Cities that border a lake and hills are usually scenic and Lugano is no exception. Our bus stopped at the promenade in the city centre and we were given less than 2 hours to explore the place.
Enchanted by the panaroma from where we stood at the promenade we had it captured in many snapshots.
Beautiful buildings, lovely fountains, bright red benches that lined the promenade and great views of the boats, lake and hills beyond make this place and ideal hangout. Only thing is I didn't expect it to be that hot.(Time of travel - June)
Lugano is Switzerland's 3rd largest financial centre and is famed for its luxury boutiques selling major labels like Rolex, Hermes, Loius Vuitton, etc. Behind the lakefront promenade lies Lugano's principal shopping street, Via Nassa. This shopping street is pedestrianized but it was exceptionally quiet on the day we visited it as it was a public holiday and many shops including Bucherer which we wanted to visit was closed. (The Swiss were celebrating Corpus Christi on that day)
Somewhere around the promenade stood the city's main and largest square, called Piazza Della Riforma. Just couldn't get enough of the colourful buildings with beautiful balconies and pretty flowers.
Our walk eastward along the lakeside took us to the edge of the town. We passed the Casino and entered the city park.
Parko Ciani or Ciani Park is adorned with flower beds and velvety green lawns and this constitute the most memorable and scenic part of our walk.
There is an excellent walking path in the park. Some stretches are sunny while some are shaded by century old trees and lovely flower shrubs.
Along the path, we get a good view of the city.
And the view of Monte San Salvatore, the little mountain that appeared so near.
It was a nice feeling to be in harmony with nature.
Prominent along the walking path is a gate that leads to nowhere.
We also saw graceful white swans, yachts in the distance and people swimming by the lake.
Somewhere in the middle of the path, a bright peach building with a well manicured garden stood out. Villa Ciani which was built in 1840 is now a museum of fine arts.
We diverted to another section of the park where we saw a few interesting monuments.
We were fortunate to stumble upon this great piece of art by Igor Mitoraj. It is a bronze sculpture of a giant head which is hollow inside and which you can actually walk in to peep out from the eyes.
It was soon time to walk back to the town where our bus was parked.
We had a last glimpse of the streets.
A last glimpse of the carousel near our bus.
And a last glimpse of the souvenir store.
There are a lot of things I never got to do like taking the red train (la freccia rossa) to tour the city, driving up Monte Bre, and visiting the outskirts but what to do? I had to go as my bus was already waiting.
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chiangmai boutique villa Imagine falling asleep to the symphony of frogs and crickets, then waking up to the sounds of birds chirping. You find yourself cuddled up in the folds of white linen, in the centre of a majestic bed. Looking out the window, you see the sun peeking over the horizon, whilst the fog over the lake gradually rolls back to reveal the glimmering water's surface.
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