Unexpected Excursions in Lugano

I’ve been to Lugano, Switzerland several times over many years. I’ve loved it each time. I went there again in early September and wanted to find some new things to see and do. And boy, did I! I want to share with you in this post my UNEXPECTED EXCURSIONS IN LUGANO!

Lugano Town

Our hotel was close to the lake so we did some lakeside walks over the two days we were there. The hotel was called the Hotel de la Paix and I recommend it! I found some new spots around Lugano that I don’t remember seeing before.

The first surprise was the huge water jet at the far end of the lake. It was quite impressive. It reminded me of the water jet in Geneva, near where I live. To see it up close, you need to walk to the furthest western point on the Lugano promenade.

While walking along the lakeside, you will pass the boat dock in Paradiso. This is where you can take a boat over to the small village of Gandria. We took the boat ride on our last visit here, but this time we walked to Gandria from just outside of Lugano. I will talk about this later.

While walking toward the downtown from our hotel, we passed by an area with an enclosed pool on the lake. It looked like a bar or restaurant, so we tried to get in, not knowing if it was a private club. We were able to get a table on the terrace.

There was a DJ playing music and a nice party ambiance. We ordered a Long Island Ice Tea and a Moscow Mule drink and enjoyed the lakeside atmosphere.

After that quick pitstop, we continued walking toward the center of Lugano. Of course, we had to get a photo next to the huge sculpture that says ‘My Lugano’.

Parco San Grato

The next day I had planned a few places to visit. The weather was perfect so we needed to take advantage.

Our first stop was a place called ‘Parco San Grato’. It was just a 20-minute drive from our hotel by taking the mountain road up toward Carona. My reason for going to this park was because I saw pictures on Instagram of a big swing there. I love finding these swings (most are called ‘Swing the World’) in different places and taking pictures there. You can see my other posts where I found similar swings: Discover Adelboden Switzerland in Summer and 3 Day Itinerary in Ticino Switzerland.

The views driving up the mountain were nice but were even more spectacular at the top. We arrived at the Parco San Grato using our GPS and found a car park. We weren’t quite sure where the path was so we just started walking. We soon found hiking signs that led us to the ‘Swing the World’.

We walked up a road and path for about 15 minutes and found the swing. There were other people taking photos so we walked up further into a nice area with many aspen trees. It was so peaceful!

We returned back to the swing and took videos and pictures. The view was amazing looking out over the turquoise-colored lake.

We then left this park and drove down the other side of the mountain toward our next destination on Lake Lugano.

Morcote

I can’t believe I had never been to this cute village just 20 minutes from the center of Lugano. It is a must-do if you are here.

We found a parking lot just before reaching the village and walked down 10 minutes. I was in awe of the pastel-colored buildings and flower-lined terraces by the lake.

We were thinking to have lunch but all the terraces were full. We opted to keep walking through the town.

I learned that there was another big swing in Morcote, so we started looking for it. We finally saw a sign showing the ‘Swing the World’ logo. What we didn’t know was how many steep steps we would have to climb to get to the swing… 400!

The climb was well worth it to see a beautiful church, cemetery, and jaw-dropping views!

We were there on a Saturday in early September and didn’t see many people at all. After passing the church, we saw the swing. There was no one waiting to take pictures there so I jumped right in!

We returned back to Morcote village by a different path on the other side. It wasn’t as steep and offered different views.

We finished our visit to Morcote by having some white wine on a covered terrace by the lake. Pure bliss it was! I highly recommend this unexpected excursion if you go to Lugano!

Olive Grove Path to Gandria

By the time we drove back to Lugano from Morcote, I wasn’t sure if we had enough time to do one last excursion I had in mind. It was to walk the Olive Grove Path (called ‘Sentiero dell’olivo’ in Italian) to reach the tiny cliffside village of Gandria.

The walk starts in a suburb town of Lugano called Castagnola. It was a real challenge to find available parking as the small parking lot next to the path start was full. We had to drive a kilometer away to find a place to park.

The path is relatively flat and goes through hillsides of ancient olive trees. Apparently, they have recently planted new olive trees. There are many places along the path to see views of Lake Lugano and the surrounding mountains. This website provides useful information about the trail and its location.

The walk took us around 45 minutes to reach Gandria. This tiny hillside village on the lake is car-free and has narrow picturesque streets and alleys.

We kept walking until we found a small restaurant with a terrace overlooking the water. The terrace seating was reserved so we took an inside table. At ‘Locanda Gandriese’, the food was delicious and the service was very good. It made our trip even more special to eat in one of the village restaurants.

After dinner, we returned on the same path in the darkness but managed just fine. I was so glad we got to do all of the unexpected excursions I planned! It was a wonderful day!

Summary

I love the Lugano area! There are so many different things to do there, including boat rides and hikes. If you are looking for more info about this area, you’ll want to check out my post ‘3 Day Itinerary in Ticino Switzerland‘ and also ‘Want to Know the Secret Spots in Switzerland?‘.

I had fun checking out these Unexpected Excursions in Lugano and I’m sure you will too!

If you are looking for other ideas on what to see in Switzerland, you will want to see my other posts below!

• Best Gorge Hikes in Switzerland
• Want to know the Secret Spots in Switzerland?
• Cool Things to See in Flims Switzerland
• Spring in Switzerland
• Biking the Heart Route in Switzerland
• 9 Activities Not To Miss in Switzerland
• 3 Day Itinerary in Ticino Switzerland
• 5 Lakes Walk in Zermatt Switzerland – a Must-Do!
• 9 Top Spots near Interlaken Switzerland
• E-Biking in Switzerland
• Discover Adelboden Switzerland in Summer
• What to See in Meiringen Switzerland
• Unexpected Excursions in Lugano
• Best of Appenzell Switzerland
• Awesome Autumn in the Swiss Vineyards
• Schynigge Platte Things to Do
• 2 Days in Basel Switzerland
• Switzerland Destination Page

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!