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