These are the best places to travel this summer

Locarno

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2025

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

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

UIG via Getty Images

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in Locarno

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

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.

Must-see attractions

in partnership with getyourguide

Book popular activities in Locarno