Europe Travel Blog

Lugano is a stylish and fashionable town, overlooked by Monte Bre and Monte San Salvatore, on Lake Lugano in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. With the breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains plunging down to serene lakes, and the wonderful Swiss fresh air, this makes a great area for a relaxing holiday.

About to start in a few days is the annual free Blues to Bop Festival from the 30th August to 2nd September, which this year features some fifty acts including The Duncan McKenzie Band, Diunna Greenleaf, and more. Additionally for July and August every year the lakeside road is closed to traffic for the Estiva Lugano, which features music, theatre, cabaret, and cinema.

If you enjoy being on the water, there are a variety of boat trips around the lake available, some including lunch. Or if you want to enjoy the marvelous panoramic views, there are tourist trains, cable cars and even chair lifts to take you to the tops of the mountains. You will notice it becomes much cooler higher up.

Lugano has some interesting churches, including the 16th century Saint Mary of the Angels Church, with an impressive fresco by Bernardino Luini of the Passion of Christ. Lugano also has a number of museums, including a Historical Museum and a Modern Art Museum. There is even a chocolate factory nearby for you to enjoy along with its own wonderful Museum of Chocolate.

If you feel like staying somewhere out of the town centre, then you could try the pleasant lakeside municipality of Melide, which is next to Lugano. The Seehotel Riviera is directly on the lakeside, and when you go downstairs in the hotel, you find yourself in the lido from where you can go swimming in the lake. Alternatively there is the hotel’s own pool within a stone’s throw of the water’s edge. Meals are served on the terasse overlooking directly onto Lake Lugano, and to sit here with the wonderful vista of water and mountains is a real taste of paradise.

Filed under: Switzerland, Music, Religious Sights, Lodging