Map
Swizerland is a diverse country split into four distinct cultural regions.
- French speaking - in the west
- German speaking - the center
- Italian speaking - the south
- Romansh speaking - the east
The southern region of Ticino is Italian, adjacent to the Lake Como region of Italy north of Milan.
I had a certain determination to visit here, because when I was in Italy during the Covid years we were unable to cross the border into Switzerland - so I could see the Alps but not go into them.
A notable place on the way is the Gottard Base tunnel - an extremely long tunnel straight under some of the tallest peaks in the alps.
I got off at a small town called Göschenen just before to look around.
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| North End | South End |
When you go into the tunnel, it is lush with green trees and Swiss looking houses. As soon as you emerge from the other side, it is Italy, with the more simple Italian houses. People speak German on the north side, and Italian on the south.
Lugano
The tower of the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo dominates the view first thing from the station.
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It was clearly a fancy town, where wealthy europeans go to vacation.
Locarno
Locarno, on the other hand, felt more reasonable.
There’s a funicular to take up the hill side to view the Santuario della Madonna del Sasso with a view over the town.
Later walk down to the famous Piazza Grande, which happened to be having a car show while I was there.
That didn’t stop the bands from playing though.
My trip in Switzerland was coming to an end, and on my way back to Geneva, I made a stop in Bern.