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Locarno

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Locarno, Maggiore Lake, Switzerland. (Photo by Marka/UIG via Getty Images)

UIG via Getty Images

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Overview

With its palm trees and much-hyped 2300 hours of sunshine a year, Locarno’s near-Mediterranean setting has been swooned over by visitors since the late 19th century. Switzerland’s lowest-altitude town is quite special, for sure, with an air of chic insouciance, a promenade strung along its mountain-facing lakefront and botanical gardens bristling with subtropical flowers and foliage. Beyond Lake Maggiore, there’s a pretty Renaissance Old Town to roam, which fans out from the Piazza Grande, host of a renowned music and film festival in summer.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Santuario della Madonna del Sasso

    Santuario della Madonna del Sasso

    Locarno

    Overlooking the town, this sanctuary was built after the Virgin Mary supposedly appeared in a vision to a monk, Bartolomeo d’Ivrea, in 1480. There’s a…

  • Castello Visconteo in Locarno, Switzerland.

    Castello Visconteo

    Locarno

    Named after the Visconti clan that long ruled Milan, this fortified 15th-century castle’s nucleus was raised around the 10th century. It now houses a…

  • Old Town

    Old Town

    Locarno

    You can feel just how close you are to Italy when exploring Locarno's hilly Città Vecchia (Old Town), an appealing jumble of piazzas, arcades, churches…

  • Chiesa di San Francesco

    Chiesa di San Francesco

    Locarno

    Standing on the site of a 13th-century Franciscan monastery, the 16th-century Chiesa di San Francesco is adorned with frescoes by Baldassare Orelli. Note…

  • Pinacoteca Casa Rusca

    Pinacoteca Casa Rusca

    Locarno

    This gallery occupies a beautifully restored 18th-century townhouse, Casa Rusca. The permanent collection zooms in on 20th century paintings, sculpture…

  • Piazza Grande

    Piazza Grande

    Locarno

    Locarno’s Italianate Città Vecchia (Old Town) fans out from Piazza Grande, a photogenic ensemble of arcades and Lombard-style houses. A craft and fresh…

  • Parco Muralto

    Parco Muralto

    Locarno

    Locarno’s climate is perfect for lolling about the lake. Bristling with palms and ablaze with flowers in spring and summer, these gardens are a scenic…

  • Falconeria Locarno

    Falconeria Locarno

    Locarno

    Time your visit to catch one of the impressive displays of falconry here – they take place at 11am in the morning and 3pm in the afternoon. Birds showing…

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