Switzerland, Lugano

Lugano is a town (130,000 people in the agglomeration) in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy. The city's warm summers, and the fact that in recent years it has attracted an ever growing number of celebrities, entertainers and successful sports people has given it the nickname of the "Monte Carlo of Switzerland".

Geography

Lugano lies at the edge of Lake Lugano (Italian: Lago di Lugano or Ceresio), which is situated between the lakes Lago Maggiore and Lago di Como.

The city is located where the river Cassarate enters the lake between the Brè (925m) and the San Salvatore (912m) mountains.

Demographics

Lugano is the largest town in Ticino. Since its union with some surrounding municipalities (Breganzona, Cureggia, Davesco-Soragno, Gandria, Pambio-Noranco, Pazzallo, Pregassona, and Viganello) in 2004, the city has a population of 52,000, with the whole metropolitan area having a population of about 115,000.

The tourism-based economy provides an estimated 38,000 jobs for the area. Furthermore, the city is Switzerland's 3rd major banking center (mainly handling Italian-speaking clients), after Zurich and Geneva.

Culture

The Palazzo dei Congressi is the performing arts center for Lugano which one of the main halls for the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana.

The two main musical events of the year are the Blues to Bop Festival (end of August/early September) and the Estival Jazz (July). The city becomes a hive of activity as thousands crowd the streets for free open-air concerts in the city's main piazzas.

Transportation

Lugano Airport  is a regional airport in the Lugano area. It lies closer to the nearby village of Agno than to Lugano itself, and so is usually known as Lugano-Agno.