Ticino is an Italian-speaking canton in the south of Switzerland. It has become one of the major tourist destinations of Switzerland, and is set off from the rest of the country by its relatively warm climate, distinct culture and gastronomy.

Cities

• 1 Ascona — known sometimes as the Swiss Riviera
• 2 Bellinzona — the capital of the canton
• 3 Chiasso — the southernmost town in Switzerland, it is surrounded on three sides by Italy
• 4 Locarno — a town at the shore of Lago Maggiore
• 5 Lugano — the largest city in the canton, on the shore of the Lake Lugano, with a pleasant waterfront, stunning lake views and steep hillsides
• 6 Mendrisio
• 7 Tenero

Other destinations

• 1 Verzasca Valley
• 2 Bellinzona e Alto Ticino
• 3 Lago di Lugano — Lake Lugano
• 4 Lago Maggiore e Valli — Lake Maggiore located in Italy and Switzerland

Understand

Aerial view of Lake Lugano

Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. It is one of the three large southern Alpine cantons, along with Valais and the Grisons.

Named after the Ticino, its longest river, it is the only canton where Italian is the sole official language and represents the bulk of the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland.

The largest city is Lugano, and the two other notable centres are Bellinzona and Locarno.

Public holidays

These are the public holidays in addition to those observed in the whole of Switzerland:

• Epiphany (6 January)
• St Joseph's Day (19 March)
• Labour Day (1 May)
• Corpus Christi (60 days after Easter)
• Saints Peter and Paul (29 June)
• Assumption (15 August)
• All Saints Day (1 November)
• Immaculate Conception (8 December)

Local information

• Ticino City Council website

Get in

By plane

Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP ^IATA) is connected to Ticino by a cross-border commuter rail network.

By train

The area is served by the Swiss Federal Railways with all connections from the north passing through the Gotthard massif and hence significantly improved with the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

See

View from Monte San Giorgio to the north

• Ticino hosts two World Heritage Sites: the Three Castles of Bellinzona and Monte San Giorgio.
• 1 Museum of fossils from Monte San Giorgio, Via Bernardo Peyer 9, 6866 Meride, ☏ +41 91 640 00 80. Tu-Su 09:00 – 17:00. Monte San Giorgio is a mountain at the Italian border inscribed at the UNESCO World Heritage List for it "is the single best-known record of marine life in the Triassic period, and records important remains of life on land as well." The museum displays a collection of fossilised animals and plants from this region. Fr. 12. (updated Sep 2015)
• Go to Melide to visit Swissminiatur where a lot of Switzerland's sights are replicated as models.

Do

Events

• The city of Locarno is host to the Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland's most prestigious film festival, held during the second week of August.
• Estival Jazz, a free open-air jazz festival, is held in Lugano and Mendrisio in late June and July] Another jazz festival is held in Ascona.
• Rabadan is the major carnival festival of the canton. It has been ongoing now for more than 150 years.

Hiking

Ticino has some of the most scenic hiking trails in whole Switzerland. Below is a selection:

• Crest hike Monte Tamaro–Monte Lema
• Hike down the Verzasca valley
• Greina Walking Tour from Campo Blenio in Tre Valles to Vrin in Val Lumnezia of the neighbouring canton Grischun (Graubünden)

Eat

There are numerous delicatessen specialties (such as boiled luganighe, typical with carnival risotto, grilled luganighetta); polenta (both yellow and gray) cooked on the fire, with cheese, milk or meat (stew, rabbit, stew, etc.); baked kid, especially at Easter. In the grottoes, one can still find good soaked fish; game in autumn, especially salmì; and saddle of roe deer.

Among the desserts, note the panettone (a tradition shared with Milan), the amaretti (excellent those with kirsch) and some regional specialties, especially biscotti.

A list of Ticino's culinary heritage can be found here.

Locarnese

In the Locarno area, a region with a tourist vocation, there are numerous interesting restaurants and grottoes. It is best to avoid the more touristy ones and go to those with shorter menus but more authenticity.

Here are just a few addresses that may be of interest:

In Locarno the Locanda Locarnese or the Bistrot Latino, both located in the old town, which offer a menu that is always varied and in season (medium-high prices); for those who love something different, for example, there is the Balena restaurant, a boat moored at the port.

In Valle Maggia and Centovalli there are numerous grottos and restaurants with tempting proposals and still firmly anchored to Ticino cuisine. Here are some of them: in Ponte Brolla the Centovalli restaurant: offers only ravioli or risotto with gorgonzola and porcini mushrooms, and grilled fillets and entrecote (but the risotto is worth it); in Avegno, the Mai Morire grotto, with grill and Ticino dishes (not to be missed are the ribs at will).

Bellinzonese

In Monte Carasso the Romitaggio restaurant: generous portions, excellent cuisine, and in particular fish, their specialty.

In Bellinzona the Malakov restaurant, a rather special place (small, book otherwise there is no place) run by Calabrians; you eat excellent pasta, even in numerous small portions.

In Airolo, at the foot of the San Gottardo, it is worth having dinner one evening, perhaps not in the summer, at the Gottardo Dairy, which in particular offers excellent cold cuts and cheese specialties, such as fondue and raclette.

In the Morobbia valley, in Scarpapé, the homonymous grotto-restaurant offers a simple menu (cold cuts, polenta, braised meats, rabbit and some grilled meats) with a spectacular view of the Magadino plain and Lake Maggiore; suitable for families, due to the presence of a beautiful lawn with playground.

Malcantone

Albergo Della Posta in Novaggio where you can taste the largest Cordon Bleau in the Canton

Grotto Lema in Novaggio, offers themed evenings (marmot, polenta and usei, ..) and Ticino specialties; simple but very familiar

Drink

Typical of Ticino is the ratafià, a walnut liqueur, which seems to have been created by the friars of the Bigorio convent, and which they offered to travellers and especially to those who gathered there to make important decisions: at the end of the meeting, to celebrate a pact, they toasted with this liqueur, which sealed the pact reached (rata fiat).

Grappa is also very popular, in particular that of American grapes.

Ticino is one of the regions for Swiss wine. The defined region encompasses all of the canton plus the neighbouring Italian-speaking district of Moesa (Misox and Calanca valleys) in the canton of the Grisons.

Merlot is a wine that has reached levels of production and quality that compare well internationally. There are numerous producers that offer red, reserve and barrique, as well as some Merlot whites.

A non-alcoholic specialty is gazzosa (meaning "fizzy"), a sweet drink, available in different flavours (lemon, mandarin, raspberry).

Sleep

Ticino has a full range of accommodations including hotels, holiday houses, hostels, huts, campsites and agritourism stays.