After flying to ZRH from IAD on United, we took the train to Locarno and took a funicular, aerial tram, and chairlift up to to the top of Cardada. After enjoying the peak, we descended, visiting the Sacro Monte della Madonna del Sasso on the way. We checked in at the Hampton by Hilton Locarno before visiting the waterfront area of Ascona.
Wednesday, May 28th, 2025
We’re headed to Zurich for a visit to Ticino in the the Italian speaking region of Switzerland, followed by Milan and Venice, before returning to the US.
IAD to ZRH
We headed to Dulles International Airport (IAD) early in the afternoon to catch our 6:30pm departure on United Airlines for Zurich (ZRH).
After checking in and passing through security, we headed to Terminal A to visit the Etihad Lounge. This lounge also serves as a Chase Sapphire Lounge. They did let us know when we entered that we could only enter within 3 hours of our departure time, although still let us in even though we were a bit early.
We tried some of the items from the buffet. The offerings were pretty similar to what we remember from our last visit.
We also ordered some soup and noodles from the online menu. The soup was OK. The noodles unfortunately weren’t so great, much like our last experience. The noodles were basically all clumped together. And while there seems to be a good amount of sauce on top, there wasn’t nearly enough once you managed to unclump the noodles and mix everything together.
We then headed over to the Polaris Lounge in Terminal C.
We headed to the restaurant where we ordered a soup, salmon, and all 3 dessert options. As is often the case, the cookie was the best.
We also visited the buffet where there was some mediocre chicken tikka masala and salmon.
After spending some time at the lounge, we headed to the gate where we had a delayed boarding.
We went right to sleep after takeoff, declining dinner meal service.
We did have breakfast though before landing though.
The weather near Zurich seemed much like the weather near Dulles when we departed. Although the sky was dark and overcast, we could see some snowy peaks on the horizon.
Zurich
We arrived at a gate next to an Etihad Airways Dreamliner with a Warner Brothers livery. The other side of the aircraft is described as featuring DC Comics.
It didn’t take long for us to enter Switzerland. We headed right to the airport train station where we caught the next train for the Zurich Hauptbahnhof. The train was extremely crowded but it was a very short ride.
Once we arrived at Zurich HB, we caught the next train to Bellinzona. This trip takes just a bit more than an hour and forty minutes thanks to the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which opened in 2016. SBB‘s IC 2 operates this route with just 3 intermediate stops as well as a number of EC services.
After arriving at Bellinzona, we changed trains to head to Locarno, a short trip that takes less than 30 minutes.
Many cantons in Switzerland offer free local transit passes for overnight guests. We were able to get our complimentary Ticino Tickets electronically from the hotel prior to arrival. So, we were able ride for free from Ballinzona onwards.
Locarno
After arriving at Locarno, we quickly stored our bags in one of the lockers at the station. This particular set of lockers had a newer system which required using a website to interact with and pay for the locker. This system is not nearly as user friendly with the system we’re used to using which doesn’t require using the internet.
We walked a block or so to the nearby Locarno – Madonna del Sasso Funicular. As the name suggests, it operates between downtown Locarno and Madonna del Sasso above.
It was a pretty typical funicular.
Madonna del Sasso refers to the Santuario della Madonna del Sasso. This church is a bit below the funicular’s upper station. It can be seen here, unfortunately mostly obscured by the tree at center. from the lower terminal of the Funivia Orselina-Cardada, an aerial tram.
Cimetta
We bought tickets for the ride up on the Funivia Orselina-Cardada. The Ticino Ticket provides a discount.
This aerial tram ascends steeply up to Cardada.
It doesn’t go to the top of the mountain though. We walked via a paved path to the next form of transport!
This one was interesting as it was a sideways chairlift! Typically, the chairs in a chairlift face the direction of travel. The chairs here, however, face outwards to the side! This is an interesting design that allows passengers to have a clear view to the side both up and down.
This chairlift took us to the top of Cimetta, the mountain that overlooks Locarno. Well, almost to the top. We could see a path that led to the actual summit.
This sign depicts many of the trails in the area.
We started to head up the somewhat steep path that leads to the summit of Cimetta. Looking back, we could see Lake Maggiore below. The developed area visible by the lakeshore is actually Ascona, Locarno’s adjacent neighboring city.
