About Lugano
Lugano, Melide, and Morcote
Lugano
With its compact cluster of Italianate piazzas and extensive tree-lined promenades, Lugano is far and away the most alluring of Ticino's lake resorts, with Milan, Italy located just 50km south. Set on a south-facing bay of the cerulean blue Lago di Lugano, its lake vistas are astonishing - the city is framed on all sides by wooded, sugar-loaf hills rising from the water that have led to its being dubbed the "Rio of the Old World". Both Monte Br? to the northeast and San Salvatore to the south are served by funiculars, and both give spectacular views over to the snow-capped Alps. Ancient churches and a clutch of world-class art galleries, including the famous Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, are draws in themselves to Lugano, quite aside from the simpler pleasures of a stroll under the lakeside palms alongside the shimmering lake.
Melide
On the eastern side of the Ceresio Ppeninsula near Lugano, exactly at the point where the train tracks, main road and motorway all cross the lake on a low bridge, sits the village of MELIDE, home to the kitschy but rather fun Swissminiatur. This small park features 1:25 scale models of just about every attraction in Switzerland, from Geneva's cathedral to Appenzell's main street, as well as some more idiosyncratic choices (Burgdorf train station, Zürich airport circa 1958). The reproductions are excellent, whether you've seen the real thing or are wondering if it would be worthwhile to make the journey, and moving model boats, trains and cable-cars of all shapes and sizes liven the static models up no end. A wander through the whole place, with 113 exhibits, might take an entertaining hour or two - buy the English leaflet (Fr.2) for a brief rundown of each model.
Melide provides a peaceful and excellent option as a wedding location.
Morcote
The best of the Ceresio Peninsula lies at the southern tip. Here you'll find the captivating village of Morcote, once a fishing community and now eking out a living as a lakeside attraction. Its photogenic arcaded houses are strung along the shoreline road, with a web of tranquil, stepped lanes leading up the hill behind to the beautiful Chiesa di Santa Maria del Sasso. The atmospheric hillside church has well-preserved sixteenth-century frescoes inside, and boasts views from its terrace over the lake and hills beyond that are stunning.
With its characteristic small alleys, the arcades of old Patrician homes, valuable architectural monuments and its natural beauty, Morcote, a village situated on the lakefront, 10 kilometres from Lugano, is considered "the Pearl of Ceresio". Of particular architectural interest, is the church of Santa Maria del Sasso, the terraced cemetery and the Tower of the captain. For those who love the nature and peace of these places, the beautiful Scherrer garden, full of exquisite subtropical flora on the lakefront, is the perfect setting. Morcote has all the characteristics for tourists to feel welcome as guests and offers various excursions and other relaxing opportunities.
Beautiful civil ceremonies take place in the local Morcote Town Hall in a lovely ceremony room, overlooking Lake Lugano.
