2 Best Restaurants in Ticino, Switzerland

The oldest of the city's castles boasts a chic, modern restaurant that offers a serious experience, with daringly cool, postmodern decor, sophisticated cuisine from chef Cyrille Kamerzin, and a wine list that includes more than 70 Ticino Merlots. Downstairs, the more casual Grotto restaurant has a lighter atmosphere, and its stunning summer terrace is a great spot to soak up views and sunshine.

Extraordinary art in all forms is the trademark of this Michelin-starred location at the atmospheric Villa Castagnola, where paintings and sculptures from a variety of artists line the walls and halls and exhibitions change twice yearly. Chef Frank Oerthle has a way with seafood: specialties change seasonally but can include steamed oysters with caramelized spring onion and wasabi-infused scallops. But be sure to save room for the desserts, whose deliberated presentation bring new meaning to the term culinary art.