I was prepared to hike from Bad Ragaz to Taminaschlucht but upon checking the weather forecast again just the night before going to bed, I suddenly found myself changing destinations and was planning on hiking in Lugano.
Hiking in Lugano
Statistics:
Duration: 3 hours (with lots of photo stops)
Distance: Around 8km
Starting Point: Lugano Station
End Point: Monte Bre
My Impressions:
The biggest challenge for me to visit Ticino as a day trip is that it takes 3.5 hours to get there from Basel. Hoping to make it back for a decent time on a direct train meant that I only had 4 hours to spend hiking in Lugano.
Taking the 6.06am train from Basel, I arrived just before 9.30am and later took the 1.34pm train back to Basel.
The first thing I did was walk down towards the lake and my jaw must have literally dropped when I saw this view from the church on the hill just below the train station.
It was then a very pleasant walk along the waterfront promenade.
Within minutes, I arrived in Parco Ciani – surely one of Switzerland’s most beautiful parks with its colourful flower beds, statues, fountains and the view of the turquoise blue lake.
There was the Gate to Nowhere which I had wanted to see with my own eyes for the longest time. It met all my expectations.
Continuing on all the way towards the Lido (swimming complex with lake access), I made a quick pit stop at Migros to get croissants and a bottle of iced tea to sustain me on my hike.
I was well aware of the time constraint I had and sadly understood that to make it back on time, I could only hike up Monte Bre – even then I took the first part of the funicular. (The picture below was actually taking the first part down from Monte Bre.)
Getting off and walking along the road for a little while, I encountered several mansions overlooking Lake Lugano – what views they must have from their living rooms.
Quite soon after, I found myself in the thick of the woods. It was the 19th of June and the first hike this year that made me really sweat.
There was no one in sight.
The view of the Italian mountains just across the lake was just so incredibly beautiful.
Again I would come across houses with this spectacular scenery.
Finally I made it to Bre – the last stop on the Post Bus, should you want a less strenuous way of getting up here.
From there, it was another 20 minutes hike to get to the top of Monte Bre.
There is a restaurant just by the funicular station from which I took the funicular for one stop and later switched to the bus back into the city.
A quick stop to Manor for some take away for lunch and it was another 3.5 hours train journey home to Basel.
Overall, it was a fantastic and sunny day hiking in Lugano. I cannot recommend it enough.
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Have you been to Ticino? If you are looking for inspiration for the area, we visited Locarno, Ascona and several Italian towns on Lago Maggiore including Cannobio and Stresa. Read more here.
