Lugano

Ticino’s lush, mountain-rimmed lake isn’t its only liquid asset. The largest city in the canton is also the country’s third-most-important banking centre. Suits aside, Lugano is a vivacious city, with posh designer boutiques, bars and pavement cafes huddling in the spaghetti maze of steep cobblestone streets that untangle at the edge of the lake and along the flowery promenade. The opening of its LAC arts centre has bumped it up in the cultural stakes, too.

Popping up above the lake are the twin peaks of Monte Brè and Monte San Salvatore, both commanding astonishing views deep into the Alps and attracting hikers and mountain bikers in the warmer months.

Explore Lugano

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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
Schokoland
Chomp into some cocoa culture at the Alprose chocolate museum, Schokoland – a sure-fire hit with kids. Whiz through chocolate history, watch the sugary…
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Monte San Salvatore
Lugano's very own Sugarloaf Mountain, the 912m peak of Monte San Salvatore has riveting 360-degree views over Lago di Lugano and southern Ticino to the…
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Museo Hermann Hesse
This museum showcases German-born Swiss poet, novelist and painter Herman Hesse's personal objects, including some of the thousands of watercolours he…
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Parco Botanico San Grato
Footpaths thread through these hilltop botanical gardens, which afford sensational lake and mountain views. In May the park is ablaze with the colour of…
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Piazza della Riforma
Porticoed lanes weave around Lugano's busy main square, which is presided over by the 1844 neoclassical Municipio (town hall) and is even more lively when…

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…
M
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…
M
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…
C
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…
Schokoland
Chomp into some cocoa culture at the Alprose chocolate museum, Schokoland – a sure-fire hit with kids. Whiz through chocolate history, watch the sugary…
M
Monte San Salvatore
Lugano's very own Sugarloaf Mountain, the 912m peak of Monte San Salvatore has riveting 360-degree views over Lago di Lugano and southern Ticino to the…
M
Museo Hermann Hesse
This museum showcases German-born Swiss poet, novelist and painter Herman Hesse's personal objects, including some of the thousands of watercolours he…
P
Parco Botanico San Grato
Footpaths thread through these hilltop botanical gardens, which afford sensational lake and mountain views. In May the park is ablaze with the colour of…
P
Piazza della Riforma
Porticoed lanes weave around Lugano's busy main square, which is presided over by the 1844 neoclassical Municipio (town hall) and is even more lively when…

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Lugano.

See
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…
See
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…
See
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…
See
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…
See
Schokoland
Chomp into some cocoa culture at the Alprose chocolate museum, Schokoland – a sure-fire hit with kids. Whiz through chocolate history, watch the sugary…
See
Monte San Salvatore
Lugano's very own Sugarloaf Mountain, the 912m peak of Monte San Salvatore has riveting 360-degree views over Lago di Lugano and southern Ticino to the…
See
Museo Hermann Hesse
This museum showcases German-born Swiss poet, novelist and painter Herman Hesse's personal objects, including some of the thousands of watercolours he…
See
Parco Botanico San Grato
Footpaths thread through these hilltop botanical gardens, which afford sensational lake and mountain views. In May the park is ablaze with the colour of…
See
Piazza della Riforma
Porticoed lanes weave around Lugano's busy main square, which is presided over by the 1844 neoclassical Municipio (town hall) and is even more lively when…

Guidebooks

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