[Anonymous]

20 August 2018 at 16:49:36 #817984

Can anyone provide recommendations/insight for a 2 night stay in the Ticino area: Lugano, Locarno or Ascona? We will be there in late September.

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[Arno]

Reply 1 of 7 • 20 August 2018 at 18:35:36 #894635

Hi Lhollinger,

Each of these towns is wonderful in its own way. Bellinzona is another option to consider. What would you like to do and see during your stay? Will you be traveling by train?

[Snowman]

Reply 2 of 7 • 20 August 2018 at 20:08:06 #894636

I would recommend Locarno, from where you can visit Lake Tremorgio, a landscape treasure (see attachment), and Giornico, a lovely village with three interesting churches and a good grotto (restaurant for local food). Besides Locarno itself, of course, and its Piazza Grande where a famous film festival takes place every summer.

Attachments:

1. 

   2f81edc3-c74b-4929-8983-597c34eb7aef.jpg
   

[User]

Reply 3 of 7 • 20 August 2018 at 23:09:17 #894637

Thank you. We are hoping to have a not too touristy experience and experience the local food, people and outdoor activities. We will be traveling by train.

[User]

Reply 4 of 7 • 20 August 2018 at 23:10:31 #894638

Thank you! You aren’t kidding about the lake-gorgeous!

[MyTravels]

Reply 5 of 7 • 21 August 2018 at 1:08:12 #894639

Hi LHollinger

I have just recently vacationed in Locarno (July ’18) and travelled to both Ascona and Lugano as part of that trip, so hopefully I can provide some insights as a tourist that might help with your decision.

Locarno – I found Locarno to be a little bit too much of a ‘city’ for me to enjoy as a vacation spot even though we stayed above Locarno in Orselina, as Snowman has pointed out, it is a great place to stay due to its accessibility to other locations/landmarks but for me it lacks the holiday feel so if I do travel to the Ticino again I would opt out of staying here

Ascona – Loved, loved, loved, it has a wonderful holiday feel as the ‘township’ is on the waterfront so you get a great view of the town as you arrive by boat (Ascona has no train station so public transport is via boat or bus), it is also close to the Brissago Islands (via boat), which was a must do on my trip and well worth the price of admission.

Lugano – Ironically I really liked the old town of Lugano vs Locarno, I think it had more to do with the walk from the train station to the lake itself which was very picturesque (you walk down a number of steps/stairs to reach the cobblestone paths leading into the old town and lakefront). From the lakefront you can take a boat to one of the lovely villages, though we did take a boat cruise we didn’t get the opportunity to explore one of the villages but I would highly recommend visiting Morcote, which from the boat looked particularly impressive, http://www.luganoregion.com/e n/attractions-activities/villages-countryside/detail/id/ 6272/morcote

Wherever you stay in the region you can’t go wrong, it really comes down to what your preference is and what you want to get out of your stay.

Hope my insights were of some help.

Cheers

My Travels

[Mageo]

Reply 6 of 7 • 21 August 2018 at 2:28:52 #894640

Hi,

Our base in Ticino last year was Lugano. Thoroughly enjoyed visiting the mountain, San Salvadore (magnificent views), the hike down to the picturesque villages of Ciona and Carona, then bus to Morcote. Other beautiful villages we visited were Gandria (by boat) return by the Olive Trail, Bre and Ascona. Bellinzona (on market day) and Bellinzona are also very interesting. Mageo.

[User]

Reply 7 of 7 • 21 August 2018 at 6:05:26 #894641

A very hard decision – I don’t think you can go wrong! If you want a smaller town experience then perhaps avoid Lugano but it still isn’t too big. Late September shouldn’t be too busy with tourist crowds.

If it helps, have a read through my trip report to the area last spring http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/ticino-region-trip-march-31-april-2