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Ponte Tresa is the ideal starting point for bus, train and boat excursions as well as for many terrific hikes and rambles, like on Mount Lema or Mount Tamaro from where you will have a wonderful panorama on gentle hills, wild chestnut and beech woods, typical Ticinese mountain villages, Lake Lugano and Lake Maggiore as well as the Alps and marvellous Mount Rosa.

The river Tresa leads trough Ponte Tresa. It is the natural boarder between Switzerland and Italy, which is what makes this place so very special. Common business activities, culture and language as well as a bridge connect the two Ponte Tresa. Thus you can go by foot to the market in the Italian Ponte Tresa which takes place each Wednesday and Saturday.

Make an excursion to Swissminiatur in Melide. It is an open air site, where you can admire the most picturesque Swiss towns, villages, monuments and public transportation 25 times smaller than in reality and where your kids will have lots of fun on the playground. Melide is situated on a peninsula called Ceresio, surrounded by Lake Lugano.

You might also want to discover the zoo in Magliaso/Neggio with more than 100 animals from all over the world - by the way the only one in the Ticino - as well as the Fishing Museum in Caslano, which was inaugurated in 1993 and features more than a hundred objects. The museum is situated in a beautiful park where three old, fully equipped fishing boats are exposed. Other interesting museums are the Hermann Hesse Museum in Montagnola, preciously witnessing the last 43 years of the author which he spent in Montagnola; the Alprose Chocolate Museum in Caslano as well as the Swiss Customs Museum in Cantine di Gandria with a collection of customs and smuggled goods.

This lovely region also offers you a full range of sports and water sports activities as well as relaxing cruises on Lake Lugano. If you prefer window-shopping, get on the shuttle train in Ponte Tresa which will take you to the centre of Lugano in 20 minutes.

Lugano

The city of Lugano, known also as the "Rio de Janeiro of the Old Continent", lays on the shores of Lake Lugano. Clear blue waters and rugged mountains topped with snow-capped peaks characterize the idyllic setting. Tourism is, understandably, the main earner of this lovely region, but, international banking is also a major source of revenue - Lugano is the third largest financial centre in the country.

Lugano - renowned for its mild climate, delightful scenery, luxuriant vegetation, great shopping and, of course, for its music festivals, like the Estival Jazz, and the Blues to Bop Festival. Lugano has a charming and easy going atmosphere. Meandering alleyways, thoughtfully laid out parks and the squares (Piazza) in the pedestrian zone beckon further investigation.

Remarkable buildings are e.g. the Romanesque Cathedral of San Lorenzo and the 15th century Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angioli with its fabulous frescoes by Bernardino Luini.

Lugano boasts three art museums: the Municipal Art Museum exposes the works by the great impressionists, modern masters and the most significant Ticino artists throughout all epochs; the Cantonal Art Museum houses a 19th and 20th century art collection by Swiss and foreign artists and last but not least, the Museum of Modern Art. Yet also the Museum of Non-European Culture with an important collection of artistic and historic interest of ethnic items from Oceania, Indonesia and Africa is worth visiting.