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Switzerland is famous around the world for producing great chocolate and fancy watches, but there’s more to this country than just Lindt truffles and Rolexes. Despite being one of the smallest countries in Europe, Switzerland offers a incredible variety of landscapes, traditions, and beautiful architecture. Populated by only 7.5 million people, it is one of the cleanest, most organized places you’ll ever visit: driving into Switzerland from Italy it’s like visiting your parent’s house for the holidays after months of living at the dorm. All of the sudden everything looks sparkling and clean, and right where it should be.

Bellinzona, capital city of the Tessin canton, is definitely worth a stop. The town is famous for its three beautiful castles: Montebello, Sasso Corbaro and the majestic Castelgrande. Built in the 10th century, the Castelgrande is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage, and the perfect place for a stroll on a sunny day. One of the highlights of my visit was climbing the two towers, the Torre Bianca (white tower) and the Torre Nera (black tower), from where you can enjoy an incredible view of the city below and the St. Gotthard massif in the background. If one is hungry, the castle offers not one, but two gourmet restaurants. We enjoyed an earthy dish of polenta and spicy sausage on the terrace overlooking the mountains, a real treat for anyone who has a soft spot for scenic dining.



From Bellinzona, the highway continues north towards the St. Gotthard massif: a 17 kilometer tunnel pierces through the mountain and connects the Tessin canton to the Uri canton, but driving through the tunnel definitely isn’t the best way to get to the other side. If you have time and if the weather is nice, you can exit the highway and drive up the old cantonal road that takes you up 6000 feet to the St. Gotthard pass. As we started our ascent a sign on the side of the road promised “No guard-rails for the next 12 kilometers”, an interesting piece of information that slightly concerned my American friend. The road is steep and winding, and it climbs up the massif with a never-ending series of switchbacks that used to make me sick when I was a kid. Being behind the wheel I was finally able to enjoy the exhilarating view of the mountains around me: the imposing St. Goothard massif, the snowcapped peaks and the valley so far down below it looked like a miniature model. As we reached the pass the car thermometer registered 27 degrees Fahrenheit and all around us the snow was falling so thick it looked like we had just landed at the North Pole.



On the other side of the pass the Uri canton is so different from Tessin it feels like a whole new country. Gone are the signs written in Italian, the risottos and the red wine: in Central Switzerland German is the language of choice, and restaurants are more likely to offer veal sausage and locally brewed draft beer. But the real attraction of this region is Lake Luzern, a picture-perfect lake where the wind conditions are almost always perfect for sailing, windsurfing and kite surfing. Despite the cold several large sailboats where zigzagging from one bank to the other, while an antique looking steamboat delivered a hoard of tourists at the Brunnen city dock. Depending on the season, this romantic vessel offers themed cruises to admire the beauty of the lake and its surroundings: fondue cruises in the winter, tea and cake cruises on fall afternoons, brunch cruises every Sunday of the year, and many more options that make a trip to the lake even more appealing.

When we visited Brunnen the sky was cloudy and the wind was freezing, but the blue waters of the lake are so charming we decided to take a walk by the docks anyways. Our brief and very chilling walk gave us the perfect excuse to indulge in a mug of piping hot hot chocolate at one of the many small bars by the water, the perfect way to warm up on a cold fall afternoon. A nice summer day would have probably made the lake seem even more gorgeous and certainly would have made our walk a more pleasurable experience, but even on a cold and grey afternoon we were mesmerized by the simple yet overwhelming beauty of Lake Luzern.