Many of our patients travel to reach us, from elsewhere in Switzerland, from northern Italy, and from further afield. If you are coming to Lugano for a course of treatment, this page covers how to get here, where to stay within walking distance of the clinic, and what to do with the time between appointments.
From Zurich. Around eighteen direct trains run each day from Zurich Hauptbahnhof to Lugano, taking a little under two hours through the Gotthard Base Tunnel. No changes. The final stretch along the lake is one of the better rail arrivals in Europe.
From Milan. Direct trains from Milano Centrale reach Lugano in roughly an hour and twenty minutes.
From Milan Malpensa. Three ways. You can book the whole journey by train in the SBB app, changing in Milan. A FlixBus coach runs direct from both terminals to Lugano in about an hour and a quarter, arriving at the Via Ciani stop beside the park. Or book a transfer with Buxsi, a Ticino company running minivan and car transfers from Malpensa and the other regional airports.
A note on Lugano Airport. The airport at Agno has had no scheduled passenger flights since 2019. If you are flying, Zurich and Milan Malpensa are the practical arrival points.
Arriving at Lugano station. The station sits above the city, with a short funicular down to Piazza Cioccaro in the old town. From the station the clinic is around thirty minutes on foot along the lake, or twenty minutes by bus.
By car. Lugano sits on the A2 motorway. Driving on Swiss motorways requires a vignette, which you can buy at the border. We have parking spaces directly outside the clinic door.
The clinic is at Via Pico 19, in Castagnola, just east of the centre and a few steps from the lake.
We work with the Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola, on the same street at number 9 and about a minute from our door. It has its own gardens and a private lido on the lake, which makes it an easy place to stay if your treatment runs across several days. Mention Alpine Smiles when you book.
Other options nearby are the Hotel Lido Seegarten on the waterfront at Viale Castagnola and the Atlantico on Via Concordia, which is smaller and has parking. For anything else, Lugano Region keeps a full list of hotels, holiday apartments and guesthouses across the area.
Every member of our team works in Italian and English. Between us we also speak German, French, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Lithuanian and Hungarian. Tell us which you prefer when you book.
We are open Monday to Thursday, 9:00 to 19:00, and Friday morning, 8:00 to 12:00. We are closed at weekends. A trip built around a Monday to Thursday window gives you the most flexibility if more than one appointment is needed.
If your treatment requires several visits, write to us before you book travel and we will plan the sequence around your dates. For a first visit, please arrive ten minutes early so there is time for the new patient form.
An hour or two. Parco Ciani is ten minutes along the lake from the clinic and is the best place in the city to do nothing in particular. The old town, the arcades around Piazza della Riforma and the Cathedral of San Lorenzo are a short walk further. LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura on the waterfront holds art, theatre and concerts.
Half a day. The funicular to Monte Brè leaves from Cassarate, close to the clinic, and climbs to one of the sunniest points in Switzerland. Or walk the Sentiero dell'Olivo, the olive trail, which runs along the shore from Castagnola to the old fishing village of Gandria in about an hour. Take the boat back, or walk. Morcote, at the southern tip of the peninsula, is also an easy half day.
A full day. Spend it on the lake. The boats connect the villages around the shore and several of the lakeside restaurants are best reached by water. Monte San Salvatore, by funicular from Paradiso, can be combined with the walk down to Morcote.
An extra day. Locarno and Ascona, on Lake Maggiore, are about an hour away and worth the trip if your schedule allows it.
Ticino cooking is its own thing, closer to Lombardy than to the rest of Switzerland, and the grotti, the rustic stone taverns found in the villages and up in the hills, are where to find it at its most honest. Lugano also has everything from lakeside terraces to Michelin stars.
We eat here too, so ask our team when you come in. They will know what is good at the moment and can point you to something that suits the evening you have in mind.
The currency is the Swiss franc and cards are accepted everywhere. Euros are often taken but at poor rates. Italian is the local language, though English is widely spoken in the city.
If you are staying in a hotel, guesthouse or campsite in Ticino, ask for the Ticino Ticket. It comes with your stay and covers public transport across the canton, including the buses in Lugano and discounts on the funiculars and boats.
Planning a visit and want help with the timing? Write to smile@alpinesmiles.ch or message us on WhatsApp at +41 (0) 91 970 24 24. We are happy to help you plan around your travel.
Useful links:
We are at: Via Pico 19, 6900 Lugano - Switzerland
Bus
Take Bus No. 3 to Cassarate, Scuole and walk approximately 3 minutes along Via del Tiglio, or take Bus No. 2 to Cassarate, Monte Brè followed by a 5-minute uphill walk along Via Pico to our clinic.
Bicycle
Bike kiosks are available at Parco Giochi on Via del Tiglio, just around the corner from Alpine Smiles.
Parking
We have two private parking spots directly in front of the clinic. Free blue zone parking is also available on the surrounding streets. The nearest paid car park is Parcheggio Piazza Riscossa.
Ferry
Take the ferry to the Cassarate stop, next to the Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola and the Funicolare Monte Brè. From there follow Via Pico uphill to our clinic.
