The arcaded Piazza Grande in Locarno, with its clock tower and painted facades.

Where to stay in Locarno

Stay in Locarno for the town with its own railway station, an old town built around Piazza Grande, and a funicular straight up to Orselina and Cardada. For a lakefront promenade with hotel gardens directly on the water and no station of its own, stay in Ascona instead, a bus ride of about 7 to 11 minutes away.

16 374residents, 31 December 20241340metres, the summit of Cardada, reached by cable car from Orselina at 395 m2 h 10by train from Zurich via Bellinzona, one change

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Hotels in Locarno, live prices

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Locarno at a glance

Why Locarno

Because the station, the lake and the funicular into the hills all sit within a few minutes of each other. Step off a train from Zurich or Milan and you can be on Piazza Grande within minutes, or already riding up towards Orselina and Cardada before lunch, without needing a car for any of it.

Where to sleep

First stay or by the station: Muralto, with the railway station, the boat pier and most of the lake hotels within a couple of hundred metres of each other. Old town character: around Piazza Grande and the Città Vecchia, at the edge of the Castello Visconteo. Looking for quiet with the funicular at the door: up in Orselina on the hillside.

Watch out

If you are counting on the Half-Fare card or the GA travelcard for the funicular up to Orselina, budget for the full fare instead: the operator accepts neither, and only the Swiss Travel Pass brings the price down, by 25 per cent. If the Castello Visconteo is on your list, skip November to March, when it closes for the winter season.

Locarno, before you book

Locarno sits at the northern tip of Lake Maggiore, where an arcaded old town, a working railway station and a funicular into the hills all sit within a few minutes of each other. You arrive by train, either from Zurich in about two hours ten with a change at Bellinzona, or direct from Milan in one hour fifty five, and step out close to the lake, the boat pier and Piazza Grande all at once.

Where you sleep here comes down to three short walks. Around Piazza Grande and the Città Vecchia puts the arcaded square and the Castello Visconteo at your door. Along the Muralto lakefront keeps the station, the boat pier and most of the lake hotels within about 200 metres of each other. Up in Orselina, reached by the funicular, trades that closeness for a quieter terrace at 395 metres, right by the valley station for Cardada.

The choice of hotels runs from Hotel dell’Angelo, right on Piazza Grande and the least expensive address in our dated price samples, to Hotel Belvedere Locarno on the Orselina hillside, which those same samples put above every lakefront hotel in this selection. On the lakefront itself, Hotel Geranio au Lac and La Palma au Lac both show summer nights running well above winter ones, so a winter booking stretches the budget further at either address.

The Castello Visconteo only opens from April to October, closed for the winter season, and the Locarno Film Festival fills Piazza Grande from 4 to 14 August 2027. The funicular itself keeps running all year, aside from a roughly three-week pause in November for its annual inspection, so Orselina and Cardada stay reachable outside the festival crowds. Zurich is about two hours ten away by train, Milan under two hours.

Summer or winter?

Pick a season, or set your dates above: prices and advice follow.

Summer in Locarno

Where to stay this season

Summer is when everything in Locarno runs at once: the Castello Visconteo stays open, the funicular runs every 15 minutes, and the Film Festival fills Piazza Grande in August. Base yourself in the old town or in Muralto, both a short walk from the station and from the screen, and expect the square itself to be busiest during festival week.

Orselina hillside · 4 stars

From

CHF 337/ night

Average seen CHF 345No price found for this season on our sample dates

On the hillside above Locarno, reached by the funicular, the Belvedere describes itself as the only 4-star-superior hotel in town and pairs that with the Oasi Belvedere spa looking over the city and the lake. It suits a stay built around the view and a quieter evening away from the piazza, and our dated prices show it costs more than the other addresses in this selection.

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Hotel Muralto

Muralto, by the station

No price collected on our sample dates

Five minutes on foot from the railway station, the Muralto offers Queen and Comfort rooms with a private balcony, air conditioning and Wi-Fi, and it accepts the Ticino Ticket. It suits arrivals and departures built around the train, kept close to Muralto’s other lakefront hotels.

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Boutique-Hotel Remorino

Minusio, east of Muralto

No price collected on our sample dates

In Minusio, just east of Muralto, the family-run Remorino is a four-star garni boutique hotel with 24 comfort rooms, run by the Kirchlechner family and part of the Private Selection Hotels group. It suits travellers who want a smaller, quieter address a short distance beyond the main lakefront cluster.

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Prices: lowest and average nightly rate seen on Booking.com for 2 adults and 1 room, on 2 winter dates and 1 summer dates, collected on September 16, 2026. They are indicative, the real price depends on your dates. Hotel facts come from each hotel’s own website. Some hotel links are affiliate links.

