Castelgrande
Castelgrande
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
This beautiful medieval castle overlooking the city has been recently restored.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
529 reviews
Excellent
303
Very good
188
Average
29
Poor
5
Terrible
4
Peter H
Fredericksburg, VA963 contributions
May 2023 • Solo
There’s a famous military strategy known as The Pincer Movement that lures the enemy down the middle into a bottle neck, while the defending forces attack from the flanks. When I saw this castle arrangement, I immediately thought of the way it causes opposing forces to get trapped in the middle of the castles in the valley below. It’s only about a football field length width between the castles. It’s a strategic defense
Written 12 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Isthar D
5 contributions
Feb 2023
The location is magic - the food is excellent and the staff are most welcoming and taking good care of the customer's every need. We really enjoyed the castle experience! Thank you we will be back soon!
Written 7 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Natalie Z
Detroit, MI3 contributions
Apr 2023 • Friends
We visited in April so only one castle of the three in Bellinzona was open. Be prepared to walk up 20 flights of stairs (that is what my iPhone counted) it was worth the walk for the view! We didn’t pay anything to walk around the grounds.
Written 2 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alf
2 contributions
Feb 2023
part of a day trip from lugano to airolo for the ski lift.enchanting and every which way you turn you want to snap another picture!
Written 9 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael A
Incline Village, NV384 contributions
Sep 2022
This place really brought us up to snuff on the history of the area. We always wondered why Italian speaking Switzerland. The castle/fortress is really cool and the information well presented.
Written 3 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tom H
Tallahassee, FL47 contributions
Jun 2022 • Family
Awesome castle to explore, DEFINITELY worth the trip from Lugano. Here is some stuff to know if you're not from Switzerland/Europe, especially any Americans like me who wasnt sure what to expect or how hard travel was going to be:
1) travel from Luguno (or anywhere in Switzerland): SUPER EASY, enough said. We're on day 4 of our trip and my 11 year old son now understands the trains well enough to manage our travel plans in Switz, it is incredibly easy. Buy the Swiss Travel Pass, and download the swiss train app, and you'll be good to go! BTW, in stwitz you just walk on a train with your pass, you dont scan it or anything, but when the conductor walks by you have to show them your tickets. You can take ANY train in switz if you have the travel pass, so dont stress out, just enjoy the ride!
2) Bellinzona: Absolutely beautiful city. Charming, and everywhere you look, looks like a postcard.
3) Castles: awesome, all 3 of the castles in Bellinzona can be seen in a day, and id recommend seeing the Sasso castle first (take the bus up there, just use the app), then walk down to montebello, then to castel grande.
4) safety: if you are new to traveling to europe, i know a lot of Americans always ask (or think to themselves) whether a city or other country is safe. In regards to switz, it is absolutely the safest place we've ever been. I would say its roughly 500x safer than my home in Florida lol. If you are worried about that with your travels, dont!
5) Tips: with the swiss travel pass, the castles are free to see (saves you 10Fr per person per castle). Also, we loved our time in Lugano but if i did it again, i'd of stayed in Bellinzona and taken the train to Lugano instead of visa versa. Lugano was amazing, but it has the feel of South Beach (miami), and we prefer the quiet picturesque feel of Bellinzona instead. Just our $0.02
Have fun and DEFINITELY SEE THESE CASTLES!
1) travel from Luguno (or anywhere in Switzerland): SUPER EASY, enough said. We're on day 4 of our trip and my 11 year old son now understands the trains well enough to manage our travel plans in Switz, it is incredibly easy. Buy the Swiss Travel Pass, and download the swiss train app, and you'll be good to go! BTW, in stwitz you just walk on a train with your pass, you dont scan it or anything, but when the conductor walks by you have to show them your tickets. You can take ANY train in switz if you have the travel pass, so dont stress out, just enjoy the ride!
2) Bellinzona: Absolutely beautiful city. Charming, and everywhere you look, looks like a postcard.
3) Castles: awesome, all 3 of the castles in Bellinzona can be seen in a day, and id recommend seeing the Sasso castle first (take the bus up there, just use the app), then walk down to montebello, then to castel grande.
