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DAY 11 / SUNDAY / JUNE 20
LOCARNO
OVERNIGHT IN PONTRESINA, SWITZERLAND
Drive north along the shores of Lago Maggiore to Locarno, located in the Ticino,
the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. With luxuriant subtropical vegetation, Locarno
is known as the Swiss town with the most pleasant climate.
Behind the Piazza Grande lies Old Locarno, la città vecchia. Built during Middle Ages,
it holds great architectural and cultural treasures: beautiful churches, the
archeological museum Castello Visconteo, and the town fortress with its inner
courtyard.
Cross the San Bernardino Pass into Switzerland’s largest canton, Graubünden,
which occupies the entire southeast of the country and takes in a huge but sparsely
populated area that’s the most culturally diverse in Switzerland, bordering on
Liechtenstein and Austria to the north, and Italy to the east and south.
Its folded landscape of deep, isolated valleys (well over a hundred of them),
sheer rocky summits and thick pine forests makes Graubünden the wildest and the
most unspoiled part of Switzerland. It is also very rewarding, with some of the
finest scenery in the Alps.
Just outside St. Moritz, the village of Pontresina is located in the
highest-altitude valley that branches off from the Upper Engadine, at an
altitude of 1,777 to 1, 860 meters above sea level. It's a sunny place,
protected from the winds, that lies on a slope opening towards the southwest.
Pontresina is a typical Engadine village, surrounded by dense woods of larch
and stone pine trees. While Pontresina is a trendy and open-minded place, it
maintains its tradition and cultural roots with beautiful old Engadine houses.
From the terrace of the Hotel Schweizerhof, you can look out at the famous
Piz Bernina, the highest peak in the eastern Alps at 13,304 feet. Nearby
Piz Palü is equally impressive.
DAY 12 / MONDAY / JUNE 21
EXCURSION OVER THE BERNINA PASS
TO POSCHIAVO, ITALY
OVERNIGHT IN PONTRESINA, SWITZERLAND
Poschiavo is one of only four valleys in the canton of Graubünden where
the official language is Italian. The valley has been described as
“super-scenic” and the vistas on our drive today over the Bernina Pass
are spectacular.
Lago di Poschiavo
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