A taste of Ticino

by | Jun 20, 2017 | June - July 2017, Switzerland

This isn’t the Switzerland I know and love. Gone are the snow-carpeted peaks and tidy green meadows speckled with dairy cows.

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_separator color=”black” border_width=”10″][vc_custom_heading text=”Switzerland “][vc_separator color=”black” border_width=”2″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-page”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

This isn’t the Switzerland I know and love. Gone are the snow-carpeted peaks and tidy green meadows speckled with dairy cows. Gone are the deep brown larch wood chalets with bursts of colourful geraniums at each miniature window. Gone as well, the guttural bursts of local Schwiizertüütsch dialect. Chuchichäst li (the test for any foreigner, the nearly unpronounceable word for kitchen hutch), becomes, with a deft roll of the tongue, credenza.

Verzasca Valley, Ticino by Matteo Gabriele Gennaio

Verzasca Valley, Ticino by Matteo Gabriele Gennaio

Here, lush yellow mimosas and tall date palms line the shores of cerulean lakes, and ancient stone houses huddle together in tiny mountaintop villages like ants in the rain. There’s laughter in the warm, breezy air and the Merlot flows like mother’s milk. Italy? Not a chance. The trains actually run on time, and the winding cobblestone lanes are unusually tidy. Rather than bumper-to-bumper Fiats beeping a cacophony of horns, I spot two Ferraris casually parked on a side street, their owners either very confident or very relaxed. Welcome to Ticino, the Mediterranean heart of Switzerland.

Subscribe to the latest edition now by clicking here.

 

If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on World Travel Magazine, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

And if you liked this story, subscribe to our bi-monthly World Travel Magazine, a handpicked selection of editorial features and stories from Global Destinations, Inspire Me, Insider, Style File, Wellness & Travel, City Travel, Suite Life, At Leisure, Short Breaks and much more.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Newsletter

Baku Architecture Guide: Zaha Hadid to the Old City

From Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Center to a 12th-century walled city and the Flame Towers — why Baku is the most exciting architectural capital you can fly to.

The Fields Are Purple Now

Early July in Provence, when the lavender reaches its peak and the whole landscape hums.

The Other Thailand

The rain came in over Patong last Tuesday at four in the...

Six Coordinates Before the Map Catches Up

Where Baku, Jeju, the Saudi Red Sea, the Albanian coast, northern Argentina and Bhutan now sit on the consideration set — and the one place still forming.

The World Cup Just Emptied the Mediterranean

Everyone’s chasing the World Cup. Sixteen cities are packed for the tournament. Folegandros has a table, the Aeolians have ferry seats, Lisbon will give you Belcanto. Move while it lasts.

Inside Summer 2026: The Festival Black Book

The summer of 2026 is the kind that justifies the year's...

The Long Way Round: Malaysia, Dubai, and Staying Put

On three weeks in Malaysia, a summer in Dubai, and what you learn about a place when you stop being a tourist in it

Mid-June, Mayfair, and the 9.30 Light

Frida at Tate Modern, a Mexican pavilion in Kensington Gardens, the T20 World Cup at Lord’s, Wimbledon next door, and daylight holding till half past nine.

Three Desert Hotels Where Heat Is the Design Brief

At 45°C, three desert hotels — Bulgari Dubai, Qasr Al Sarab in the Liwa, and Royal Mansour Marrakech — show why climate-responsive design is remembered, not invented.

The Match We Watched in a Stranger’s Bar in Barcelona

On travelling alone, the universal language of a shared roar, and the night a foreign city stopped feeling foreign

Related Articles