Rainy weekend travels - Lugano & Bellinzona

The weather forecast predicted it to be rainy across Switzerland over the weekend (with temperatures in St Gallen dipping to a low of 8 degrees C!). So I decided to escape the cold, dreary weekend to sunny Lugano in the south of Switzerland.

But even sunny Lugano wasn't spared of the rain, and we spent the whole Saturday exploring the city with soaking shoes and wet umbrellas :( Not exactly very enjoyable, especially when I know that Lake Lugano is supposed to look ten times more beautiful in good weather!


We woke up to slightly clearer skies on Sunday, however, and we grabbed the opportunity to take the funicular up to Monte Bre. The panoramic view of the lake, mountains and Lugano city definitely lifted my spirits!

Bits and pieces of Lugano look familiar to me, especially this William Tell statue along the lake!


I believe the Switzerland tour did take us here before...but it was like 7 or 8 years ago!! And we stopped so briefly at each city, I don't really remember what I saw at which place. I only remember we passed by Geneva, went to Lausanne (Olympic Museum), Lucerne, Lugano, St. Moritz, Zermatt. Took the cable car up the Matterhorn, and Mount Titlis (?), and also visited the Chateau de Chillon and Chapel Bridge. Oh and we popped by Lichtenstein too. But like all tour groups, we stopped so briefly at each place that it wasn't enough to form a "lasting impression". So I hope that I will have the chance to re-visit some of these places when I travel around Switzerland!

Anyway, after Lugano we headed up to Bellinzona, where we visited a magnificent old castle. The castle grounds are so well-preserved - just look at the photos!

A rainy but wonderful weekend, and a perfect start to the semester! :)