Lugano belongs to Switzerland by history and to Italy by temperament. It sits on the northern shore of a lake of the same name, in the canton of Ticino, with mountains, Monte San Salvatore and Monte Brè, rising straight from the water on either side. Italian is the language, the coffee is Italian, and the pace of life slows by a visible notch compared with Zurich. Ticino joined the Swiss Confederation only at the start of the nineteenth century, after centuries as subject territory of the Swiss cantons, and the town still has the atmosphere of a place with its own story.
It is the third financial centre of Switzerland, and you notice the banks along the lakefront. The old centre is much more charming than that suggests. Arcades, stone-paved lanes, the Piazza della Riforma with its cafes, and the cathedral of San Lorenzo with its Renaissance facade make a pleasant hour on foot. The Parco Ciani, along the lake, is the right place to sit in the afternoon.
Riding into Lugano can be slow, as traffic is dense and parking is hard, but once you leave, the surroundings are among the best in southern Switzerland. The roads around the lake wind through villages, with palms and chestnuts, and the road to Monte Generoso or to Morcote on the peninsula is narrow, twisting and beautiful. Spring and autumn are lovely, and in summer it can be hot and humid, with violent thunderstorms. Be careful on the mountain roads, which often have little protection at the edges.
With a population around sixty thousand, Lugano has all services: fuel at stations on the edge of town, a wide range of food, from a quick panino to a serious dinner, and hotels in every price range. If you are crossing the border to Italy, note that border queues can be long at certain times, so plan around them. Evenings by the lake are the real reward.