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Where to stay, area by area

Piazza Grande and the Città Vecchia

Piazza Grande, Castello Visconteo

This is Locarno’s historic core, the arcaded square that becomes an open-air cinema during the Locarno Film Festival each August. Hotel dell’Angelo stands directly on the square, keeping the Castello Visconteo and the lanes of the Città Vecchia at your door, but the lake and the railway station at Muralto are still a walk away. Choose this sector if being in the middle of the old town matters more than a lakefront room, and expect it busiest around festival time in August.

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Muralto, station and lakefront

Viale Verbano, around the station and the landing stage

The lakefront strip east of the old town brings the railway station, the boat pier and most of the lake hotels together within about 200 metres of each other. Hotel Muralto and Hotel Geranio au Lac both count themselves a few minutes from all three, which makes this the practical choice for a first stay or for arriving with luggage straight off a train or a boat. The trade-off is that you sleep on the lakefront road rather than under the arcades of the old town, though Piazza Grande is still close by.

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Orselina and the hillside

Funicular from Muralto to Orselina and Cardada

Above the town, the funicular’s upper terminus opens onto a quieter terrace at 395 metres, with the Madonna del Sasso sanctuary and the valley station for the Cardada cable car right there. Hotel Belvedere Locarno, on this hillside, describes itself as the only 4-star-superior hotel in Locarno, and its Oasi Belvedere spa looks out over the town and the lake. The trade-off is the funicular ride itself: it is not covered by the Half-Fare card or the GA travelcard, so every trip down to the lake and back adds to the cost unless you hold a Swiss Travel Pass.

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What to do in Locarno

This is not a trail guide: every place named here comes from Ascona-Locarno tourism, the funicular operator or the Cardada cable car company, checked on their own pages, so treat it as a shortlist to plan a day around rather than route notes to follow blindly.

On foot

Old town and ridge

Piazza Grande to the Castello VisconteoCittà Vecchia
The tourist office describes the Città Vecchia as boutiques, cafés, palaces and churches, its narrow lanes leading to Piazza Grande, where the Castello Visconteo stands at the edge. Only a fifth of the 12th-century structure survives, and the museum inside closes for the winter, so plan the visit between April and October.
Cardada - Cima della Trosa - Mergosciafrom the top of the Cardada cable car
A ridge route that starts at the top of the Cardada cable car, listed in the tourist office’s own hiking register. Its length and walking time are not published, so check current conditions at Cardada or with the tourist office before setting out.

Up the mountain

Two ways up

Funicolare Locarno - Madonna del Sasso - Orselina1958 carriages · every 15 min in summer, 30 min in winter
Vintage carriages from 1958 cross the Ramogna on a steel truss bridge and climb an eleven-arch viaduct to the sanctuary, with intermediate stops at Belvedere and Santuario Madonna del Sasso on request. Flag the stop you want as you board if you plan to get off at either one rather than riding straight through to Orselina.
Cardada, cable car and Cimetta chairlift395 m → 1340 m in 5 min, then 1340 m → 1670 m in 7 min
The cable car, inaugurated in June 2000 and designed by the Ticino architect Mario Botta, carries up to 40 people per cabin from Orselina to Cardada. From there, a chairlift opened in 1954 with 32 side-facing two-seater chairs continues to Cimetta, described by its operator as the only side-seat chairlift in Switzerland, so keep both legs in the same outing if you want the full ride.

Typical here

Two more things

Parco delle Cameliefree entry · opened 2005
Opened in 2005 for the International Camellia Society World Congress with 500 plants, the park today catalogues 1100 camellia varieties, including about forty species and ten perfumed hybrids, and holds the Society’s Garden of Excellence designation. Entry is free, so it fits easily into a walk without planning around a ticket.
Lido LocarnoVia Respini 11 · buses 3 and 4
An outdoor 50 m pool at 27 to 28 degrees, an outdoor leisure pool and a diving tank at the same temperature, with 40 parking spaces at the lido and 200 more on Via Respini. Arrive early on a hot day if you want one of the closer spaces, since these two lots are the only parking named for the site.

Where to eat

Ristorante Dell’AngeloPiazza Grande 1 · daily 11:30-14:30 and 17:00-23:00
A restaurant-pizzeria facing Piazza Grande, listed by the tourist office with animals allowed, free Wi-Fi and private parking. Its hours, 11:30 to 14:30 and 17:00 to 23:00 daily, make it a fit for both a lunch break in the old town and a dinner within walking distance of most hotels here.
Ristorante La Palma au Lacinside the lakefront hotel of the same name
The restaurant of the La Palma au Lac hotel, listed by the tourist office on the Muralto lakefront. Book directly with the hotel for a lake-view table, since its opening hours are not published by the tourist office.

