Monte San Salvatore rises above Lake Lugano.
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Lying on the southern side of the Alps, Ticino is Switzerland's only Italian-speaking canton. In common with Italy, it has a certain Mediterranean flair. But the orderliness of its towns and villages is unmistakeably Swiss.
Sun-seeking Swiss-Germans and Germans flock to the region in spring, summer and autumn, where many own flats or houses on lakes Maggiore and Lugano or have converted barns in the narrow valleys into holiday homes.
The population of Ticino is concentrated around the lakes, which are well served by passenger ferries.
Rising steeply from the shore of Lake Lugano, Monte San Salvatore is one of the most popular destinations while the boats on Lake Maggiore make stops at the small garden islands of Brissago and connect Ticino to the lakeside market towns on the Italian side.
Although most visitors enter the canton from the north by road or rail, the most scenic journey begins in the Italian town of Domodossola to the west and passes through the rugged Centovalli (hundred valleys).
A similar landscape, ideal for exploring on foot, awaits travellers in the Maggia and Verzasca valleys north of Locarno.
Cultural centre
Tourists often neglect the city of Bellinzona, but in many ways it is the cultural centre of the canton.
It boasts three castles worth exploring, which were put on the Unesco’s list of World Heritage Sites last year.
Architecture
Dotted throughout Ticino are examples of bold contemporary buildings designed by the local star architect, Mario Botta.
From churches to cable car stations, his visionary designs and traditional use of granite hewn from the Ticino mountainsides attract admirers from beyond Switzerland’s borders.
swissinfo, Dale Bechtel
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