Mt Pilatus or Mt Rigi ? Locarno or Lugano

Em, Locarno and Lugano are both beautiful, but both are somewhat on the "posh" side. Both provide some good sightseeing opportunities. Locarno: > Piazza Grande is ringed with lots of stores and restaurants with sidewalk Cafés. There's also a Casino at one end and a long lakeside promenade which is really nice to stroll on. > You might find it interesting to visit the incredible Madonna del Sasso Franciscan Monastery above town. Take the Funicular up, and then walk down the stairs to the Monastery. The Monks don't seem to speak much (any?) English, but they're really nice. > If your budget will allow, take the Cable Car to Cardada (across from the Monastery), which is a small community above the town. You might enjoy having a fine hot meal or a "cool one" sitting on the patio of the restaurant beside the Cable Car terminal. You may be treated to Paragliders silently gliding by the patio while you're dining. The view of the town and lake is incredible. After lunch take a stroll on some of the beautiful alpine trails. Lugano: > Again, there's a beautiful lakeside promenade that winds around to the area of Pardiso. It's somewhat of a "park like" atmosphere in some spots. > There's also a Casino close to the end by Villa Ciani (a park). > You could visit the nearby community of Gandria (some nice restaurants). > Depending on how much time you have, you might enjoy one of the boat tours. The one I took was at least four hours, and seemed to go right to the end of the lake. > You could take the Funicular to Mt. San Salvatore. There's a restaurant near the top, but if you walk uphill, there's an old Church. Climbing to the roof provides excellent views! Check the Guidebook for other suggestions. Happy travels!

EM, A few more points (ran out of room)..... If you like "window shopping", you can get a good idea of "posh" by having a look in the display windows of the Bucherer stores in both cities. They have everything from $10,000 Rolex watches to $10,000 (or more) Vertu Cell phones. And of course, diamonds and other "trinkets"! It's nice to dream, but there's no way I can afford anything in that price range. If you'll be in Locarno in July, you'll miss the huge Film Festival that takes place there every year in August. It's a huge event, just behind Venice and Cannes, and attended by many major stars. Even in July, it would still probably be a good idea to pre-book accommodations as there are often other events taking place there. Last time I was in Locarno on a day trip from Stresa, a Co-Op Beach Volleyball event was taking place, and there were thousands of people in town for that. Regarding Cardada that I mentioned in my previous reply, have a look at The official website. Cheers!

Not sure what you mean about getting the Golden Pass making it easier to see Pilatus. With respect to Pilatis, the Golden Round Trip ( not Pass) goes by boat from Luzern to Alpnachstad, cogwheel train up My Pilatus( steepest train Of that type anywhere, looks scary in the films). From the top you drop back to Kriens to cable car and take a streetcar back to downtown Luzern. That is no easier than the trip to Rigi. If you want to hike I'd say go there.

Thanks for your replies ! Sasha, I meant the Golden Round Trip (I knew it was Golden something :). I like it that you can buy one ticket for everything. From what I've read so far, with Rigi, there are more options available, like going up on one side of the mountain then going back down the other way, and right now, I'm a little lazy to figure it all out. Not sure about hiking, but I like it that it is something that we can do if we want to go for it. Ken, thanks for the sightseeing suggestions, will put it in my notes for our trip. I guess we can't go wrong with either Locarno or Lugano. Have you been to Ascona ? I have read several suggestions on visiting Ascona by boat from Locarno, I think it is a smaller town but still very picturesque.

We spent a night up on Rigi and did some hiking both days. We really enjoyed it, especially the hiking with views over the lake and the sounds of cowbells coming up from below. It is not difficult to travel there, and a nice thing is you can make it up and change plans as you go; you are not locked in to anything. With a child, I suggest you start with the boat ride to Weggis. Walk thru town to the cable car station and ride the cable car up to Rigi Kaltbad. There are some nice level hiking trails there, and places to eat if you like. When you are ready to move on, catch the cogwheel train up to Rigi Kulm, the top. There may be a playground or other children's activities up ther. You can check on rigi.ch. From Rigi Kulm, you can mother ride the train down the backside to Arth-Goldau, and catch the train back to Luzern. Mor you can ride the cogwheel train backmdown to Rigi Kaltbad, and either transfer to the cable car for the reverse journey, or stay on the train to Vitznau on the lake, where you can catch a boat back to Luzern. If you want to commit to a particular route, I'll bet you can buy it as one ticket. You kith ask at the train station about that.

Em, No, I haven't visited Ascona. It's actually very close to Locarno (on the other side of a river) so it would be easy to visit. Rather than travel by boat, you could use local Bus No. 1, which departs from the rail station in Locarno. I believe the trip is about 20 minutes. There's a small airport in Ascona but I'm not sure if it offers any passenger flights. Cheers!