Switzerland can feel like someone took the most uptight French and German people on the continent and put them in the mountains. Sure everything runs on time but you’ll get fined 100CHF for exceeding your bus ticket by 2 minutes… This is where the only Italian canton, Ticino, really shines with the efficiency of Switzerland and the charm of Italy.
I woke up early in Zurich and took the train to Lucerne where I boarded the steamboat section of the Gotthard Panoramic Express journey across Lake Lucerne. The boat journey took 3 hours and was very picturesque — lunch in the upstairs restaurant was very good!
At the end point, Flüelen, I boarded the panoramic train with its glass cabins and made my way to Lake Lugano. My days in Lugano felt very much like I was in a different country, like Naples without the chaos. This region is a place I would love to come back to in the future.