We continued to ascend. There is a small section of switchback along the trail near the very top.
There was an exhibit at the summit detailing the various types of stone that can be found in the area. There were even examples attached to the paved observation platform!
The view was, of course, fantastic!
There were a few locks attached to the horizontal wires that make up the lower potions of the observation platform’s railing. And as this is Switzerland, there were also cowbells!
We didn’t climb over these rocks for a better view to the east. They valley that we arrived through from Bellinzona to the east can be seen here despite the obstructed view.
Looking to the west, there are many snowy peaks to the west. The Matterhorn, likely Switzerland’s most famous mountain, is about 40 or 50 miles away in this direction. Monte Rosa, a peak near the Matterhorn, is supposed to be visible from here. It’s possible it is one of the mountains that we see.
After enjoying the summit, we headed back down to the chairlift station. Swiss mountain paths are always well signed like this example that we saw here.
There is a small chalet just below the chairlift’s upper station. We walked over to take a look. The food options didn’t seem particularly compelling so we decided to eat later. We did get some nice views of the chairlift though!
We hopped on to head back down.
We enjoyed the ride back down and appreciated being able to easily see the opposite west-facing view here!
Cardada
After returning to Cardada, we decided to take a look around. Earlier, we had rushed to reach the chairlift as some sources indicated that the chairlift has a hour long lunch break. That may be true at times but not today as the chairlift was continuously operating while we were up at the top.
We decided to have a late lunch here at Casa Colmanicchio.
We started out with a espresso and an espresso ginseng latte. The ginseng was interesting but unfortunately no real ginseng flavor. The regular espresso reminded us of being in Rome though.
We ordered two dishes for lunch. The tagliatelle unfortunately was pretty plain and lacking in sauce and flavor. It was a dissapointment.
The smoked pork shank was pretty good with an extremely strong smoked flavor. The risotto that it sat upon was pretty good too.
Overall, despite the very disappointing pasta, still a good first lunch of the trip!
We had a beautiful view from our table!
A look back at the restaurant after we finished our meal.
This nice artwork was next to a playground. It is not just a static picture though. The two aerial trams can be moved! The cable for the tram is actually a groove cut into the sign as path for the trams!
We started to walk back to the aerial tram, taking a more scenic route this time rather than going directly via the forested path that we took earlier.
This little building looks like a modern house but is actually a small chapel!
We took a quick look inside.
There is a nice view of Lake Maggiore from the area around the chapel.
The chapel from further down the path as we continued heading towards the Cardada aerial tram terminal.
We actually saw this Grand Tour photo spot sign earlier but didn’t stop to photograph it. We happened to be here just as the aerial tram started to move. Unfortunately the perspective wasn’t quite right to be able to get the tram in the middle of the sign.
We decided to continue walking past the aerial tram terminal as there is a viewpoint ahead. We came upon a small playground on the way.
This viewpoint is interesting as it is at the end of a bridge to nowhere!
The bridge is actually a suspension bridge. The walking path is completely suspended from the wires above and does sway a bit when walking on out on it.
The view is, as expected, fantastic! It is a bit similar to what we saw from Cimetta except from a lower perspective. We can again see Lake Maggiore in front of us as well as Ascona on the right side of the very straight river below. Locarno, where we arrived from via the funicular and aerial tram, is on the left side of the river.
A look back as we walked away.
We walked back to the aerial tram terminal to begin our trip back down.
This view from the aerial tram shows mostly Locarno below us.
The aerial tram’s lower terminal as seen from the road.
Santuario della Madonna del Sasso
There was a small overlook across the road from the terminal. The Santuario della Madonna del Sasso can be seen on the left. The terraced area on the right seems like it is probably part of the sanctuary.
A sign here describes the sanctuary in English:
Madonna del Sasso Sacro Monte
Madonna del Sasso sanctuary, dedicated to the "Assunta", the Virgin Mary, was founded in 1480 following the apparition of the Virgin to the Franciscan friar Bartolomeo Piatti d'Ivrea. The first Assunta church and a small house for the friars called "Casa del Padre" were erected in the years 1485-1487. The convent was only built in 1534 and its structure, which was expanded and transformed during the following centuries, still exists. The Sacro Monte developed later on, with the construction of the first chapels and the opening of the Via Crucis (1621). It develops along an ascensional route, symbolically intended as a purifying walk leading to the Sanctuary via the "Strada della Valle" or the Via Crucis where shrines and chapels are devoted to the life
of Christ and the Virgin Mary.
