[Idyllchat] Ticino

Tue Apr 15 18:46:02 EDT 2008

I think somewhere hidden in the old trip log files at Idyll are our notes from 1994 - that is a long time ago - but we spent a lovely week there and know that you will enjoy the city and exploring the area. I am going to pull that up now and copy some info for you.

Our condo apartment is on the sixth floor and has a view of the city and lake through the evergreen trees. It is nicely furnished and comfortable - and its best feature is a large shaded terrace - but it's location is up some of the steepest hills we have ever climbed. The bus schedule is erratic and they do not always run on time (is that Italian?) and the bus does not even come to our street after 7:30 in the evening. So we get to do some serious leg work during our week in Locarno. 

We walk to the waterfront and explore some of the area before having lunch outdoors at one of the many restaurants that line the Locarno waterfront area - along with a lot of very expensive stores and hotels. The people watching is extraordinary in Locarno, especially if you sit in the park on the waterfront. In the afternoon we take the bus to Ascone and walk the narrow streets of this very old city and look into its church. The shops have a lot of very expensive goods for people who have a lot of money who do come here from all over the world. There is even a Casino in Locarno and other gaming places on the Italian side of the lake. Then we take a long leisurely boat trip (have to pay because the boats are run by the Italians on this lake) on lake Maggorie back to Locarno with several stops at the little towns that dot the lake shore.  

Off to downtown and then the funicular that goes part way up the mountain behind Locarno. The destination is the church Madonna del Sasso (which we discovered that you have to walk down to and so should really be visited after you have been to the top of the mountain and are on your way back to town). This is a beautiful Catholic church and associated monastery. It has lots of interesting niches - some with three dimensional figures, like a depiction of the Last Supper, Pieta and the Disciples receiving the Holy Spirit. The main focus in the church (centered in back of the altar) was the Madonna holding baby Jesus. We then took a large aerial tram to Cardada (further up the mountain) that was crowded with people who had not bathed recently. The next stop gave us a wonderful view of the city and lake - it also had many homes scattered across the ridge as well as public lands for walking and picnics and a chapel with its attending Monk. We took a short walk to a ski lift that had double seating facing sideways and open to the elements- to the top of the mountain, Cimetto. 

The view at the top was spectacular. We ate our lunch in the grass and rocks at the top and took a short hike on what could only be described as a goat path - steep and lots of loose rock. Margaret chickened out early in the hike, but Peter only went on another 10 minutes before returning. We decided to sit at the restaurant patio and enjoy the view, plus the place was the coolest location we had been in a couple of weeks. The only distraction was the Rap music being played on the radio in the kitchen - it just did not fit in with the Alpine setting. That evening we went to the Mowenpick for some pasta and then to an ice cream shop for some really yummy glace. Enjoyed the promenade along the water front for the next few hours.

Took the bus down to the train station and then caught the fast train back east to Belinzona (18 minutes). Had great difficulty locating the Tourist Office in this town. We ended up just walking down the main street for many blocks and consulting our Swiss guide book until we saw a building that looked like the one described in the book. It was also market day and food was everywhere on the blocked off main street and there were hordes of people. After getting a map of the city we headed for the Castle Grande (one of three Castles in the city). It was a difficult climb up. The castle museum had artifacts dug from the site that dated to before Christ, panels taken from a Villa in town showing scenes of chivalry, etc. and another section with bronze figures. It looked like a castle should look - high walls with ports for shooting arrows at your enemies, two high towers for keeping princesses entrapped, and a moat. While walking the grounds we discovered that another entrance had an elevator that would have saved us a lot of uphill puffing. We then went to the church of Saint Peter and Stephen which was being renovated and then a much longer walk to the edge of town to see the church of Saint Maria della Grezie - which was truly magnificent!! Immediately inside was a wall covered with a mural painting of Jesus' life, in fact every wall had paintings and there was a large Crucifix behind the alter. A very large cemetery was across the street with an interesting mix of the old headstones and statues with the newer walls where cremated remains were stored.  

This was a truly wonderful day - our last Alpine High in Switzerland. We took the train to Belinzona and then another one headed for Lugano, but stopping at Rivera-Bironico - a very small town, but a five minute walk from the cable car that went to Alpe Foppa - a 25 minute ride up. Then we decided to hike to the top of the mountain - Monte Tamero - 2,000 feet up the switch-back trail. We had our hiking boots on and the path was rocky and steep -  Even taking our very slow pace we made it up in 70 minutes when the sign said it would take 100 minutes. We sat in the grass at the very top and ate our lunch with a panoramic view of the Swiss Alps. You are never alone on mountain tops in Switzerland, people of all ages were climbing that day. I suppose we were feeling very good about our efforts that day when on the way down the mountain we saw coming up the trail someone with a large heavy pack (the kind that carries the para-gliders gear) and as the person got closer we could see clearly that it was a man well into his 60's carrying that heavy load to the top so that he could soar from the mountain. We also observed several gliders working the rising hot air to reach even loftier heights above us. The place where the trail started was like a giant beach - except it was grass - with sun bathers everywhere.

Left at 11:00 a.m. to catch the train to Belinzona and then on to Lugano. We immediately took the funicular down to the water front (after finally finding the funicular station inside the train station after looking outside for 15 minutes) and ate our sack lunches. We then got on a boat and cruised Lake Lugano to the village of Morcote. It had a large water front market place and a large beautiful church that dominated the town. It was another hot steep climb to the church but we were rewarded with spectacular views both inside and outside the church. The church grounds and cemetery were unusual and very ornate and also offered a good view of the town and lake. Our reward was to stop for ice cream half way down at a little shop operated by the church staff. After an hour or so we caught the next boat which took a leisurely cruise back to Lugano (90 minutes) and then the train back to Locarno.

Those are some of the highlights...................

Pete

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sail97 at aol.com 
  To: idyllchat at lists.untours.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 3:24 PM
  Subject: [Idyllchat] Ticino

  My wife Kathy and I will make our first trip with Untours in July.  We will be in Ticino for two weeks staying in Locarno.  We would be open to hearing about your  experiences with this part of Switzerland.  Any suggestions on must see experiences, favorite places to eat, etc.  Also, opinions on whether we should up-grade the rail pass.  Did anybody have an opportunity to sail on the lake?  Lots of questions--any help would be appreciated.

  Gary Byers
  Belleville, IL

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