Ticino is the southernmost canton (state) of Switzerland. It’s located entirely south of the alps and it borders mostly with Italy. The city of Milan, for example, is only one hour by car from the border.

The geographical composition of the canton is very differentiated: in only 90 km and 2'800 sqkm of surface it changes from tall alpine mountains to mounts and hills surrounding beautiful lakes and wide valleys ending in the plain padana in Italy.

The climate in the south is mild and sunny, you can even find some exotical plants, in the north it is typically alpine.

Italian is the spoken language and the population is almost 300,000.

Bellinzona, the capital, Lugano and Locarno are the three biggest cities.

Lugano, which this web-site originates from, is not only an important tourist attraction, but also the economical capital.

If you are interestedin further information, here’s some links about Ticino:

• Tourist office
• general information
• government (Italian only)
• local newspaper
• more information (business and more...)
• Weather in Lugano
• mountain huts in the canton

Here are some links about Switzerland: