" are another object of interest. They are buildings for drying chestnuts. "Cisterna" are buildings that collect and store water from snow melting on roofs. "Roccolo" are towers for catching birds.

This self-guided tour allows you to discover Lugano from the perspective of its street art.

A trip to the Breggia Gorges is a real time travelling experience. In this part of the Mendrisiotto along the Breggia River you will find some unusual geological formations.

On the 3.5-kilometer-long "Sentiero dell'olivo" strtetch, 18 information boards bring you closer to the history and scientific nature of olive tree growth and the oil won from olives.

Even the Romans avoided the immense mass of the Gotthard. The Pass only gained significance around the year 1200, when the Schöllenen Ravine between Göschenen and Andermatt was developed. Today the Gotthard Pass is the main North-South connection, traversed by leisure hikers and pass enthusiasts.

Ticino means Switzerland paired with Italian flair. And the region’s lakes, mountains and swaying palms, together with Mediterranean-like climate, provide a superb environment for golf.

The park surrounding the Villa dei Cedri, which today is home to the Municipal Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art, is a living example of an English-style park of the 19th century. A further attraction is the vineyard behind the villa, whose grapes are used to produce the popular Merlot.

The ruins of the old Craveggia baths are easy to reach on foot from Spruga, though you will have to wade across the Isorno because the spa is located on Italian soil on the other side of the river.

The sanctuary of Madonna del Sasso in Orselina above Locarno is the most famous place of pilgrimage in the Italian part of Switzerland. It is rooted in the ancient tradition of votive gifts.

Where is the treasure hidden? Somewhere in the winding streets of Ascona, at any rate. The hunt is on, with puzzles to solve along the way.

Located between Monte San Salvatore and Monte Arbostora at an altitude of just under 700 metres, the botanical gardens are a mecca for park visitors and plant lovers – particularly in April and May, when the azaleas and rhododendrons form a fragrant carpet.

The San Michele Park sits high above Lugano and offers spectacular views of the city, the lake and the mountains. The typically southern vegetation is sure to thrill many of its visitors too.

Experience with your family the natural scenery of Switzerland's sunny parlor. Accompanied by the faithful you will have no problem motivating your children to go on a hike.

The Vela family is omnipresent in Ligornetto right up until today: And no wonder, as close to Milan, it brought the sculptor Vincenzo Vela fame, glory and prosperity. He invested his money in an imposing art villa, which today is home to the Museo Vincenzo Vela, where you can admire the works of the artist family.

You can learn how posters tell entire stories and writings express emotions at the m.a.x. museo. The building, by architects Durisch+Nolli, is enclosed in glass cladding. At night it shines with soft light, during the day it is a place of pilgrimage for lovers of graphic design.

The Muggio Valley was once very nearly abandoned, but precisely because the locals place importance on their past, it now lives on into the future as an open-air museum.

This magnificent botanical garden is set on the Gambarogno side of Lago Maggiore, on the hillside terrace between Piazzogna and Vairano. Here, the Parco Botanico del Gambarogno foundation lavishes endless love and skill on the over 17,000 square metres of gorgeously colourful plants.

An Ayurvedic break for women in an Indian oasis with a view of Lake Lugano.

Experience the special atmosphere of a restaurant combined with one of the largest indoor miniature golf courses in Switzerland, set in a landscape of subtropical plants.

More than 100 animals from all over the world are at home in the Zoo al Maglio to marvel at. These include lions, panthers, snow leopards, serval, the Bennett wallaby, gibbons, macaques and capuchin monkeys as well as parrots.

The Piazza della Reforma is Lugano’s main square and is an inviting place for tourists and locals to relax as they enjoy the many bistros and restaurants.

Smuggling, drug enforcement, financial crime, migration, precious metal control, species and cultural asset protection – visitors to the Customs Museum gain an insight into the everyday work of border guards and customs officers in Switzerland, from the foundation of the Confederation in 1848 to the present day.

The treasure hunts offered by Ascona-Locarno Tourism are a fun, amusing way of discovering the area. There are four treasures hidden there which can only be found by the craftiest adventurers.