Lakeside Park With Palm Trees (Lugano)

Lugano's lakeshore is one of the few places in Switzerland where palm trees are a normal part of a city park, and that fact says a great deal about the local climate. The city lies on the southern side of the Alps, in the canton of Ticino, at an altitude of about 270 metres, and the mountains shelter it from the northern weather while the lake stores heat. Winters are mild and summers warm, so hardy palms such as the Chinese windmill palm grow outdoors along the shore, together with camellias, magnolias and other plants that seem out of place north of the Alps. The result is a lakeside park with a distinctly Mediterranean look, which is one of the reasons Lugano became a destination for travellers from northern Europe from the nineteenth century onward.

The park is a narrow green strip running along the water, with lawns, flowerbeds, benches and paved paths, and it forms part of the longer waterfront that links the old town and the neighbouring districts. Palms line the paths, their fan-shaped leaves casting patterns of shade on the ground, and between the trunks you see the water and the hills beyond. Monte San Salvatore, with its pointed shape, rises on the south side of the lake, and Monte Brè fills the view on the east. Both can be climbed or reached by funicular, and the views from the top give a different perspective on the lake.

Day to day, the park is simply a pleasant place to be. Local people eat lunch on the benches, joggers pass in the morning, and families sit on the lawn with ice cream. Boats pass on the lake, and the landing stages for the excursion ships are close, so the park is a good place to watch the traffic on the water or to wait for a boat to the villages around the lake. In summer, some visitors rent paddleboards or kayaks from operators on the lakeshore and explore the water at a gentler pace than the ferries. Swimming is possible at the designated bathing places along the shore, and the water is warmest in late summer.

The park is within a few minutes' walk of the old town, with its arcades, squares and churches, and of Piazza della Riforma and the shops of Via Nassa. The cultural centre LAC and the church of Santa Maria degli Angioli lie close to the waterfront, so a stroll in the park can be combined with a museum visit or a coffee. Parco Ciani, the larger public park, is a short walk along the shore to the east.

The park is open at all hours and free to enter, and it suits walkers, families, photographers and anyone looking for a restful break. A visit can be as short as ten minutes or as long as an afternoon. The best light for photographs falls in the early morning and late afternoon, and in spring the flowering shrubs add colour. In winter the park is quieter, and on clear days the view of snow on the higher mountains behind the palms is striking.