Must-see attractions in Ticino

  • Top Choice
    Castelgrande

    Rising dramatically above the Old Town, this medieval stronghold is Bellinzona’s most visible icon. Head up Salita San Michele from Piazza Collegiata, or…

  • Top Choice
    Castello di Montebello

    On cloudless days, you can see Lake Maggiore from this 13th-century hilltop fortification. The fortress is one of Bellinzona’s most impressive with its…

  • Top Choice
    Santuario della Madonna del Sasso

    Overlooking the town, this sanctuary was built after the Virgin Mary supposedly appeared in a vision to a monk, Bartolomeo d’Ivrea, in 1480. There’s a…

  • Top Choice
    Castello di Sasso Corbaro

    From central Bellinzona, it’s a 3.5km hike south to the Castello di Sasso Corbaro. Perched high on a wooded hillside, the castle has an austere beauty…

  • Castello Visconteo

    Named after the Visconti clan that long ruled Milan, this fortified 15th-century castle’s nucleus was raised around the 10th century. It now houses a…

  • Val Bavona

    A smooth road follows a mountain stream through this valley, where narrow meadows are cradled between steep rocky walls. Its tightly huddled stone and…

  • Monte Generoso

    Popping up between Italy and Switzerland, the 1704m peak of Monte Generoso has far-reaching views across a patchwork of lakes and mountains. The rack-and…

  • Corippo

    Blink and you'll almost certainly miss this pint-sized hamlet, which looks as though it would topple down the terraced hillside with the slightest puff of…

  • Parco Scherrer

    Set in subtropical parkland, Parco Scherrer, 400m west of the boat stop in Morcote, is the dream come true of textile merchant and art enthusiast Hermann…

  • Monte San Giorgio

    Rising in a pyramid above Lake Lugano, 1097m Monte San Giorgio has become Ticino’s mountain of myth thanks to its rich stash of Triassic marine-life…

  • Cevio

    The centrepiece of Cevio is its vibrant 16th-century Pretorio (magistrate’s court), covered in the family coats-of-arms of many of the area’s rulers,…

  • Isole di Brissago

    Marooned in the glimmering waters of Lake Maggiore, this tiny pair of islands is famous for its botanic gardens designed in the 19th century. Magnolias,…

  • Parco Ciani

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

  • Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angioli

    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…

  • Centovalli Railway

    River deep, mountain high... To see the valley in beautiful slow motion, hop aboard the staggering Centovalli Railway. Departing from Locarno for…

  • Museo d'Arte della Svizzera Italiana

    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…

  • Old Town

    You can feel just how close you are to Italy when exploring Locarno's hilly Città Vecchia (Old Town), an appealing jumble of piazzas, arcades, churches…

  • Museo Comunale d’Arte Moderna

    Housed in the late-16th-century Palazzo Pancaldi, this museum showcases paintings by artists connected with the town, among them Paul Klee, Ben Nicholson,…

  • Monte Brè

    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…

  • Piazza Grande

    Locarno’s Italianate Città Vecchia (Old Town) fans out from Piazza Grande, a photogenic ensemble of arcades and Lombard-style houses. A craft and fresh…