Lake Lugano’s big five | The West Australian

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Lake Lugano’s big five | The West ***********

Shared by Switzerland and Italy, Lake Lugano is a beauty from every angle. The shores of this glacial lake are framed by mountains and villages, plus Lugano itself, the largest city in Ticino, the Italian-speaking canton of southern Switzerland. Boasting handy transport links to places on either side of the Swiss-Italian border, Lugano is a launchpad for relaxing and riveting adventures. Here are five spots with contrasting diversions and perspectives of this 50sqkm lake, which sparkles between Lake Como and Lake Maggiore.

PARCO CIANI

A short walk from Lugano’s vibrant urban core is this pretty and peaceful escape, which curves by the lake, taking its name from the wealthy Ciani brothers, Giacomo and Filippo, who had this landscaped as a private park in the 19th century. Their one-time neoclassical villa is now an events space, hosting exhibitions, while contemporary art also adorns the park, including an inventive metal sculpture by Italian artist Valentina Picozzi. It depicts Satoshi Nakamoto, the presumed pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin, crouched over a laptop.

Situated where the Cassarate River meets Lake Lugano, this 6ha retreat merges Italian and English-style garden influences, with footpaths curling past neatly manicured lawns and flower beds, and subtropical and native shrubs and trees. In the warmer months (May-October), the park stages open-air concerts and festivals. You may see swimmers at the public lido beside the park, while sailors, kayakers, windsurfers and stand-up paddleboarders venture out on the lake.

Camera IconFuniculars thread up the mountains by Lake Lugano. Credit: Steve McKenna/ FUNICULAR RIDES

You can ride funiculars up some of the most distinctive peaks overlooking the city: Monte San Salvatore (which sprouts 912m above sea level to Lugano’s south) and Monte Bre (a 925m summit slightly to the east). Both have a raft of hiking trails and fabulous panoramas of the lake and towards the snow-capped Monte Rosa massif, which rises up to 4634m on the Swiss-Italian border.

The Bre funicular is also the gateway to the sleepy little village of Bre, where cobbled alleys pass centuries-old stone houses and offbeat contemporary art, from painted wall murals to installations fusing recycled materials. There’s a handful of eateries in and around Bre, including Vetta Restaurant, whose large terrace lords over Lake Lugano, and Grotto Castagneto, a tucked-away spot with traditional Ticinese cuisine, cheeses and wines. You can also reach Bre village on a scenic bus ride up from central Lugano.

GANDRIA

From Bre, if you don’t fancy taking the funicular or bus back to Lugano, you could descend on foot to the alluringly titled Sentiero dell’olivo (Olive Trail). Lined with olive groves, and information panels charting the area’s history of olive cultivation, the path runs between Castagnola, a suburb of Lugano (home to the funicular terminus), and Gandria, a picturesque lakeside village by the foot of Monte Bre.

Closed to traffic, Gandria’s historic centre is pleasing to amble around, its quaint lanes stretching out from the church of San Vigilio, a 16th-century landmark with a baroque interior. After an espresso or a bite to eat, you could bus it back to Lugano or take one of the occasional ferries that go to the city or across the lake to the Swiss Customs Museum, which occupies an old border post. Close to here, incidentally and intriguingly, is Campione d’Italia, a lakeside town that’s surrounded by Ticino but part of the commune of Como in the Italian region of Lombardy.

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Located at the tip of a peninsula south of Lugano, Morcote is another mesmerising lake-hugging village also accessible by bus or ferry and so close to Italy you could almost toss a stone across the border. Away from the promenade and its cars, cafes, galleries and restaurants, you’ll find wonderful vantage points, including the Parco Scherrer, a terraced botanical garden with luxuriant flora, eclectic sculptures and whimsical architecture.

Requiring a little extra effort is the Santa Maria del Sasso church, which you can reach by climbing 400 or so steps above the village or by taking one of the more gently ascending paths. Trust me, it’s worth the bother. The view over the mighty belltower, with the lake as the backdrop, is one of the finest in Ticino.

MONTE SAN GIORGIO

Glancing across the water from Morcote, you may glimpse Monte San Giorgio, a wooded pyramid-esque 1097m peak that is something of a magnet for palaeontologists, who have been making stunning finds in the area since the mid-1800s. Now UNESCO World Heritage-listed, the mountain was part of a tropical lagoon over 200 million years ago and thousands of Triassic-era fossilised fish and marine plants have been excavated here. A selection is displayed at the Fossil Museum in Meride, a village south of Monte San Giorgio that’s a combined 45-minute train and bus ride from Lugano city.

Boosted by augmented-reality and virtual-reality features, the museum occupies a palazzo expanded and remodelled by prolific Ticinese architect Mario Botta. A visit may inspire you onto the hiking trails and cableways that wind up the mountain. Learning panels show where the scientists made their dinosauric discoveries and you’ll also be rewarded with spectacular vistas over Lake Lugano.

Steve McKenna was a guest of Ticino Tourism and Switzerland Tourism. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.

fact file

+ Lugano is a two-hour train ride from Zurich and 1 hour 15 minutes from Milan. For trains and timetables, see

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+ Guests staying at overnight accommodation in Ticino get a free Ticino Ticket, which allows complimentary travel on the region’s excellent and efficient public transport, though funiculars cost extra.

+ For more information on planning a trip here and across Switzerland, see

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