Must-see attractions in Ticino

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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,…

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

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…

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

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…

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…

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

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…

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…