Times, fares and figures come from Ascona-Locarno tourism, funicolarelocarno.ch and cardada.ch, checked on 16 September 2026. We publish no ratings and no route descriptions: check conditions on the spot before you set off.

Swiss Travel Pass, up to Orselina and Cardada

Section

Swiss Travel Pass

Funicular Locarno - Madonna del Sasso - Orselina

25% off

Cardada cable car and Cimetta chairlift

50% off

2026 fare · CHF

WithoutWithout pass

WithWith pass

Cardada return, adult, fares valid 20 December 2025 to 8 November 2026

32.00

16.00

The funicular gives Swiss Travel Pass holders 25 per cent off; its operator explicitly does not accept the Half-Fare card or the GA travelcard. Cardada and Cimetta give Swiss Travel Pass, Half-Fare card, GA travelcard and Day Pass holders half the standard fare: a Cardada return drops from CHF 32.00 to CHF 16.00, a combined Cardada and Cimetta return from CHF 39.00 to CHF 19.50, and a Cimetta return alone from CHF 12.00 to CHF 6.00. Sources: funicolarelocarno.ch, cardada.ch, checked 16 September 2026.

Found your area? Check what is still free in Locarno.

Prices and availability change daily in the Alps, especially in July, August and over Christmas.

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What is open, month by month

	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Castello Visconteo	Closed	Closed	Closed	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open	Closed	Closed
Locarno funicular	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open	Partly closed	Open

Open

Partly closed

Closed

2026. Castello Visconteo: closed for the winter season from November to March. Locarno funicular: runs year round, but closes for roughly three weeks in November for its annual inspection. Sources: ascona-locarno.com, funicolarelocarno.ch, checked 16 September 2026.

Locarno, in practice

The vignette

Locarno is reached by the A13 spur off the A2 Gotthard motorway, through Bellinzona, and the Swiss vignette, CHF 40, is compulsory on national roads. Buy it before you set off if you are driving in, since it covers the whole approach through Bellinzona, not only the stretch inside Locarno.

Parking

Hotel dell’Angelo names the nearby Parking Castello for covered spaces, useful if you are staying in the old town and driving in. At the lido, 40 spaces sit at the site itself and another 200 on Via Respini, so arrive early on a busy pool day for the closer spot.

Bus to Ascona

Bus 1 links the railway station with Ascona in about 7 to 11 minutes, roughly every 15 minutes, so a stay in Locarno does not rule out an outing to Ascona and back the same evening. Use the bus rather than driving over, since it removes the need for a second parking stop there.

The funicular is not a rail pass ride

The funicular leaves from Viale Balli 2, next to the station, every 15 minutes in summer and every 30 minutes in winter, so plan around the longer winter gap rather than expecting a car straight away. The Half-Fare card and the GA travelcard are not accepted, and only the Swiss Travel Pass gives a discount, 25 per cent, so budget the full fare otherwise.

Driving on from Locarno? Compare rental prices and check the vignette, the winter rules and the passes before you book.

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Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get from Zurich to Locarno by train?

Allow about 2 hours 10 minutes from Zurich, with one change onto the regional S 20 at Bellinzona. That is short enough for Locarno to work as a day trip from German-speaking Switzerland, so a one-night stay covers it if the lake and the old town are the only things on your list.

Is there a direct train from Milan?

Yes, the RE 80 runs from Milano Centrale straight to Locarno in 1 hour 55 minutes, with no change needed. That makes Locarno a realistic long weekend from Milan without renting a car, since the station sits within walking distance of the old town and the lake hotels.

When is the Locarno Film Festival?

The 2027 edition runs from 4 to 14 August, with screenings on Piazza Grande and in twelve other theatres across the city. Book early if your visit falls in this window, since Piazza Grande itself is given over to the open-air screen for those two weeks.

How do I get up to Cardada, and how high is it?

Take the funicular from Locarno up to Orselina at 395 metres, then the cable car: five minutes to Cardada at 1340 metres, with a further seven minutes by chairlift to Cimetta at 1670 metres. Because the funicular and the Cardada and Cimetta lifts are run and priced separately, budget for both fares rather than expecting one ticket to cover the whole ride.

Does the Swiss Travel Pass cover the Madonna del Sasso funicular?

Not in full: the pass gives 25 per cent off, and the operator does not accept the Half-Fare card or the GA travelcard on this line. Budget the remaining fare in cash or by card, since no other discount applies here even if you are travelling on unlimited rail days elsewhere in Switzerland.

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