The Madonna del Sasso complex, owned by the government since 1848 and taken care by the Capuchin friars, was restored in two different phases, in 2006-2007 and in 2009-2015; the museum was renovated in 2016.
We decided to walk down to the sanctuary.
We could see the garden-like area that we noticed before from the viewpoint above as we descended.
The path down is paved with stairs.
Soon, we got a much better view of the sanctuary. It is built upon what appears to be a hill of natural stone and supported by additional man-made foundations.
We passed by this small… shrine?
We quickly reached the entrance to the sanctuary.
After passing through the entrance, we ended up in a courtyard.
We continued on what seemed like proper route, passing by a depiction of the Last Supper.
We walked up stairs to the next level.
We passed by another display with statues.
The view from the second floor overlooked the courtyard that we just came from.
We continued on…
The path led upwards again.
Soon, we reached a outdoor area with a church-like building in front of us.
Some of the art here hasn’t really survived.
We enjoyed the view from this outdoor plaza.
We then went inside for a quick look at the church. It was pretty well decorated, though not nearly as ornate as what we recently saw in Rome.
After spending a few minutes inside the church, wee headed back out to continue on. Rather than walk back up to the funicular’s upper terminal, we decided to try and catch it from a stop that was closer to the sanctuary. It wasn’t entirely obvious how to get there from here though.
We ended up finding what seemed like a path that would take us to the funicular stop. We saw one of the funicular cars descending as we walked.
We definitely didn’t want to have to back up there!
We walked by a small stream with a small waterfall.
We were on the right path and ended up at the funicular stop.
We had to wait about ten minutes for the next descending funicular to arrive. We boarded and headed back down into Locarno.
Hampton by Hilton Locarno
Once we returned to Locarno, we walked back to the train station to pick up our bags. We then took a bus to our hotel, the Hampton by Hilton Locarno. Despite the hotel’s name, it is actually in the town of Losone and is right by where the three towns of Locarno, Ascona, and Losone meet.
There are a number of ways to get to the hotel. We decided to take the bus from the train station. There ended up being a huge amount of traffic and the bus ride ended up taking a very long time.
The hotel is new and just opened earlier this year. It is the first Hampton branded hotel in Switzerland.
The interior design was simple and modern. A bit nicer than the average new build Hampton Inn in the US.
We had a view of the mountains from our room’s window. The window, while wide, wasn’t very tall, perhaps 2 or 3 feet at most.
We were given some small chocolates…
We got this map of the area from the front desk.
Ascona
As it was still early, we decided to go take a look around Ascona. We took a bus on line 1 to the Ascona, Borgo bus stop. We walked along the road to the southwest.
The road quicky turned into a pedestrian street, though it seemed local vehicular traffic was still allowed at times.
We decided to get some gelato from Gelateria Pinocchio.
We then continued on…
We walked over to the waterfront area.
There was a tall church tower nearby.
It was quite peaceful as we walked by Lake Maggiore.
We spotted this Grand Tour photo sign and walked to the west a bit to see it up close. It is angled to provide a framed view of Ascona and the church tower.
We walked over to the church to take a closer look. It seemed like it was closed, possibly for renovations.
We noticed these murals on many of the walls in the town.
We continued walking by the lakefront. It was lined with restaurants, though none were very busy at the time.
This building, the library, had the most murals out of all the buildings that we saw in town.
We continued walking around and decided to head back to the hotel to end the day. We walked over to the Ascona, Centro bus stop to catch the next line #1 back to the Hampton. Unfortunately, we took the bus in the wrong direction! We got off a few blocks away at Ascona, Via Pancaldi Mola and walked across the street to catch the next bus in the right direction!
Now that we going in the right direction, we returned to the bus stop by the hotel. By now, it was around 8:30pm. We decided to visit Denner, a small supermarket right by the bus stop before walking over to the hotel.
We bought a few snacks.
We then headed back to the Hampton to end the day.
We were back in our room at around 8:40pm, ending a long day!