Lake Lugano, with its Mediterranean climate sits between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como with nearly two thirds of it's waters in the Swiss canton of Ticino.

A beautiful all year round holiday destination and a great base for exploring this fascinating part of Switzerland.

Lake Lugano is a glacial lake and the snow melt from the surrunding mountains keeps it full of fresh water throughout the year making it ideal for watersports and swimming during the summer.

With its mix of Italian and Swiss influences, Lake Lugano offers the best of both worlds with Swiss efficiency, Italian culture, lakeside cafes, chic shops and sophisticated dining.

Lake Lugano accommodation

The accommodation around Lake Lugano is of a very high standard and is a good mix of holiday rentals including superb spacious villas on the lake, apartments to rent and high quality hotels many of which are family owned.

Offering a warm and very friendly stay, the various resorts and villages on Lake Lugano are generally excellent value and provide the ideal base for exploring this incredibly beautiful part of Switzerland.

Things to see and do

Lake Lugano is full of historic villages, museums and gardens plus there are some superb excursions. Here are a few suggestions....

• Take the cable car up to the top of Monte Bre for some spectacular views of the lake and surrunding mountains of Ticino
• Visit the stunning lakeside town of Locarno at the top of Lake Maggiore
• Milan - a full day for shopping and seeing the Duomo

Skiing

If you are visiting Lake Lugano during the winter, you can always go skiing in one of the many nearby ski resorts such as: