At the lower level lakes the weather can still be warm and sunny in Switzerland in October but you can see the white mountain tops and know more snow will be coming soon. For the school break and before the arrival of winter we had decided on a road trip starting in Lugano in the Italian speaking part of the country, Ticino. On a lovely sunny day, we wandered by the lake through Parco Ciani, with Monte San Salvatore in the background, looking in at the beautiful cathedral and walking through the old town streets.
We had been living in Switzerland for several years by this point and had visited many of the well-known landmarks so it seemed a good time to visit the Swiss Miniature museum, a short drive to the south of Lugano. The children had fun spotting the sights they knew and of course, there was also a miniature train ride.
Back in the car and a longer drive into Italy to our next accommodation, a castle! Castel Pergine just outside Trento. This hotel with restaurant was a great, exciting place to stay. There are rooms in the main castle building and suites in the towers in the grounds. We stayed in the entrance tower, pictured below, with great views down to the town. The car had to pass through that archway on arrival! We could wander around the castle grounds, which included a sculpture exhibit, before going to dinner in the main restaurant.
The next day we had a walk around the town of Trento before continuing on our journey back into Switzerland and through the Swiss National Park and a beautiful drive through the Val Müstair, now we were above the snow line. We planned on taking the Flüela Pass, which isn’t always open, but we were lucky and continued on this route to our final stop, Davos.
Davos is where my lucky eldest son has gone on 3 school trips for skiing and snowboarding and he wanted to show us where they stay. We were there for the last day of the summer season before the lifts are closed for maintenance ahead of the winter season. We took our sledges up in the cable car for some fun in the snow. Followed by hot chocolate at the cafe.
