Basic info for the day
Morning - Travel south under the Alps to Lugano, Switzerland's largest city in its Italian-speaking region, Ticino, through the Gotthard Base Tunnel, currently the world's longest railway tunnel.
On arrival, take an orientation walk through the town before learning how to make traditional Risotto for lunch (this is in place of a group dinner today).
Afternoon - take a funicular ride up to Monte Bré for spectacular views over the lake and city. Return to the town with time to wander through the Mercatino di Natale Christmas market stalls.
Return to Lucerne; no group dinner tonight so dinner is on your own.
Historically the St Gotthard Massif area of the Alps formed a solid barrier between southern and northern Europe for centuries. To cross from north to south required a dangerous journey by mule and later horse drawn carriage over the high mountain pass which was only open in the summer months.
In the late 19th century, the building of a railway line through the Gotthard had an immediate and dramatic efect on the movement of goods and people. It was an incredible example of railway engineering and involved spiralling in and out of the mountains to reach a certain altitude to reach the Gotthard Tunnel underneath the highest point.
In 2016 another railway engineering milestone was achieved with the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest (57 kms) and deepest (550 m above sea level) land tunnel. Designed for high-speed trains, it has quickly become an essential transport artery through the Alps.
Key info on LUGANO
Population - 64,000 in the city / 145'000 in greater Agglomeration; the largest city in Italian-speaking Ticino but not its capital city (that is Bellinzona); also the largest Italian-speaking city not located in Italy.
Location - Strategic location around a sheltered bay on the northern side of Lake Lugano, 45 miles north of Milan, Italy, on a key North-South trade route through the Alps.
Climate - pleasant mild climate that allows many exotic trees and plants to flourish, best seen in the Parco Ciano.
History - Area inhabited since the Stone Age. Settled by Romans in 1st century BC. Subsequently a melting pot of European cultures - being variously under the domination of the Romans, Germanic tribes (Barbarians), Canton of Uri, Dukes of Lombardy, Dukes of Milan, Napoleon's forces, until it finally joined the Swiss Confederation in 1803.
Italian speakers - Largest city outside of Italy where Italian is the predominant language.
Eurovision - Lugano was the first host-city of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956.
Lugano today: a financial, educational and conference centre:
- a financial/wealth management center - 3rd largest financial center after Zürich and Geneva
- a regional center for higher education - 3 universities and institutes for higher research focusing on supercomputing and artificial intelligence.
- a hub for conferences and a town for tourists with traffic-free historic centre and numerous buildings in Italianate Lombard style, beautiful parks, villas, 3 art museums, many sacred buildings and 2 mountain peaks
