"Welcome to my home !" a Lugano Travel Page by ealgisi

Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugano

Lugano (Latin language: Luganum) is a city in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy. The city has a distinctively more mediterranean character than other Swiss cities. Its warm summers, and the fact that in recent years it has attracted an ever growing number of celebrities, entertainers and successful sports people has given it the nickname of the "Monte Carlo of Switzerland".

The city's excellent reputation as a cultural centre is attributable to the high standard of exhibitions, which are regularly held in its museums, and those of the surrounding regions. This quite unique mixture of Italian ambience and Swiss efficiency will also enchant you. The traffic-free historic city centre, magnificent buildings in the Lombardic style, exclusive museums, the sunny climate, the mountains, the lake and a calendar full of events all invite visitors to view and experience the city - and of course indulge in a little relaxed living.

Lugano is the largest town in Ticino. Since its union with some surrounding municipalities (Breganzona, Cureggia, Davesco-Soragno, Gandria, Pambio-Noranco, Pazzallo, Pregassona, and Viganello) in 2004, the city has a population of 52,000, with the whole metropolitan area having a population of about 115,000. This was the second major expansion after the union in 1972 with the municipalities of Brč-Aldesago and Castagnola. The tourism-based economy provides an estimated 38,000 jobs for the area. Furthermore, the city is Switzerland's fourth major banking center (mainly handling Italian-speaking clients), after Zurich, Basel, and Geneva. The population is Italian-speaking and mainly Roman Catholic.

Lugano Turist Office
Postfach 6080
6900 Lugano
Tel. +41 (0) 91 913 32 32
Fax. +41 (0) 91 922 76 53
www.lugano-tourism.ch
info@lugano-tourism.ch