Morcote, often called the "Pearl of Ceresio," is a picturesque former fishing village on the shores of Lake Lugano. Voted Switzerland's most beautiful village in 2016, it is celebrated for its well-preserved medieval architecture, lush subtropical gardens, and its unique layout divided between the secular lakeside and the ecclesiastical slope.
After lunch I visited Scherrer Park in Morcote, Created by textile merchant Hermann Arthur Scherrer, this "Garden of Wonders" houses architectural replicas from around the world—such as a Siamese temple and an Egyptian temple—nested among bamboo, cedars, and fragrant lemon trees. This garden is uniquely designed as we have to keep ascending as we walk through the garden and have a fabulous view of the lake Lugano from the top.
I have my entire 13.5.26 trip covered in three youtube videos. The videos are 360⁰, so you can either sit in a revolving chair and rotate to see 360⁰ or touch the screen and swipe to see 360⁰.
Video 1
- From my place of stay Dubendorf, Zurich to Lugano, by train.
This train journey took me through
Gotthard Base Tunnel (Switzerland)
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is currently (2026) the longest and deepest railway tunnel in the world. It is an engineering marvel that cuts through the heart of the Swiss Alps.
• Length: 57.09 km (35.5 miles).
• Connects: Erstfeld (North) to Bodio (South).
Key Fact: It was designed to create a "flat" transit route through the mountains, allowing high-speed passenger trains and heavy freight to bypass the steep, winding mountain climbs of the old routes. It takes about 20 minutes to travel through at speeds up to 250 km/h.
Video 2
2.Boat ride - Lugano to Morcote
Video 3
3.At Morcote and back Zurich by road & train journey.
Switzerland is expensive. Some important tips to note to save on travel expenses - if you are staying for a month or so, buy a SBB half fare pass(CHF 150), then wherever you go when you buy tickets / day pass SBB charges you only 50% of the fare. Also if you buy these day passes well in advance you tend to save up to CHF 10 to 20. My day pass to Morecote was CHF 69 (this is half fare) as I planned only a day before my travel (if had planned a week back, The fare would have been CHF 20 less) I can use the day pass along with half fare card to travel in any mode(Bus, train, boat, cable car, Funicular ) all through the day from 00:00 hrs to 05:00 hours the next day.
Morecote is part of the Canton (State) Ticino in Switzerland. As this state/canton is near Italy it is an Italian speaking canton contrary to Zurich which is a German speaking state.
Linguistic Diversity:
Of the 26 cantons(states) in Switzerland
• 17 are German-speaking.
• 4 are French-speaking (Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura).
• 3 are bilingual French/German (Bern, Fribourg, Valais).
• 1 is Italian-speaking (Ticino).
• 1 is trilingual (Graubünden).
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