Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Hiking near Lugano, Switzerland

I couldn't believe we had spent an entire year here and never actually been to Ticino - the "Italian" Canton of Switzerland!  Well, we had seen it on the train - but clearly that doesn't count - right?  So it took me a few days, but I convinced Nathan that we should do a hike here for our last weekend in Switzerland! 

I found a hike on myswitzerland.com (one of my favorite sites!) from Monte San Salvatore to Morcote and then ending with a boat trip back to Lugano.  Boat trip?  Um hello - you know I'm in!  The train ride was a little far for a one day trip - 3 hours there and back but we had a lot of stuff to do on Sunday (including pack) so we sucked it up and even convinced Sarah and Zann to come with us!

This 4 hour hike was said to have some of the best scenic views in Switzerland and it didn't disappoint!  From the very start it was beautiful!

The summit of the Monte San Salvatore

Same location but to the South

I thought we would have better views of the water during the middle part of the hike, but the trail went through the forest a lot - we even hiked through the Lugano Botanical Gardens - it was still a little early in the season but I know it will be beautiful in a few weeks when everything is in bloom!

Nathan chillin' in the botanical gardens:)

The end of the hike was so amazing - I really thought we were in Italy!






And then - the boat ride back to Lugano!

It really felt like we were in Italy - but cleaner and the public transportation ran on time - ha!:)

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
(ok.- beer the generic beer of Switzerland - ahhhhh!)

The whole time we have been here I have been trying to get a good picture of Nathan and I with the Swiss Flag and Sarah finally got it for us!  I like to call this the money shot!:)  Thanks Sarah!

We walked around the quaint little town of Lugano then had a great Italian dinner at Tango near the water- and topped it off with some gelato, of course!  Great final weekend in Switzerland!

Here's a link to the rest of the pictures it you want to see them!

5 comments:

Amanda said...

Your photos are gorgeous. This looks like a great hike. My mom will be in town next month and we will spend a Sunday in Lugano, so this sounds like the perfect thing to do! I've bookmarked this and sent my mom a link. Thanks for sharing! Best wishes on your move...

Amanda said...

Sorry to bother you... I have a quick question. When you took the boat back from Morcote to Lugano, did you take a "tour boat" or just a regular boat? I ask because looking on the website, the tour boats are double the cost of regular boats and we'd just like to get from point A to B... Thanks!

Mandy said...

Hi Amanda - you aren't bothering me at all! Sorry it took a while to respond - we were in transit:)

This hike would be awesome to do with your Mom! We just took the normal boat back (it took about an hour) and cost 9 CHF - I just can't remember if that price was for both my husband and I or just one of us though:) Just so you know - we got the Swiss Day pass (which was on "sale" for 45CHF) then it was 9 CHF to take the funicular one way to Monte San Salvatore then the boat for 9 CHF back to Lugano - I think that was everything.

Oh yeah - and when you get to Corona the signs point you in two different directions - take the one up the hill (next to the grotto) - it takes you threw the botanical gardens the other path is the street! I hope that helps!

Amanda said...

Great! Thanks, Mandy!

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