Bellinzona sits at the point where the valley narrows, which is why there are three castles here. Castelgrande stands on a rock in the middle of the town, Montebello above it on the eastern slope, and Sasso Corbaro higher still. A fortified wall, the Murata, once ran right across the valley floor from Castelgrande to the mountainside, closing the route entirely. Whoever held this town held the road between Milan and the Alpine passes, and the Dukes of Milan built accordingly before the Swiss confederates took it in 1503.
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The three castles together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this is the capital of Ticino, the Italian speaking canton. It feels Italian: piazzas, arcades, a Saturday market that fills the old town, and a climate that grows palms and magnolias. Pack for heat, for a lot of climbing, and for the valleys behind the town, which are the real reason to stay more than a day.
What Makes Bellinzona Different to Pack For
A subtropical pocket of Switzerland
Ticino sits south of the Alps and gets Mediterranean influence. Summer runs 20°C to 30°C, humid and thundery, and it is the warmest part of Switzerland. Winter is mild for the country at 0°C to 9°C with little snow on the valley floor. It is also among the wettest cantons, with heavy rain rather than drizzle, concentrated in spring and autumn.
A merino wool base layer for women covers the winter and is useful in the mountains behind the town in any season, where the temperature drops fast with height.
Three castles means three climbs
Castelgrande has a lift cut into the rock from Piazza del Sole. Montebello is a steep fifteen minute walk up from the old town. Sasso Corbaro is 230 metres above the town on a road, around forty five minutes on foot through chestnut woods, or a short drive. Seeing all three on foot is a genuine day's exercise and the ground is cobble, stone stair and rough path.
The valleys are the other half of the trip
The Verzasca, Leventina and Riviera valleys run off from here. The Verzasca in particular, with its double arched stone bridge at Lavertezzo and green water over white rock, is one of the most photographed places in Switzerland, and it is twenty minutes away.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
The Bellinzona Packing List
Footwear
Flat and grippy for the town and the castles. The castle walls have uneven stone walkways, spiral stairs and battlements, and the path up to Sasso Corbaro is loose in places. For the Verzasca or any of the valley paths, waterproof hiking shoes are right, because the granite riverbed rock is extraordinarily slippery when wet and the mule tracks are rough.
If you plan to get in the river, something you can wear in water. The stones are sharp and the current is strong.
Clothing
Light layers for summer and a windproof for the castle towers, which catch whatever is moving down the valley. Ticino dresses in Italian style, a little smarter than the German speaking cantons, though nobody minds walking clothes.
Covered shoulders and knees for the churches, including the collegiate church of Saints Peter and Stephen and the frescoed Santa Maria delle Grazie.
For summer
A wide brim sun hat, sunscreen and a refillable bottle. The castle courtyards are stone suntraps with very little shade, and Ticino in July is hotter than most visitors expect of Switzerland. Tap water is excellent and fountains are everywhere.
For rain
A packable rain jacket at any time of year. Ticino thunderstorms are sudden and heavy, and they matter in the valleys because the rivers rise fast.
Practical
Cash in Swiss francs alongside cards. A Ticino Ticket, given free by many hotels, covers regional public transport and is worth asking about at check in, since it changes the economics of day trips completely.
What to Wear at Key Sites
Castelgrande
The largest of the three, on a rock outcrop in the middle of town, with two towers, a long walled courtyard and the Murata running off it. The lift from Piazza del Sole rises through the rock and is free.
Practically: the walkway along the Murata wall is narrow, has a substantial drop and is exposed to wind, and the White Tower stairs are steep and enclosed. The courtyard is a suntrap. There is a good restaurant inside and it books out.
Montebello and Sasso Corbaro
Montebello is the prettiest of the three, a compact castle with a museum and a view down onto Castelgrande. Sasso Corbaro was built in six months in 1479 after the Swiss defeated the Milanese at Giornico, and it is a single blunt square keep with a terrace.
Practically: the walk between the two runs through chestnut woods and is steeper than the map suggests. Sasso Corbaro is high enough to be several degrees cooler and often catches cloud when the town is clear.
The Saturday market and the old town
The market fills Piazza Nosetto and the surrounding streets with Ticinese produce, cheese and cured meat, and it is the best morning to be here.
Practically: flat, cobbled, and busy. The arcades give shade and shelter.
