Exploring the area on foot: In a 5 min.-walk up the hill, you will find a very nice playground for children, and a Vitaparcours for the joggers. A little further, a 10 min.-walk, you can visit Muzzano, with its interesting old houses and the Lake of Muzzano. In 5 min., you can walk to the bus stop “ Via Leoni” where the nr. 16 bus will take you to the Lugano train station. The nr. 3 bus stops at the post office in Breganzona, a 10 min. walk from Con Alma, and goes to the center of Lugano.

Exploring the area around Lugano: The Lugano train station and the airport in Agno are 10 min. with the car from Biogno. You can also reach the center of Lugano and Lago di Lugano in 10 min. by car. Well-known schools such as the Franklin University Switzerland and The American School in Switzerland are just 10 min. away. The border to Italy is also very near,and public transportation can take you to many interesting lakes and villages. You can be in Ponte Tresa or Luino, both famous with tourists for their interesting weekly markets in 30 to 40 min. by car or bus. For those interested in culture and history, Milan is certainly worth a trip, and is only one hour away with the train or car. Other interesting day-trips would be to the Lago Maggiore, Lago di Como, Morcote, Gandria, Val di Versasca, Val di Maggia, Monte San Salvatore, Monte Bré, Monte Tamaro, and Monte Lema. They all are at your feet, so to speak!

You can find other information and travel tips at http://www.luganoturismo.ch/en/716/touristinformationen.aspx

Restaurants: Directly behind Con Alma, is the Piazza Piattini with an excellent restaurant, “La Cucina di Elsa”, offering fish specialties and a very good wine selection. In Breganzona, “L'Argentina” and in Muzzano, “Osteria Concordia” can be heartily recommended.

A visit to a Ticino grotto is a “must” for experiencing the cuisine and culture of the one-time agricultural area. It is usually a rustic building in a wooded area off the beaten path, with a terrace shaded by chestnut trees. In summer, you sit on benches at stone tables and in winter inside by a cozy fireplace and enjoy the traditional dishes of the area. These include all types of gilled meat, home-made salami and mortadella, risotto, marinated fish, minestrone, vitello tonnato, warm or cold roastbeef mit salad and fried potatoes, polenta with braised beef (brasato), rabbit ragu, porcini mushrooms, a winter cabbage casserole (cazzola), an assortment of cheeses from the area, a dessert made with eggs and schnaps (zabaglione), and, peaches in red wine. A bottle of Merlot, the Ticino house wine, or a Barbera, or even a lemon soda (gazzosa) tastes best when sipped from the traditional “boccalino”, or “tazzino”, the porcellan cups. (The Grotto Guide - http://www.grotticini.ch)

Shopping: In 10 min. from Con Alma, you can walk to Breganzona where there is a post office, cafe/bar, bakery, bank, hairdressers, and a small store for groceries. A Migros supermarket in Besso, a district of Lugano, can be reached with bus nr. 3 or 16 in 10 min. In Agno near the Lugano Airport ,10 min. by car, there is a large Migros shopping center, an Aldi and a Coop supermarket. Of course, you can do some serious shopping in the center of Lugano---the Via Nassa is the luxury street for exclusive brands of clothing and jewelry. Along the lake promenade with its lovely trees, restaurants, cafes and views of the mountains, there is a large variety of shops. A tip for those who are interested in not only spending but saving money: you can take a short trip across the Italian border to Ponte Tresa and buy everything from food to clothing at the famous market on Saturday; or go shopping at “Bennets”, an economical supermarket with a large selection.

Parking: There are parking spaces directly next to the house, and more in the parking lot on the Via Orbisana, (walking down from the house about 3-4 min.) where the refuse containers are also to be found.

Sports in Lugano: Swimming, sailing, diving, waterskiing, golf, horseback riding, para-gliding, hiking, mountain climbing, tennis, bicycling