4) safety: if you are new to traveling to europe, i know a lot of Americans always ask (or think to themselves) whether a city or other country is safe. In regards to switz, it is absolutely the safest place we've ever been. I would say its roughly 500x safer than my home in Florida lol. If you are worried about that with your travels, dont!
5) Tips: with the swiss travel pass, the castles are free to see (saves you 10Fr per person per castle). Also, we loved our time in Lugano but if i did it again, i'd of stayed in Bellinzona and taken the train to Lugano instead of visa versa. Lugano was amazing, but it has the feel of South Beach (miami), and we prefer the quiet picturesque feel of Bellinzona instead. Just our $0.02
Have fun and DEFINITELY SEE THESE CASTLES!
Written 26 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
saronic
Zurich, Switzerland26,248 contributions
Mar 2021
The Castelgrande, the big castle, can be reached by walking up a street from the smoother southern side or by elevator from the north side, where the bare rock of gneiss, on which the castle sits, is almost vertical. From the modern Piazza del Sole a long tunnel with walls of concrete goes deep into the rock, to the elevators that take one up to the castle's south bailey, a grass covered open space. Signs will direct one there to the restaurant, the grotto, the museum or to the two towers.
The southern wing houses the museum, which I didn't visit this time due to the covid-restrictions, but where I had seen - a few years back - a good exhibition about the Ice Man Oetzi. Now I just went up the Torre Nera (the black tower) and from there by the parapet towards the Torre Bianca in the middle of the redoubt. There are great views from up here towards the Ticino valley and also the other two castles, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro.
The Castelgrande has a very strategic location and there has been o fort here since Roman times, which was expanded, rebuilt or strengthened in following periods, especially though by the dukes of Milan in the 15th century. What one sees now mainly dates from this period, but up to a few years ago various renovations and restorations had taken place here.
The southern wing houses the museum, which I didn't visit this time due to the covid-restrictions, but where I had seen - a few years back - a good exhibition about the Ice Man Oetzi. Now I just went up the Torre Nera (the black tower) and from there by the parapet towards the Torre Bianca in the middle of the redoubt. There are great views from up here towards the Ticino valley and also the other two castles, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro.
The Castelgrande has a very strategic location and there has been o fort here since Roman times, which was expanded, rebuilt or strengthened in following periods, especially though by the dukes of Milan in the 15th century. What one sees now mainly dates from this period, but up to a few years ago various renovations and restorations had taken place here.
Written 16 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Weak Knee Traveler
Singapore, Singapore11,769 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
This is a really beautiful medieval castle which was built in the 13th century. Loved the long stretch of walls lining the rocky hill as well as the views of the township and other castles around it. Great views.
Written 23 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LeaveAndExplore
Bern, Switzerland157 contributions
Jul 2020 • Friends
This Castle is quite big, very well conserved and you can access the whole outdoor area, one tower included, for free. The fee for the museum is 5€.
Written 25 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve C
Spencer, TN217 contributions
Dec 2019
This is a cool castle to see, not as impressive as others but worth checking out if your in the area. Take the lift up to the castle, otherwise it’s a pretty good walk up a steep grade.
Written 28 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Martina V
Milan, Italy95 contributions
Buongiorno, volevo sapere se siete aperti a Ferragosto. Grazie
fiorenza c
Lugo, Italy926 contributions
Io non so risponderti ma, se fossi in te, cercherei sul sito....
Rodrigo Lacerda
Belo Horizonte, MG1,296 contributions
Hi, I would like to know if the museum opens regurlary and how much it costs.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Castelgrande
- Hotels near Castelgrande:
- (0.17 km) Wonderful apartment with a unique view on the market square
- (0.19 km) Croce Federale
- (0.23 km) Hotel Unione
- (0.30 km) Albergo Moderno Garni
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- Restaurants near Castelgrande:
- (0.05 km) Grotto San Michele
- (0.11 km) Il Fermento Bellinzona
- (0.07 km) Ristorante Castelgrande
- (0.19 km) Trattoria Cantinin del Gatt
- (0.20 km) Restaurant Croce Federale