Bellinzona is one of those places you go and think, why didn’t anyone ever tell me about this place before? Despite its beauty, charm, and UNESCO World Heritage Site status, Bellinzona is rarely mentioned amongst the highlights of
This Italian-speaking town is nestled into a valley which forms an important pass through the
We visited two of the three castles (the third is closed during the off season), and walked along some of the remaining wall, and wandered all over the charming old town (which was full of carnival revelers). More than anything we just soaked up the beauty of this city from every possible angle. We had a decent lunch at the Grotto in Castelgrande (I would highly recommend sitting out on its terrace if you visit in the high season). Bellinzona is definitely worth a day or two.
I love the photos on your blog. They make me nostalgic for Europe (all except for the snow — too cold) I have traveled in Europe and Egypt from time to time. Perhaps I will travel again sometime. Anyway, thanks for visiting my health blog, and thanks for the link. Oh, and thanks for reminding me of the expat life.
The castles seem to fit perfectly into the scenery don’t they? Beautiful pictures.
Kate. Lovetolead.
I’ll bet one reason more people don’t know about Bellinzona is because it’s not on a lake like Lugano and Locarno. On our one visit to Ticino, we didn’t even look into Bellinzona for that reason…looks like it was our loss.
Arrggh! Castles! You make me sick! (In a good way.) So jealous. 🙂
Beautiful pictures! I still have to take my hubby there. Looks like we’ll be spending a bit of time in Ticino this summer 🙂
Ed & Kate – Thanks, and thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Kirk – perhaps we should have one last blogger meet-up in Bellinzona before you guys take off?
Zandria – the US definitely could use a few more castles. They’re so…. castley.
CS – definitely go! We hope to get back to Ticino and do some hiking in the spring, too.
Gorgeous pictures. Here from Carnival of Cities.