Talk about Ticino to a Swiss citizen and he or she will inevitably think of holidays! It's not for no reason: the southernmost canton in Switzerland speaks Italian and its climate makes the Swiss dream at every weather forecast. What's more, it's where you'll find the best Merlot wines in the country!

Ticino speaks Italian, which makes it like a piece of Italy grafted onto Switzerland. But this is only the official language: in reality, each valley has its own local dialect, related to the Lombardic languages. It is the language of the older generations, gradually supplanted by the regional Ticino dialect.

But it has to be said that Schwyzertütsch is also widely spoken, and hardly anyone is surprised to hear a "Grüezi" instead of "Buon giorno"... It must be said that the Gotthard tunnel puts Lugano only 205km from Zurich!

Ticino is the only canton entirely south of the Alps, and from the rest of Switzerland it can only be reached via passes and tunnels: via the Nufenen Pass (Novena) from Valais, via the Gotthard (Gottardo) from Uri, and via the San Bernardino and Lukmanier (Lucomagno) from Graubünden. To the south and west, it borders Italy's Lombardy and Piedmont regions, and the border post of Chiasso is only about 30 km from Milan.

A canton with a southern climate, Ticino is the Switzerland of palm trees and its Riviera on Lake Lugano is dominated by the famous Monte Brè, a fabulous panoramic viewpoint.

Ticino's viticulture, largely dominated by merlot grape, is particularly renowned... But beware: the best wines are rather expensive!