The Verzasca valley
The Ponte dei Salti at Lavertezzo is a double arched stone bridge over a river of green water running between white granite slabs. The valley above it is a chain of stone villages, and the dam at the bottom is where the bungee jump in the opening of GoldenEye was filmed.
Practically: the rock is polished granite and lethally slippery wet or dry, and people are injured here every summer. The water is glacier fed, genuinely cold, and the current is much stronger than it appears from the bridge. Several people drown in this river most years, usually after jumping from the bridge. Do not jump. The valley road is narrow with passing places and the bus is the easier option in high season.
Monte Tamaro and the passes
A cable car from Rivera climbs to Monte Tamaro, where Mario Botta's chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli sits on a ridge, and there are ridge walks from there. The Lukmanier, Gotthard and San Bernardino passes all start from this valley.
What Not to Bring
Leave smooth soled shoes for the castle stairs and absolutely for the Verzasca rock. Leave the assumption that Switzerland means cold; Ticino in August is Mediterranean.
Leave any intention of jumping from the Ponte dei Salti. Leave a large suitcase if you are staying in the old town, where the buildings are old and lifts are uncommon.
Essential Resources for Women in Bellinzona
Emergency numbers in Switzerland: 112 is the European emergency number. Police 117, ambulance 144, fire 118. Mountain and air rescue is 1414, run by Rega, and the Rega app transmits your coordinates, which matters in the valleys where signal is patchy.
Tourist support: Switzerland has no separate tourist police. The Ticino cantonal police take reports from visitors and operate in Italian, with English widely available. A stolen passport needs a police report before the consulate can issue a replacement.
US Embassy and consulate: the embassy is in Bern at Sulgeneckstrasse 19, telephone +41 31 357 7011, at ch.usembassy.gov. Bern is around three hours from Bellinzona through the Gotthard tunnel. Enrol in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov before you travel.
Main hospital or clinic: the Ospedale San Giovanni in Bellinzona is the regional hospital with a 24 hour emergency department, part of the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale network. Rega covers helicopter rescue in the valleys. Swiss healthcare is excellent and expensive and rescue is billed to the person rescued, so travel insurance covering alpine rescue is essential.
Official health authority: the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health at bag.admin.ch.
US State Department travel advisory for Switzerland: current advisory level and detail. Read it directly rather than relying on this page.
UK FCDO travel advice for Switzerland: entry requirements, safety and health guidance.
Official tourism authority: Switzerland Tourism at myswitzerland.com, with the Bellinzona and valleys regional board at bellinzonaevalli.ch for castle opening hours, the Ticino Ticket and river conditions in the Verzasca.
Solo women safety assessment: Bellinzona is very safe for a woman travelling alone. Swiss crime rates are low, the town is small and prosperous, public transport is punctual and runs into the evening, and the old town is well lit and busy with residents rather than emptying after the day visitors leave. Walking alone at night is normal, eating alone is unremarkable, and harassment is rare. Petty theft is limited and mostly around the station. The serious hazard in this area is water, and it is worth being blunt about it. The Verzasca river kills people most years. The granite is polished and gives no grip at all, wet or dry, so falls into the water are common; the water is glacier cold, which causes immediate cold shock even in August; the current is far stronger than it looks; and the level can rise very quickly when rain falls higher up the valley, which may be happening out of sight while the sun is on you. Jumping from the Ponte dei Salti is the specific activity that causes fatalities, and local authorities discourage it. Swim only where locals are swimming, never alone, and get out if the water rises or clouds. Beyond that, the castle walls have unfenced drops in places and the stairs are steep and worn, which causes the usual falls. If you are walking in the side valleys, signal is unreliable, so tell someone your route and install the Rega app.
Reading On
Bellinzona is the gateway to Italian Switzerland and a better base than its more famous lakeside neighbours for anyone who wants the valleys. The Switzerland travel guide for women is the parent for the whole country and covers the regions, the seasons and the rail passes, and the Switzerland packing list for women covers a multi region trip. In the same canton, the Lugano packing list for women covers the lake city half an hour south. North through the Gotthard, the Lucerne packing list for women and the Interlaken travel guide for women cover central Switzerland, and the St Moritz packing list for women covers the Engadine east. South across the border, the Lake Como travel guide for women and the Milan travel guide for women are both under two hours by train. The travel packing guide for women is the parent for all destinations. For why merino works in a canton that is Mediterranean on the valley floor and alpine an hour above it, the best merino wool base layers for women explains the fibre, and the Roman Trail collection is where the tops themselves live.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
