Location: Locarno
Top Things to do in Locarno
9 Budget-friendly Things to do in Locarno That You Shouldn't Miss
Locarno (Italian: [loˈkarno], German: [loˈkarno]; Ticinese: Locarn [loˈkɑːrn]; formerly in German: Luggárus [luˈɡaːrʊs]) is a southern Swiss town and municipality in the district Locarno (and its capital), located on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore at its northeastern tip in the canton of Ticino at the southern foot of the Swiss Alps. It has a population of about 16,000 (proper), and about 56,000 for the agglomeration of the same name including Ascona besides other municipalities.
Restaurants in Locarno
1. Mountaingliders
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 46 reviews
A paragliding flight is an unforgettable and incredible experience. We're Mountaingliders, a selection of local pilots committed to provide the care and professionalism you deserve. Ascona-Locarno is the most practical and suitable place for paragliding flights in Ticino. It's probably because of the perfect exposition of its slopes to the sun, where nice thermal lifts start directly after the take-off in Cimetta. But also because of the large altitude span of almost 1500m from top to down, allowing an immense and spectacular glide over the city and along the water of the Lake Maggiore and, finally, do you mind touching the ground on the lowest point in Switzerland? Discover the unique feeling of landing on a tandem paraglider at the Delta of the Maggia river, directly at the sandy beach in Locarno, it's just amazing! Don't forget to take your swimsuit with you for a refreshing plunge into its clear water. More than 10 years of experience. Our promise: total satisfaction guarantee!
2. Verzasca Dam
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 389 reviews
Reviewed By marinao121 - Lucerne, Switzerland
This is definitely one of the most picturesque hiking trails in Switzerland, Lavertezzo - Dam Verzasca (Verzasca Valley), takes around 4 hours, easy hiking. You could go down from Dam Verzasca to Tenero, it will take ca. 1 hour more
3. Camellia Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 73 reviews
4. Adventure Park Gordola
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 128 reviews
The Adventure Park Gordola is an acrobatic park hanging in the air and integrated in the sport area in Gordola (Centro sportivo Gordola). By means of installed cables and wooden and roped air platforms, the Park allows the visitors to undertake a route among trees in all safety, where balance, concentration, coordination and partly strength are indispensable. The Adventure Park makes,adults, young people and children reconnect with nature, escape from daily life and feel the sense of adventure and happiness of spending time with friends and the family, by suggesting new forms of fun and entertainment which are natural and eco-friendly in all safety.
5. Ghisla Art Collection
6. Castello Visconteo
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 85 reviews
Reviewed By saronic - Zurich, Switzerland
At the western edge of Locarno's old town, well signposted from the Piazza Grande, is the Castello, the seat of local power since - probably - the 9th century. It is called after the powerful family Visconti from Milan, who controlled great parts of northern Italy and the southern Ticino in the 14th and 15th centuries. In Locarno they had placed a local 'Podestá' as their representative. It all came to an end, when in 1503 troops from the Swiss confederacy crossed the Alps and conquered Locarno and all the other parts from today's Ticino. The Castello now became the seat of the Swiss 'Landvogt' (bailiff) until the times of Napoleon and the creation of the canton of Ticino. The now cantonal administrative center was turned into the 'Museo civico e archaeologico' in 1921, when also extensive restorations in Renaissance-style began. Besides the building itself a main attraction are the finds from the Bronze Age till the Roman days, all objects found in and around Locarno. Most remarkable is the rich collection of Roman glass. Another exhibition deals with the Reformation in Locarno during the 16th century, which ended with the expulsion in 1555 of all the one's, who did not want to return to the old Catholic faith. Many, also several members of the local nobility, chose to emigrate to the reformed town of Zurich. A last exposition deals with the 'Locarno Treaties' from 1925, when head of states and foreign ministers from 7 European countries met here and discussed the reorganization of Europe after WW I. The main theme was the guarantee of the borders between France, Belgium and Germany. The occupied Rhineland became a demilitarized zone and Germany a member of the League of Nations. There was hope for lasting peace and the foreign ministers of France and Germany won the Nobel Price for Peace. The conference took place at the town's courthouse, the Palazzo del Pretorio, located at the Via delle Palme, which became the Via della Pace after the conference. The so-called 'Spirit of Locarno', once full of hope, came to an end in 1936, when the Nazi's under Hitler had the Rhineland occupied.
7. Piazza Grande
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 535 reviews
Reviewed By Delnyon - Nyon, Switzerland
You cannot miss it on the way to the old town Locarno, the Film festival sits there in the summer (without Covid) The old town is pretty with plenty of shops and restaurants.
8. Chiesa di San Francesco
9. Piazza e Chiesa S. Antonio
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 34 reviews
This beautiful square in the heart of the Old Town of Locarno got its name from the church S. Antonio. The entrance to the town's Art Museum Casa Rusca is located on the left-hand side of the church.
