I got reminded of our trip to Ticino when I saw a poster about a music festival that will be held in summer in Locarno. There will be some cool artists performing at this festival, so I'm trying to convince my husband to go with me. It's not his kind of music, but I hope that we'll go there.
To the point now - Italian part of Switzerland has that kind of charm that you just don't find in any other parts. I must admit that I only visited it a couple of times as it's far away, but I always enjoy coming back.
Today, I will show you around the lake Lugano. There is a long promenade which leads you out of the city and connect you to the Olive tree trail from where you have many trails up the hill or along the river.
When we left home it was cold and rainy, and it was so good to see the blue skies after many weeks of thick grey clouds.
It was the end of the season, so all the sightseeing boats were docked, but I can imagine how lively it is here in summer.
The sunshine was shimmering on the water and we were enjoying the Mediterranean atmosphere before going back home when the winter was about to start.
At the entrance of the Civic park which is surrounding the promenade is the statue of William Tell dating back to the 19th century. The statue was originally placed in another spot, but moved to this location in the middle of the 20th century.
We started our walk early in the morning and I was surprised to see so many people passing by as people from this region don't seem to be early birds. It turned out to be the tourists, of course. I kept waiting for the right moment to take a photo, but it was not coming, so I gave up as these people didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave...
Lugano is a beautiful city, and the nature surrounding it is only emphasizing its beauty...
Look how pretty it is!
I don't even remember how many kilometres we walked, but we had such a good time that we didn't want to turn around and walk back. In the end, we had to take a bus back to the hotel as my hip started to hurt.
The trees in the park are gigantic. Look at those people on the left - they look like dwarfs.
Some of those mountains are in Switzerland, others in Italy. I was looking at a map for some time, but couldn't figure out which ones belong there, so this information must be enough for you 😊
Villa Ciani is one of a few buildings in the park. It was built in the 19th century and it is used for various exhibitions and celebrations. I could imagine my reception here if I wouldn't be married yet...
Next to the villa is this huge tree. I had to take a separate photo as it was twice the size of the villa. Impressive!
Probably the most important feature of the park is this iron gate. It has an intricate detail, and I can imagine it used to be the gate to the city for boats coming from another places around the lake.
As we came late in the year we didn't see much flowers, but there are many flower beds that must be boosting with colours in the warmer months.
It's like a tradition to place a fountain in a lake in Switzerland. I can't recall a 'city' lake without it...
There are quite a few statues along the promenade. This one is one of the less charming ones 😊
This looks like a fountain, and it would be nice to see it when it's on as I only saw one opening for water...
This was the most interesting artwork for me. It was reflecting the landscape and reminded me of water.
And more tree spam...
With some ducks...
We also got to the shore...
I think it's the city beach in summer...
This reminds me so much of Mallorcan landscape...
And if you don't think of the mountains in the back this looks like Dutch beaches...
We were getting thirsty, so we headed to a restaurant that we saw from afar. I liked how this bridge was constructed in relation to the buildings and the mountain in the back. It satisfied my love for geometrics.
Yes, we walked with a map 😊 When there is a chance I do prefer the map to the phone as I like marking the places on it and following them. I won't hide the fact that from time to time we need to use the phone if we're not sure though.
The view from the restaurant was not too bad...
We had a great time in Lugano and I hope to go there again soon.
See you next time...